Vancouver: No one told me it was this hilly

The conference wrapped up with some chocolate croissants and a relieved sigh. I always expect to walk away from these sorts of things with at least a few new ideas, but they always fall short and all I can hope for is an engaging speaker and some tasty snacks. Oh, and Jamie got hit on at a gay bar by a former president of the association hosting the conference! Not surprising, the guy was uber creepy and had recognized Jamie from the conference. Granted, this wouldn't be that difficult since about 90% of attendees were overweight, middle-aged women.

The remainder of our time was spent exploring Vancouver and eating as much food as possible.

Granville Island and Kitsilano--before this long day of walking and more walking began, we ate at Hon's Wun-Tun for some Chinese food, supposedly one of the best cheap eats in Vancouver, and conveniently located near our hotel. Their pot stickers were good (albeit not as good as mine, of course) and the food was plentiful and cheap:

After we stuffed ourselves we waddled our full bellies over to the water and took a mini-ferry across to Granville Island, which has a large market kind of like a cross between Pike's Place in Seattle and my favorite, Reading Terminal Market in Philly (sans the Amish people.)

OMG, a loaf of cinnamon bun!!!

We then proceeded to walk for what seemed like eternity. A woman at the conference was a Vancouver native and had recommended walking through the Kitsilano neighborhood as it was "cool" and fun. I wouldn't really say it was that fun, but we did make our way through the main park and beach in that area. It was nice to sit in the sun and people watch. What wasn't so nice was the many blocks uphill we had to walk to get back to our hotel. Vancouver sure is hilly.