Monday 28 January 2013

A bridge too far? Take the boat!

Forget Pfizer, and stick a fork in Merck. Big pharma is over and done, at least in my cook-books. When I'm on the mend it's not Neo-Citran I'm seeking, it's always chicken soup this soul is searching for. Granville Island hosts The Stock Market, my usual go-to soup shop, but rumour has it they make a wicked chicken soup over on Lonsdale Quay, which in my weakened state had all the makings of an epic journey.  Bea bike was off the road for some general care and maintenance, and I needed care and maintenance, too, so I did the dancing bear gig and  straddled the Strida.


See, here's the thing.  The reason so many people die from a broken hip is cause they spend too much time in bed, incapacitated.  Not moving. The flu stopped me in my tracks for a couple of days, but moderate exercise is the best way to stimulate your immune system and clear out congestion. So... even though I was feeling run down, I decided to head through down-town and over to the North Shore to score some gourmet Chicken Soup at  the Quay.


There's a lot of real estate between me and my soup.

You'll find Vancouver's best fish and chips here at the commercial docks on False Creek, but that's not what we're here for.

As much as I needed to move, I also needed the Unabridged version of the journey.  No heavy climbing, no windy heights crossing the Burrard Inlet, at least not this time.  We banned the bridges and took  to the boats. Woman and folding bikes first is the protocol at sea, right?

Think Cool Change :D

We started with the Aquabus from Granville Island to Hornby street. As you can plainly see, it's aqua-bike friendly.


The natives are friendly, too.  Everyone stops to talk to you when you're a dancing bear on a silly bike.


My other bike doesn't like boats and no I don't own a car. I'm sorry. David who?


We splashed around through down-town to Waterfront Station...


where we found ourselves with fifteen minutes on our hands before the next Seabus.


Hacking skills might have helped me sort out the ticket kiosk.


It was pretty quiet, so we had a look around.


Waterfront Station is Vancouver's version of Grand Central Station,
sans the masses and the whispering gallery and the acres of space. You may not be able to hear your sweetheart's marriage proposal from across the hall, but you can definitely hear the fart of a crack-head at forty paces.


Having seen what there is to see, and smelled... er... never mind,
we still had a few minutes to kill.
Nine minutes and twelve seconds, to be precise. 


nine minutes eleven
nine minutes ten
nine minutes nine
nine minutes eight
is it time yet?


Hooooooray!


We're on our way!

Once at the Quay, we headed straight to Soup Meister,
where I enjoyed a bowl of Thai coconut chicken soup.
Mmm.


I made a new friend named Glen Gould, and we talked about everything from soup to nuts.  But that's enough about me.
Then the man and I checked out the market 


just for the halibut,


'cause you know I'm always fruity enough!

Afterwards we went outside to soak in the sights
of this, the life aquatic


till the next Seabus arrived to ferry us away, and home again,
fortified.


It did make for cool change from the usual, where you'll find us humping it over bridges.

One more cruise draws us under the Granville St Bridge, and what do you know?
We're in the hood again!



Feeling under the weather this time of year?

The Quay 
is in taking it all in Strida.


Nourish your body and your mind:
 go for a souper ride
and see what treasures you might find.

                       
*chickens were definitely harmed in the making of this babblelog.

12 comments:

  1. Glad to see your flu has flown. That looks like nice fun jaunt!

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  2. Xlnt blogging. Even though on my phone your bike looked more like a brightly colored step stool. You always make me want to go ride. No soup. I'm thinking a pint at Mad River Brewery.

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  3. Yes, indeed. Excellent blogging.
    Your travel logs of Vancouver have placed it number one on my list of places to go, however, my wife says Belize is next and her vote outweighs mine.

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    Replies
    1. Mmm, Belize. Your wife's very clever. You should listen to her.

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  4. I love the way you cycle in 5" heels.
    Congrats on almost kicking the flu.
    I think there is some truth in sweating a bug out.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you!

      It works for me. I usually gargle with ionic silver at the first sign of a sore throat, which stops a virus in its tracks. I didn't have any this time...

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  5. NOW LADY!!!!!

    Let me take a look at you now,

    You're there on a green bike makin' me want you somehow....

    ---The Fly

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  6. ...hmmm, assessing your 'glenn gould' comment, let me extrapolate...hell, i'm simply guessing but a gould reference is wonderfully obscure...

    ...whilst enjoying your thai chicken coconut soup in the rotunda of 'the quay', the music of eccentric canadian pianist glenn gould was playing in the background & when you inquired of the source, someone pointed out that not only were you listening to gould but in observing your food choice, they expressed just how appropriate it was in light gould's obssession with white or cream colored food...

    ...although known to be obssessive about many aspects of his professional & private life, not everyone knows how that particular culinary foible limited his caloric intake...yogurt, white cheeses, scrambled eggs (presumedly whisked with plenty of milk)...

    ...anyway...am i anywhere near close on this ???...

    ...beyond that, jeezus, you're a hottie !!!...sick or not...

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    Replies
    1. Thank you- that is very kind.

      Truth is stranger than fiction. The man sitting across the table from me in the photograph is one Glen Gould. We started up a conversation over the shared experience of life in a wheel chair. My stint was limited to a year, but his has gone on for 23 now, bless him.

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    2. ...dohhh !!!..."...detective bgw - you're fired...if you'd 'zoomed' the rotunda photo up to max, the real facts would have been obvious..."...

      ...sorry to hear of mister glen gould's situation...i have a couple of friends that have to deal with that on a daily basis & i honestly consider them to be so much stronger than i...

      ...you have more stories to tell, babble...

      ...& for anyone interested in canadian culture, i just gave a mini peek into the life of the legendary classical pianist glenn gould...

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    3. Huh. You know a LOT more about him than I ever did...

      and yes, there is always another story to tell!

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    4. ...i'm smiling in reply...

      ...captcha = sityfone xxx...cryptic ???...

      Delete