Vancouver, BC

A big shout-out to my new friend Romaine in Vancouver. Romes, you're the bestest tour guide ever!

I was promised a free dinner if I mentioned him favorably on the blog. ;-) R was a friend of a friend; he showed me around the city yesterday and we had a great time. I was hassled briefly at the Canadian border, yet again; apparently travelling in a car chock-full of crap is frowned upon when crossing borders. Go figure. I rearranged everything at the hostel so that all the wine I bought is now in the trunk and the backseat is mostly dirty clothes and empty water bottles. No hassles re-crossing the border this morning. I met R and we had sushi for lunch, then explored the Granville Island Public Market and I discovered that no one in Canada takes American Express. Boo. I suppose it's just as well, or I would have tempted to charge some native art.

The highlight of the day was dinner at Salmon House on the Hill, affording us panoramic views of the city and some amazing food and wine. I had a Dungeness crab and tomato napoleon in a green tomato consomme with avocado mousse, pan-seared halibut with a morel, corn, fava bean and asparagus succotash, gnocchi, a sweetbread beignet, and truffle cream, and the cheese plate. I fell in love with the two entree wines; I had the Laughing Stock Chardonnay from Naramata, BC and R had the Seven Stones Meritage from Similkameen Valley, BC. Both lovely, lovely wines. Unfortunately I couldn't find them for sale anywhere, not even from the bar. But the bartender did sell me a bottle of the Black Widow "Fortified Vintage One," a port-like dessert wine.

Unfortunately the magic ended as soon as I got back to the hostel, and was confronted with the world's loudest snorer. I didn't get a wink of sleep.