We stopped first at what we thought was a nice sports bar with decent food and great beer, but it turned out to not be showing the Copa match, so after downing a couple of homemade pizzas and a pint or two, off we went on a tour of the city and in search of someplace that would be showing the match.
The below-linked video shows the highlights of our trip through the city, but doesn't quite capture the embodiment or the vibe of Vancouver, so I'll add a few pointers.
The video starts off with us driving into the area near the main football stadium, where the World's Fair must have been hosted years ago, as well as probably some events from the Olympics. We parked in a nearby parking garage and hit the road on foot. We passed a bunch of skateboarders demonstrating their skills for passers-by and then we got our first real whiff of the city - Cannabis is legal north of the border and there were certainly parts of Vancouver that made you feel like you've been kidnapped by Snoop Dogg or Cheech and Chong.
As seen in the video, we encountered quite a few "weed establishments" where it looked like you could hang out and weed-out all day. Classic.
Walking closer to the center of town, we spotted Vancouver's own Space Needle towering high above the surrounding buildings, so we headed there, taking in some very impressive architecture along the way. We passed through a park where everyone seemed to be gathered to - you guessed it - smoke that cannabis. On every other street corner you could find evidence and conversations of people who have been smoking weed all day, too - very amusing.
Especially comical was the bit of graffiti on a wall in the park reading, "Too Many Humans." I could only imagine how many humans that guy (or gal) was seeing after smoking in the park all day. We both got a good chuckle out of that one - and of the side-by-side establishments, one titled "Food" and the other "Drink." Coming up with those names must have been hilarious for the owners who were probably making it simple for the weeded-out groups that likely frequent those joints (see what I did there?).
After buying our tickets to the top of the 'Needle' - very reasonably priced, by the way - we zipped up the glass elevator and got a bird's-eye, 360 degree view of this impressive city and its surrounding areas. Each viewing point had a historical blurb to describe what we were seeing, including information of a city-wide fire that left only two buildings standing at one point in the city's history.
Looking down from the tower, we captured an airplane landing in the water - always pretty cool - and a slew of both modern and historical building designs, just blocks apart.
This city glows with elegance. Very, very impressive.
Moving through the town, we found a pizza place/sports bar with a TV that took up the entire wall. We settled in at this point to catch Team USA become the latest victim of Messi's legendary football play; disappointing, but the couple of beers for the bro and a glass of wine or two for myself made it an enjoyable event, nonetheless.
Another nice touch of Vancouver was its similarity to European culture. While sitting there watching the game, a group of about 25 high-school age kids rolled in and took over the whole back corner and chowed down on pizza and soda while taking in the match and surely discussing the drama of the day at school (probably sounded something like who took the best selfies in the bathroom mirrors and how the teacher know nothing) - but it was a refreshing touch, as strict laws regarding drinking establishments in America disallow the mingling of generations. In Europe (and Canada, it seems) it's routine to see entire families of all ages hanging in a pub, eating dinner and socializing together.
Following the match, we strolled through the shopping district. As the video will show, I had to highlight the MAC cosmetics and Nordstrom stores since the wifey loves swiping cards in those places and is a MAC makeup artist. The food options were even more attractive and with all the delicious options available to us - you see us stop at a curbside vendor for the street dogs - they were so money.
At one point in our stroll, we passed an area where a TV show or a movie was being shot; a couple of police cars were on set as an actress and actor engaged in deep discussion after the cue of "Action!" I couldn't figure out which program or movie it might be from a quick Google search, but the real entertainment was provided by the guy standing next to us, anyway. He must have been mid-twenties or so and he was taking in the filming when he turned to us with a devilish, but gleeish grin and said, "Duuuuuddddeeeeee. How cool would it be to go punch that cop down there because (on the set) he's not a real cop only an actor and you wouldn't even get in trouble for punching a cop because he's not a real cop! But you can say you punched a cop!!!! DDDuuuuuudddeeee!!!!"
Sure enough we looked up and we were standing right next to yet another "Buy Your Legal Weed Here!" establishment, where this guy was no doubt hanging all day.
Anyway, take a look at the video below, and enjoy a few minutes compilation of our day in the "Good Life."
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