I sit here, a little over 24 hours removed from returning home from a four day Canadian vacation in Vancouver, BC with my partner. I'm sad that I the vacation is over, but I'm also angry to be back home in Seattle.

While in Canada, I was mostly off of social media. I had a lot of time to enjoy my time in the city, but I also had a lot of time to take in the experience of being in Canada, and to compare and contrast things in Vancouver to things in Seattle.

I wasn't expecting to be as smitten with Vancouver in the way that I was. I wasn't expecting much to be different, since Vancouver is just a few hours north of Seattle, but it felt like a night and day difference.

I'm going to talk about what we did while in Vancouver and throw in a few key photos. All measurements will be in metric and Celsius, with the imperial and Fahrenheit units included.

All of my thoughts about Vancouver versus Seattle were originally going to be in this piece, but it ended up a bit lengthier than expected, so I will write about those separately.

Day 1 - July 2, 2026

Step Count: 12,276 - Distance Walked: 8.64km (5.37 miles)

We started off the first day of our trip at 06:00, a time of day when I'm normally dead to the world. We had spent the night before prepping for the trip, and mentally preparing ourselves for the early start time.

Our departure time wasn't until 08:30, but we arrived at King Street Station at 07:00, thinking we would need at least an hour to get through immigration before the boarding started on the Amtrak Cascade ride. Boy were we wrong.

While we waited, I made friends with an older couple local to Seattle. As it turns out, we were on the same trains to and from Vancouver. She told me that she had planned this trip over a year ago, and since then, her husband had become ill and had to learn to walk again, and modifications had to be made to their original plans. We talked for a little bit about how it was both of our first time taking the train, how excited we were, and what we were hoping to get out of the trip. I made a promise to myself that I would seek her out on our way home.

We disembarked the train at Pacific Central Station in Vancouver around 13:00 and got our first taste of Canadian air. The weather was 13°C (55°F), gloomy, overcast, and raining. We stood in a line outside of the train, uncovered, getting absolutely soaked. But I didn't care. I felt peace.

We were both worried about the immigration and customs process, both on the way to and departing from Canada. Border security at the station was incredibly relaxed, and a very easy affair. We crossed the street and boarded the Expo Line of the SkyTrain, and within 5 minutes we were in the heart of Downtown Vancouver, just a few blocks from our hotel.

Despite the weather, the city was alive with people traffic for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Vancouver was hosting the Switzerland vs Algeria match, but the streets and bars were already full at 13:30 when we were walking to our hotel, despite the game not starting until 20:00.

People from all over the globe had descended upon Vancouver, much in the same way that they had Seattle. We largely avoided the World Cup traffic in Seattle since we have stayed out of the downtown core, but with where we were staying, there was no avoiding it on our trip. It was wonderful. The energy in Vancouver was electrifying, and I felt so alive. I don't think I've ever seen so many different groups of people come together over one thing in my life.

After checking in to our hotel (early, shoutout to the staff at the Hotel Belmont on the corner of Granville and Nelson!), we decided to do a few errand type activities, such as getting some cash out of the nearest Scotiabank ABM, hitting up Shoppers Drug Mart and Nesters Market for some Canadian snacks we can't get in the states and some distilled water, and hit up Japadog for some lunch. Side note, I need to update my hot dog tracker.

The rain caused us to shift our plans a bit. We had originally planned to go to the Junction Public Market, go to the rooftop garden patio of the Vancouver Central Public Library, and walk over to Japantown. Instead, we used the tiny pocket umbrellas we picked up at Shoppers and set out to explore as much of the city as we could on foot before we tuckered out from a long day.

We went to the Vancouver Lookout Tower and, despite the cloud cover, took in the sights of the city. We peered over and watched the city move, people and cars looking like animated toys from 168 meters (553 feet) above the streets. We watched SeaBus ferries come and go from North Vancouver, and we saw as many landmarks of the city as we could from the lookout.

From there, we walked all through the Financial District, enjoyed our very first Tim Hortons, and headed back to our hotel before dinner at Big Way Hot Pot. We ate entirely way too much, and waddled the two blocks back to our hotel to settle in for the night.

Day Two - July 3, 2026

Steps Taken: 17,110 - Distance Walked: 11.99km (7.45 miles)

Knowing we had a big day ahead of us, we had a hearty breakfast, trekked back up to the Financial District, and took the 19 bus out to the Vancouver Aquarium in the heart of Stanley Park, where we spent the better part of 4 hours. There was so much to see, and it made the Seattle Aquarium look like a fish tank in comparison.

The aquarium, while lovely, was incredibly overstimulating. Luckily, I had the foresight to buy Jomi and I each a set of Loop Switch 2 earplugs, which I cannot recommend enough, and we made it through the crowds of easily excitable children mostly unscathed, and had our first poutine of the trip.

After the Aquarium, we did one of my top 3 activities of the whole trip, which was renting bikes and biking the 9km (5.6 mile) perimeter of the Stanley Park Seawall. I hadn't ridden a bike in a while, but it's true what they say. It really is as easy as riding a bike.

We interacted with some wonderful people, and the hour and some change we spent on the loop offered me a lot of time to take in the sights of Vancouver Harbor, Burrard Inlet, the English Bay, and get some wonderful views of North Vancouver and out to the beaches along Jericho Beach Park. I also had a lot of time for self reflection and to just live in the moment.

After a much deserved nap, we hopped on the Canada line and headed down to the Richmond Night Market. Thankfully, we had each gotten $100 CAD (about $70 USD) out of the ABM the day prior, and had plenty of cash to spend.

The night market seemed like it went on forever, with stalls upon stalls of people selling hand made crafts, lots of trinkets, and tons of tourist traps. I ended up with a few new keychains and accessories to put on my bag, but sadly one of them, a little plastic Labubu filled with blue liquid and star glitter, leaked all of it's liquid out the day we returned home after I put my bag down on the table slightly too hard.

We, of course, got completely lost in the food vendors. I had some lovely barbequed chicken hearts, cumin lamb, and pork tenderloin from Big Beard Super BBQ. My other items were a durian milkshake (I am a durian apologist, argue with the wall), a "sushi hot dog", and a few sweet fried bread sandwiches from a Japanese vendor, and ended up with ube cream all over my face. I got completely lost in the neon signs, taking in all of the details of each of them, and capturing them for you all.

After 4 long hours at the night market, we headed back to the hotel, and immediately crashed for the night, not even bothering to take a shower. On to the next day.

Day 3 - July 4, 2026

Steps Taken: 16,824 Distance Walked: 11.17km (6.94 miles)

After breakfast, we wasted no time heading out for our adventures for the day. We hopped on the Canada line, and headed south.

First stop, the Bloedel Conservatory, nestled in the center of Queen Elizabeth Park. I can't even begin to describe the beauty that I saw here. It was so surreal, existing even just for a moment, in this tropical paradise inside this glass dome in the middle of the Pacific Northwest.

I've seen plants here that I've never seen before. We entered after two women and a small group of children, and an older couple from Germany, and I became their unofficial group photo taker. It brought me joy to do something so small like that, being able to capture moments like this for complete strangers.

After Bloedel Conservatory, we took a (very leisurely) stroll around Queen Elizabeth Park. I may be wrong, but this was the first time I saw the Canadian flag waving up high. We were able to see straight from the park all the way to Downtown Vancouver, about 4km (about 2.5 miles) away from outside of the Conservatory. I stared off into the city for what felt like forever. We took several breaks, and planned our next move, the VanDusen Botanical Gardens. But first, lunch!

After a lunch (of course with a Diet Coke) that honestly revitalized me in ways I didn't know I needed, we set off on our trek around the 55 acre VanDusen Botanical Gardens. Thankfully, no map was needed, as there was a clearly marked self guided tour.

We made our way along the southern edge of the Gardens and over to the Learning Garden and the Maze, where I, for the first time in all of our outdoor adventures thus far, thought to myself to put on sunscreen. Dear reader: it was too late for all that.

Jomi made short work of the maze, and was able to have a little sit down while I meandered through and got lost. He told me when I finally made my way out and saw him sitting at the top of the small auditorium area that he knew when I made it to the center of the maze because he could see the top of my bright red shining bald head.

Shortly after this, I noticed some stinging pain in my right foot with every step I took. We found a bench and I sat down and took off my shoe and sock, and low and behold, the sheer friction of my toes rubbing together had broken skin, and I had been actively bleeding out in my sock for god knows how long. Not great!

After some light nursing, we continued our trek through VanDusen, again seeing plants that I'd only ever seen photos of. Afterwards, we took the bus back in to the city, stopped at Shoppers to pick up some first aid supplies, and went back to the hotel to freshen up before what was one of the most influential part of the trip for me personally.

The targeted ads really got to us with this one. Dinner reservations for Saturday night were made at Dark Table, a dining concept where the entire dining room is in complete and total, can't see your hand an inch in front of your face, pitch black darkness. The servers are all either fully blind or visually impaired. No lights at all were allowed in the dining room, all light emitting devices had to be turned off or kept away. We were both really excited for the experience, but also were both a bit nervous.

This dining experience, developed by a blind Swiss man named Jorge Spielmann, and originally hosted in his home where he would blindfold guests, is intended to allow sighted people to experience what it's like for blind people to do something as simple as eating.

We started off this experience by placing our order with the hostess, who was stationed outside of the restaurant. We selected the 3 course meal option, with an additional appetizer, so effectively four courses. All courses of the meal, save from your main, are unknown to you and are selected by the restaurant staff, with the option to also make your main an unknown dish. I opted to go in with full mystery, and let the restaurant decide my main for me.

After putting in our order, our server, a man named Joe, came out to greet us. He guided us into a small vestibule of sorts that was completely dark, save for a dim red light in the center of the ceiling. He instructed me to put my hands on his shoulders, and my partner to do the same with me, and after letting us put all of our light emitting devices in our bag, he opened the door and led us in complete darkness to our table.

Joe gave us a moment to get accustomed to our new lack of sight, asked us to get a physical feel for the size of the table, and asked us to reach across the table to establish contact with one another. Shortly afterwards, he brought us our silverware and our drinks, and explained to us that they were to stay in the same spots on the table throughout the dining experience: drinks to our left, flatware to our right.

I was not at all prepared for the shock of being able to see absolutely not a single thing. I could feel the parts of my brain that were dedicated to sight slowly shutting down and making way for my other senses to take over. Even though everyone in the dining area was talking to each other at what I would consider below inside voices, I could hear every word of every conversation at every table.

I had absolutely zero sense of the size or scale of the dining room. It simultaneously micro and macroscopic. In moments of silence, I felt as if I was the only person in the room, having a solitary experience, while in conversation, I felt like my partner was speaking directly into my ears.

Our first course was served swiftly, and each course was served in quick succession.

With each course, I started by lifting the plate to my face and giving each dish a good sniff. This didn't work out well for me, because I already have a poor sense of smell, but having the lack of sight allowed me to be able to smell things that I normally couldn't.

After smell came touch, which got a little messy at times. Using my left hand, I would slowly and methodically work my way around the dish, feeling each different part of the dish to determine texture and size of the different aspects of the dish.

After touch came taste. I would go back to touch, starting with the smaller ingredients and working my way up, getting them on my fork, and bringing them to my mouth. I chewed slowly, letting every part of the dish completely take over my mouth.

While we were experiencing this, we were in active discussions about what we thought we were eating, each of us going back and forth debating what was in our mouths. Whenever the door to the vestibule opened, the sudden intrusion of the red light was as if there was a laser being shone directly into my eyes.

In the middle of our dessert course, a large group of maybe six to eight people entered the dining room, and everything went downhill for me. All of the members of this group were screaming in shock of the darkness of the space, and my sense of hearing was completely overwhelmed. I started panicking, but luckily I was able to reach in to my bag and pull out my Loop earplugs, and was able to drown out some of the chatter.

The panic didn't stop there, however. I was suddenly reminded that, in just a few short minutes, I would need to transition from darkness to full daylight, with all of the visual stimuli that a city suffers from. I had a full on panic attack, and even in the darkness of the dining room, I closed my eyes and began crying through eyes that were closed tight.

Shortly afterwards, Joe came over and gathered us up to head to the payment area, where thankfully I was afforded the dim light from the kitchen in order to get accustomed to sight again. As we headed back in to the outside world, a couple was with the hostess, and asked us about our experience. I wiped the tears from my eyes and raved about the experience and how it had changed me.

Knowing what we were getting ourselves in to, I wanted to play a fun little game, and brought a small notebook and pen into the dining room to take notes on what I thought I was eating. I had a system: each page would be one course, and I would keep track of where I was on the page by counting and remembering which ring of the notebook I had previously written next to. While we were paying, the staff read off what each course was. I went back to my notes, and gave myself a pat on the back. I was about 85% there.

After a second dessert stop at Tutto Belle, where I seriously contemplated whether or not I would be able to adapt to life in the event I lost my vision, we headed back to the hotel, and called it an evening.

Day 4 - July 5, 2026

Steps Taken: 11,142 Distance Walked: 7.83km (4.87 miles)

Our final day in Vancouver. I won't spend too much time on this day since it was shorter and was filled with dread for the simple fact of having to go back to life, and back home to Seattle, which meant unfortunately going back to America.

After expending some pent up frisk from all of the activity from the previous days, we headed down for breakfast, came back to the room, showered, packed up, and said goodbye to our temporary home.

After we checked out, we were able to leave our bags with the concierge, and did some last minute exploring of the city. Brasil was playing against Norway in the FIFA World Cup, and the streets were alive with Brazilian funk. We went for one last Tim Hortons run, and stopped at Big Way Hot Pot (again) for lunch.

Before heading back to the hotel to pick up our bags and head towards Pacific Central to board the Amtrak back home, we sat down in Robson Square, and reflected briefly on our time in Vancouver, and promised to come back sooner rather than later. I soaked up the sounds of the city, sucked in as much Canadian air as I could, and it was time to make for home.

At Pacific Central, I found the friend that I had made before our departure. We shared stories of our trip, and even though there were decades between us, we each had a child like joy in recounting our journeys. Shoutout to you, Mariam. You will never know what an impact you had on my experience in Vancouver, and on my life in general.

I felt a new lease on life, and made a promise to myself that I would have never made 20, even 10 years ago.

I would go on living. I would experience everything around me in ecstasy. I would see the world. And I have the perfect partner to experience all of that with.