Before we boarded our overnight train ride from Vancouver to Jasper, my mom and I had about 24 hours to explore Vancouver. This bustling city by the sea stole my heart about 8 years ago when Bob and I visited for a conference.  I was excited to show my mom around Granville Island, walk around Stanley Park and test our fear of heights at Capilano Suspension Bridge.

Walking around Vancouver: We probably walked the length of the island- I mean, we didn’t but it felt like that! My legs were super sore the day afterwards (good thing we were on a train and couldn’t really do much!) Our Canada By Design contact, sent us a list of her favorite restaurants and shops and we basically just criss crossed to all the hip neighborhoods before making our way to Stanley Island.

I think walking around the city really helped us get our bearings and allowed us to stumble upon spots we might have missed.

We also walked around the whole day with our raincoat and umbrella- like a true local!

Stanley Island was such a treat and as luck would have it the rain stopped as we crossed over the bridge.

Granville Island and Capilano Suspension Bridge were super fun- and the best part was we finally met up with our travel partners in crime, Kristin and her mom Jeanie! The gang was all together!