Sometimes it still feels like being on vacation, discovering new things all the time. In Gastown, close to Water Street, is a tiny alley I bumped into on my way to my first appointment:
According to legend, Blood Alley was the location for a number of butcher shops. At the end of each day they would be rinsed out resulting in the inevitable blood in the street. As if that was not enough they used to hold public executions in Blood Alley Square.
The snow we'd been promised was but a light dusting of powder that dissipated upon touching the sidewalk. Still, it made a cozy café visit all the more enjoyable over at Blake's Coffee Parlour…
Not quite downtown, not quite East Van, Gastown and Water Street (its main street) are filled with restaurants, boutiques, tourist shops and bars. A hip and urban crowd, with a smattering of homeless people walking the streets (and inside the cafés. I was approached by two within half an hour).
After my rather successful meetings, I headed to the Vancouver Hyatt Regency to check out the Gingerbread Lane and a 14 foot high, six feet wide Gingerbread Man. He is the undisputed Guinness World Record holder, baked with 100 kgs of flour, 1.6 kg each of salt and baking soda, 20 kg each of sugar, molasses and shortening, 1.6 kg of nutmeg and 4 kg of ginger! Just imagine the pan needed to bake him as well.
Here's a couple more photos taken of the displays…
