Room With A View: Vancouver!

Sea plane landing in Coal Harbour Vancouver

Yes, I’ve been in Vancouver for the last couple of days! Lisa of Privilege and I came up to visit Frances (Materfamilias) who lives here. We’re heading back home today, and it’s been a fabulous trip!

Susan B. of une femme d'un certain age with fellow bloggers Lisa and Frances

Frances and Paul hosted us for dinner at their apartment our first night in, and the following day took us on a grand tour of Vancouver. We stopped at at Jericho Beach park, where I accidentally snapped this photo as I was putting my camera away….

Frances and Lisa at Jericho Beach Park in Vancouver

but I liked it so decided not to delete it.

We spent some time at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC which houses a spectacular collection of First Nations art and artifacts. It was a truly moving experience.

First Nations exhibit at Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver

First Nations exhibit at Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver

First Nations canoe detail

Tactile interaction with some of the exhibit pieces (like the canoe above) is not only allowed but encouraged.

Salmon sculpture fountain at Museum of Anthropology Vancouver

I loved this modern sculpture with the salmon eggs represented by the orange balls.

gorgeous blooms in Vancouver

I’ve just been drinking in the landscape here. It’s so beautiful, green and lush. Such a change from dry Southern California! Yes, we had some rain too, but didn’t mind at all.

Susan B. of une femme d'un certain age with friend and fellow blogger Frances

We did some walking around the Commercial Drive neighborhood, and stopped to enjoy some craft beers. Frances and her husband were wonderful hosts and tour guides.

And yesterday, we met up with the fabulous Melanie of Bag and a Beret! After a lengthy philosophical discussion over coffee, she took us on a walking tour of some her favorite style inspiration spots.

Shopping at Holt Renfrew with Lisa, Susan B. and Melanie

Above, Lisa tries on a sale sweater while Melanie and I play Paparazzi.

Bloggers Lisa, Susan B. and Melanie meet up in Vancouver

We’ve had some fabulous meals too, and it’s been such a pleasure to spend time in the company of such fun, intelligent, creative, supportive women! I wish we all lived closer so we could do this on a regular basis.

Do you ever take “girls’ trips” with your friends?

Stay in touch

Sign up to be notified of new posts and updates from une femme d’un certain âge.

Affiliate links in posts may generate commissions for unefemme.net. See my complete disclosure policy here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

41 Comments

  1. Nice!!! To be honest, the only girl I enjoy traveling with is my daughter, Oona. Other than that, I’m a loner or just want to travel with Bonaparte or my sons. In fact, Bonaparte and I are leaving for France in a few hours! Great pics and you piqued my interest about Vancouver!!

  2. I enjoy travelling with women friends as my husband is not much of a traveller. I’m visiting New York with my daughter and a friend in September. UBC is a great place to visit and Museum of Anthropology is great for its “hand-on” approach. It looks as though you had fun.

  3. What fun, you guys! Wish I had been there. Culture, philosophy, fashion, great food…. and lots of yakking…lots… I’m sure. Sounds like a perfect trip.

  4. Girlfriend trips are the best!!! I thoroughly enjoy spending time with girlfriends both old and new and exploring a fun city, shopping, eating, and chatting. . . Well that’s what life is all about, right???
    So glad to hear you were able to spend time with Melanie, isn’t she wonderful!
    Now I’m just hoping someday I’ll be able to meet up with you as well.

  5. I follow all your blogs, just never leave comments, I guess I’m often content/inspired with what I’ve read so much so that I’m left without anything to add, but plenty to think about. But seeing the three of you together – I just had to say how wonderful! Oh, to have been a fly on the wall – I imagine you’ve had some great talks 🙂

  6. Sorry we couldn’t showcase more spectacular weather for you – Vancouver on a sunny day is the very best! Glad you had time to visit – how fun.

  7. I was just discussing this with my husband. I have never gone on a girls trip, with exception of traveling for business with a female colleague (does that count?). I have never wanted to go on one, though I have lots of friends who invite me to join them. I reason it’s because I never had a sister. I enjoy traveling as couples with friends.

  8. So wonderful to open up your blog and see that you were visiting Vancouver. Glad you enjoyed our amazing city. Perhaps one day you will venture to Kelowna! Girls trips are the absolute best! Teri

  9. Oh my goodness – you ARE in Vancouver.I could have sworn I spotted you yesterday out of the corner of my eye as I was driving by( your distinctive blonde,adorable hair) but I thought- no couldn’t be.
    Sorry about all of the rain!

  10. Oh, I wish I’d known you were going! I would have sent you to my friend Julia’s shop, Urbanity, which specializes in the most wonder Scandinavian designs. Very contemporary, with a splendid Nordic flair.

    1. Thanks for that tip. I will check them out on my visit in August. The cardigans look wonderful.

  11. Girlfriend getaways are wonderful!! And this one looked like a hit. You’ve inspired me and my husband to put Vancouver on our “soon to visit” list. it looks wonderful. The green and lush landscapes are so inviting. I love our Southern California climate, but love getting away, too, to different ones. Thanks for sharing!

  12. I thought that post from yesterday with the Laduree looked like Holt’s shoe heaven! I am glad you have had such a good time in my city! Personally I am hoping for better weather as it’s enough rain already but glad you didn’t mind.
    Come back again soon.

  13. So lovely to know you were here! Frances clearly picked some great spots for you to visit. And Jennifer, from A Well-styled Life was just here last week, and has moved on to the Okanagan…..hmmmm…..is a gathering of bloggers a blogfest? Is Vancouver becoming a blogfest hot spot? I love it!

  14. Love this. Vancouver is an amazing city and the anthropology museum, with its sky high ceilings and windows, showcases the art perfectly. Watch the sun go down at Sunset Beach in the West End. As for girlfriend trips, just went to wine taste with a bestie in Paso Robles area of central California. So many great little towns along that hwy 101/46 west corridor, coastal and inland, along with gorgeous country roads, perfect food and wine, interesting characters, great stories, vineyard dogs – highly recommend.

  15. I’ve been following your blog for a while and always enjoy the post on your travels! DH and I will be in Vancouver in July for several days pre-cruise. Can you give a couple of restaurant suggestions? Also, I’m having the hardest time finding the perfect tan shoulder bag/crossbody that will go with everything and be both chic and functional, (large enough to carry DSLR). Trying to stick to your 15 piece plus accessories travel wardrobe…it’s proving to be a challenge! Thanks for sharing your adventures and your fabulous style!

  16. Girlfriend trips are wonderful, i recommend them highly (Vancouver was one such trip a few years ago). I also like solo travel, I think women should do more of it. And I love traveling with my husband. Different companions make for different types of adventures.

  17. Your all look great. I’ve gone on many trips with my college buddy. We met 56 years ago when we were sophomores. Mediterranean cruise was the best!

  18. Lovely – the three bloggers who have done most to guide me into my fifties, and soon my sixties! Glad to hear that you had such a lovely time together. The last time I went on a trip with a girlfriend, our travel styles didn’t exactly mesh, from her arrival in the departure lounge just as I was getting into the line to board, to opening the hotel window (March in Berlin!) at 3 am when she got up to go to the bathroom! We are still friends, but I prefer to travel with my husband! :0)

    1. Ha, I had a similar experience touring Boston with a friend in my 30’s….we were both still single. She was a go-getter, and I wanted a more leisurely pace. The things you learn. I’d love to do another girlfriend trip, now…

  19. Perfect post. Headed to Paris on Wednesday to meet up with my best friend, who lives there. Eagerly anticipating spending five glorious days with her and our (collective) three daughters.

  20. Just read your post. I’ve been in Vancouver for three days visiting my son. We just got back from the Museum of Anthropolgy. Most fascinating. Sorry I’ve not run into on the streets. Glad you’re stay here was fun!! It is gorgeous this time of year. Even in the rain yesterday.

  21. My best friend and I loved to holiday together (her fella was a homebody, content to drop us at the airport). She let me plan our trips – Vancouver, New Orleans, Cuba – as I found that enormous fun and she didn’t. She gave me a card once that said “even though I should know better by now, I’m right behind you.”
    We lost her to cancer in 2010; I can still feel her company when I travel, a gentle presence ‘right behind me’.

    1. I have a few different groups of gals I travel with regularly; my college sorority sisters, my tennis friend who lives a few doors down the street, and my best friend from high school. All of the trips build on and renew my relationships with the women in my life. My husband travels for business (a lot) and is happy when I “get out of dodge” and leave him home alone. I love to travel and he MUST travel, so this keeps both of us happy…

  22. What fun! I follow all of you guys … so smart, each of you. Thanks for all your keystrokes over the years. Funny how intimacy builds with folks you haven’t met in “real life” yet. You’ve added real value to my daily life. Thanks again.

  23. How fun – all of you together in Vancouver. Glad my city put its best foot forward.
    Girl trips are the best. We do one yearly (different places) with about 12 of us “goyles” and it is always great.
    Suz from Vancouver

  24. So happy to see you had a chance to visit our glorious city, weather notwithstanding! It sounds like you have quite a few fans out here. Hopefully next time you get out here the weather will be more cooperative, but then you’d never want to leave.

  25. Vancouver is a beautiful city, with so much to offer. It was a joy to open up your post this morning and find you visiting us.

  26. I had been wanting to meet you for quite a while and how happy I was to be included in this latest trip up to Vancouver with Lisa! I had such a great time laughing and plotting and discussing philosophy with you three over coffee and nibblers at Thierry, and then shopping. The time went by FAR too quickly. There was so much left unsaid, which I hope can be picked up next time. Hugs.

    Yes, it seems Vancouver IS becoming the blogger hotspot!

  27. How wonderful to see ALL of you here! That’s a lot of style in one post. I love a good girls trip… I have one planned for October to NY. I’m hoping to see you in Paris too! xx

  28. Seems like a wonderful trip! I’ve done a couple of “girls” trips, occasionally even with people I hardly knew except through blogs. Great fun.