Vancouver Trip (Day 1)

Saturday 9/1: SMF > YVR + Catfe
We had a late morning 11:35am flight, so I was able to fit in my usual Saturday long swim before we left for our extended Labor Day holiday long weekend trip to Vancouver, British Columbia. The direct flight on Air Canada is just under 2 hours, so we landed in the early afternoon and had a very smooth passage through customs before finding our way to the Skylink Train to travel from the airport to our hotel in downtown. We exited at the Vancouver City Centre station and walked about 7 blocks to the Sheraton Wall Centre on Burrard Street. The hotel has two towers that face a lovely courtyard area with a fountain and flowers and is across the street from two churches, another hotel, and a hospital.

Thanks to Mr. E's status with SPG (especially after the merger with Marriott), we had an upgraded corner room on the 26th floor of the north tower with amazing views out over the city, towards the ocean and the mountains. We also had access to the Club Lounge on the 25th floor of the south tower, which had an equally amazing view plus a lovely outdoor terrace.

After unpacking, we stopped at the Starbucks on the lobby level of the south tower for lunch and then headed off towards Chinatown for our 5pm appointment at the Catfe, located in the International Village shopping center. The Catfe hosts adoptable cats from several of the nearby SPCA organizations, and people can visit with the "moggies" for 50 minutes at a time. We were a bit early for our reservation, so we did some souvenir shopping and then checked in at the Catfe, where I bought some additional cat-themed items and we each purchased a cold beverage to enjoy during our visiting time with the kitties. The location is beautiful, with large windows overlooking the street and providing great places for the cats (and their human visitors) to hang out.

As we walked to and from the Catfe, we admired again much of the architecture around Vancouver, including the nearby Chinatown Gate, the juxtaposition of some First Nations ornamentation on top of a modern building, and some cool public art.

Once we got back to the hotel, we enjoyed the "heavy appetizers" in the Club Lounge for dinner after picking up a bottle of Inniskillin Cabernet at Wall Centre Fine Wine, where we received a 10% discount as hotel guests. We finished up the evening at Bar One in the lobby, where Mr. E lingered a bit while I went up to the room for some wine, daily yoga practice, and reading.