Monday, June 18, 2012

Rainy Saturday Adventures

It was another wet Saturday in Vancouver but I had to go out. I was making my way to Trout Lake Farmer's Market where I had an appointment with my hat maker.

I took this photo as I was crossing a street to make a bus transfer. It's not cold as you can see the gentleman in the foreground doesn't have a jacket on.

After my transfer I had to get off and walk several blocks. I don't often come to this place so I always get off too soon and end up walking too far. In the old days this wouldn't have been a problem. These days it is a bit more challenging.

As I walked down the street, I noticed that the building which is undergoing restoration is a senior's residence.


This was a rather short street with very few homes on it.  I found this modern styled home.

I liked the simple, yet effective front entry with the small garden and potted plant. The door colour is nice too!


I didn't expect to find a restaurant here just a few steps away from the modern house. It looked like a well used coffee shop.  There aren't too many coffee shops for several blocks radius since this is a residential area although I understand that there is now a coffee shop in the newly constructed Trout Lake Community Centre across the street.


I didn't have a chance to go inside the new Centre but it is newly constructed and opened in February 2012. I believe the old buildings were demolished because they probably didn't meet current building codes for fire safety.


The community centre seems to have two buildings.  You can see one in the background in the photo below.  I also noticed the interesting shrubbery in place of grass. I think it is probably to make the space more eco-friendly.



Now I am about to enter the park area. Every weekend during the farmer's market this sign is put up to let non-residents know that they are not to park in this area.


Trout Lake is set in what is known as John Hendry Park and is the only lake in Vancouver proper.  This park is a real gem. I don't get to spend much time in it but whenever I do get there I see the locals having a wonderful time. The lake itself is in a beautiful setting. One always sees mothers and dog owners, taking their children and dogs for a walk.


The little dog in the photo below was friendly. It came up to me but when it realized I had no food, it didn't stop to visit.  It just kept right on going.  His owner, the man up ahead in dark blue rain coat, was patiently calling  "Maisie", as she dawdled along at her own pace.

You can see how deep the puddles were in various places along the pathway. By the time I got to this stage of my walk, I was soaking wet.  The rain soaked through my rain coat which is not rubberized for heavy duty rainfall.


I was going to the place you see just up ahead beneath the leaves....


But first, one last look and photo of the lake and the nice walking path along the waterfront.


At last! I make it to the market but I didn't take photos of the hat lady's stall. By that time I was just too wet and was more interested in drying up a bit and trying on hats.  Sadly, she had made two hats for me but neither of them fit just right despite giving her the measurements beforehand. She has to make some adjustments and I have to wait a bit longer. *sigh. I did manage to find a new hat for my mom and got a bit of a discount even though the hat still cost a lot more than my mother would ever want to pay. I've told mom that I will take the hat if she doesn't like it.


Here is a photo showing just how much rain was accumulating.


After I left Trout Lake, I decided to go to Chinatown to buy some new medicines and get another foot reflexology treatment.  The medicines I bought last time were not doing the job. 

I also wanted to get more photos for my Namibian blogger friend, Graham.  I admit that once again I didn't get the best photos but they add to what I posted last time (you can click here for the last visit). I will of course be making future trips and hopefully at some point the weather will be nicer and show a different side to Chinatown.

The first thing that caught my eye was this red street light. The bottom of it has Chinese characters but I have no idea what is written.

This is a long view of a street. You can see at least 5 street lamps in the middle part of the photo.
I love the streets of stores in Chinatown. You will find all kinds of stores with stuff for sale out in front, on the sidewalk.  During the early part of the day these shops are very busy with older Asian people buying their daily veggies and fish for dinner.



In this store window you can see various cakes which are waiting for their customers to come and pick them up. I especially love the cakes with the fruit on top as they have fresh cream in the middles and more fruit inside.  This is what they call "Fruit Cocktail Cake". The cake itself is a chiffon cake and very light in texture.


In another part of the window, you can see what events are going on if you can read the Chinese characters on the brochures.


I always love to see all the variety of things for sale as displayed out on the sidewalk.  Some of it is medicine and some of it is food. For example, this store had all kinds of beans and dried berries out front.


I bought some goji berries (wolfberrys) to put in  my cooked oats.  These berries are called a superfood because they are supposed to be very high in antioxidants.  However as always it is good to check with your medical practitioner before taking such things. For example this berry has been known to cause problems in some cases with people taking warfarin (a blood thinner).


Some stores sell food and herbs and some strictly sell herbs; like the one in the photo below next to the Fido (phone) store. If you click on the photo you can see all the medicines and herbs in jars.


Here are some dried shrimp.


And here are some dried mushrooms. These can be reconstituted and used in your stir frys and other foods but I've only ever used dried mushrooms to date. I did not like the particular brand I bought and prefer using fresh mushrooms.



That's it for my tour of Trout Lake and Chinatown for today. I'd love to hear your comments or questions.  
I'm joining in with Our World Tuesday here. Please check in there and see what others are up to around the world.
I hope you come back soon.  Have a wonderful week ahead.

I'm 

43 comments:

  1. I am amazed that you manage to take such beautiful photos on a rainy day. I only manage wet and dreary ones!! Keep dry :) Diane

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    1. That's such a sweet comment, Diane. I often think mine look dreary too but I wanted to post about my tour since I don't get that far afield most of the time. Thanks for your visit.

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  2. Hehe Penny - it was so interesting going on your Rainy Day expedition and being able to keep my feet dry ... thanks ...

    mmm ... you'll have to go in and check-out Libby's coffee shop on another rainy one

    great to see you toting your camera everywhere and becoming an Urban Paparazzi ... :)

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    1. LOL, Graham, you did get a tour and managed to stay dry! If I am in this neighbourhood again I may have time to stop at Libby's. I am not sure how often I will get to the Farmer's Market as my hat maker won't be returning for most of the summer and has decided to open a retail shop on Vancouver Island where I seldom get to.

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  3. What a grand tour. I like taking picktures as I go along, too. It makes a story from the ordinary.

    Thanks for stopping by my place. Yes, that is a handwoven denim jeans rug. If you want to know more, visit my friend Linda's web site, http://www.itsalinda.com/

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    1. I always take my camera along with me but I don't get out much to the "touristy" places. Thank you for the web link. I will definitely check it out.

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  4. Lovely photos and an interesting tour.

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    1. Thank you Phillip. I'm glad you enjoyed the tour!

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  5. Thank you Penny I enjoyed sharing a rainy Saturday with you. I am especially enjoying the look of the herb and food shops. I would love to have the time to try cooking using diferent ingredients. Maybe you might try the dried shrimp sometime and then you can give your verdict? x

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    1. Yes, Jan. I will definitely be trying the dried shrimp and also some of the dried veggies. I think I saw the clear coloured mushrooms that were in the soup I had last week. Those were delicious.

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  6. Your pictures have come out great in spite of the rain. I tend to avoid going out in the rain here in UK as it's always cold rain...not like in India or Kenya where people run out to get wet when the rainy season starts.

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    1. Running in the warm rain sounds like fun :-)

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  7. Great tour!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  8. it's always interesting to get a glimpse from different parts of the world. I love wolfberries very much and grew up with them in Chinese herbal soups and in stews.

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    1. How wonderful that you are familiar with this berry. I'm a recent convert to them ;-)

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  9. Ah, our worlds do look so much alike -- gray and rain!! Terrific, interesting post and wonderful captures for the day! Thank you for the tour and the background! Hope you have a great week!

    Sylvia

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    1. Sylvia, since you live on the same coast as I do I can see we are sharing the rain, lol. Thank you for your visit and I hope you have a terrific week too!

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  10. I felt like I toured the city with you. I love rainy flea markets because the vendors are more willing to wheel & deal so they can sell-out & go home earlier. Take good care.

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    1. Kaybe, I'm glad you enjoyed the tour. Hopefully you will see more of my beautiful city over time. Have a wonderful week my friend, Hugs. :-)

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  11. Joyful,
    Just poping by and seeing what you're photographing. I like the tour. The picture of the puddle with the rings I really like that photo. Have a great week.

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    1. Thanks for popping by Pat and enjoying the tour. I love the puddle photo too :-)

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  12. Your description of the cake left me wishing for some. ;)
    Great pics.

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    1. Indrani, if you get a chance to try such a cake, do! It is so yummy!

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  13. Hello Joyful. Very nice pictures you show from a rainy day in Vancouver ..... Thank you for showing these beautiful pictures. Wishing you a good Tuesday. Hugs Hanne Bente

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    1. Hanne, I'm glad you enjoyed the photos. I wish you a wonderful Tuesday also. Knus, Joyful.

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  14. a fun excursion, regardless of the weather your photos were excellent. Shame about the hats! You would've been looking forward to picking your order up (better luck next time).

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    1. Thank you for your kind comment about my photos. I agree about the hats. I'd far rather they fit instead of having to wait. Thankfully the hat maker will come to my home next time to deliver as the market she will sell at is far from my home.

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  15. Enjoyed going through your nice rainy post:)Have a great day!

    Shantana

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    1. You have a nice day also. Thank you for dropping by!

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  16. Thanks for sharing your day. The rain didn't seem to spoil your shopping trip too much. Even in the dismal weather Trout park appeared to invite people to walk around and take a look.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. When it rains here we must still get out and do our thing as it rains so often! The park does seem to be a well used place esp. for dog walkers and the farmer's market is one of the most popular ones in town.

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  17. Apart from the weather I would have loved to have taken this trip and I am intrigued about your hats, hope you will share them here. :)

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    1. Lindy Lou, thanks for your visit. I'll try to remember to take a photo of the hats!

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  18. Great post and nice shots. I wish we could get some rain here!

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    1. Thank you Al. We certainly have enough rain for our city and yours! It seems it is either very hot or very wet around the glove right now.

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  19. Hi Penny, I loved your tour in the rain. Maybe you should get a more waterproof raincoat? I would have loved to see some of your hat maker's hats. How frustrating for you that she is moving further away!
    I especially enjoyed your photos of Chinatown:)

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    1. Hi there, thanks for joining the tour. I hope to share photos of the hats later. They are almost all the same! LOL

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  20. This was a marvelous tour, Penny. I feel like I traveled along with you without getting wet!

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  21. Glad you were enjoying the day, even if it was raining.

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  22. Dear Friend,
    That was wonderful!! Thank's for making your day real and colorful for people who don't live in Canada! hugs

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