The second destination was the Vancouver Christmas Market. It is based on the Christmas Markets in Germany. It is located by the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on W. Georgia St by Canada Post, CBC and the main library in downtown. It was quite neat in there. All the stands are uniform and made from wood. It has a very cozy, intimate market atmosphere. There are stands that sell toys, clothing, Christmas ornaments and food.
There was a gazebo in the center of the market which is the stage with performers. While we were there, there was a group that played percussion instruments playing Christmas music. After them, there was trio of women singing acapella Christmas songs. It brought a vibrant energy to the market.
One item we tried was the "Brataepfel” (the stuffed baked apples, a traditional German Christmas dessert, served hot with vanilla). In the picture above was the man stuffing the apple before baking them. The one we had was stuffed with walnuts and raisins then topped with hot vanilla. It was quite good and sweet. It was the first time I tried something like that. I would eat it again.
We had a small snack and drink. We had a bratwurst. It was very expensive. It was $8 for a bratwurst. But it was filled with their special onion-like topping. It was good. It was getting a bit chilly and I wanted to drink something warm. We had the hot apple cider. It was tasty with the stick of cinnamon.
After eating the food and listening to the Christmas jingles, we spotted Mr and Mrs Gingerbread. I have never met them before and I was excited to meet them. They are so cute. They were at the kids tent taking pictures with them. I had to squish myself in for a picture with them. After the Christmas Market, we were early for our dinner. We decided to stroll downtown. There was the Woodwards window display we wanted to see and the Hyatt's Gingerbread competition.
Some of my friends and I went to the Hyatt Hotel lobby last year where they had the gingerbread house 'competition'. We walked by the Hyatt this year and decided to see if the competition this year. The competition had different divisions against different schools / organizations / groups. There were many schools that competed. They all did a fantastic job. Some of them paid so much attention to detail, it was pretty incredible. It was a very visually stimulating experience. You can donate some money to the Make a Wish foundation and vote for your favourite gingerbread 'house'.
The Woodwards window displays were scattered at a few different downtown locations. There are six all together. The first we saw was at the Vancouver Christmas Market. We were heading to Gastown for dinner. Our strategy was to see the ones at Bentall One and Bentall Three, BC Ferries Vacations, Canada Place then Woodwards last. The window displays were smaller than I expected. It was a lot of effort to see something so small. I think it would've looked better together.
Our last destination was the Long Table Series. They served roast beef, yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes and carrots that night. Ummmm it was soooo delicious, as usual. There was a group of 5 of us. I finished my plate before everyone else. It is super rare that I finish my food before my friends. It has only happened twice and both times were at a Long Table Series dinner. I love going to the Long Table Series because the food is fantastic, the company is good (I usually bring some friends and usually meet some new ones at dinner) and it's cheap (it was $17 for the entree and beer). Of course, after dinner we ordered some dessert. We shared 3 desserts. It was the perfect amount of food for me.
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