I took this Vancouver night photo last night on our walk back ‘home’ to the Listel Hotel. We were walking back after taking in The Love List at the Vancouver Playhouse. There are only two nights left for this show, but if you get a chance…please go. It was hilarious. I’ve never heard of Norm Foster before but I’m going to be looking for his plays from now on. What great lines and a very interesting concept. What happens if you make the list of the best qualities you desire in a mate and then that person shows up in your life? Clever. Sort of that cautionary theme to, Be Careful What You Wish For.

We started the night at Cibo. I love going to the little bar Uva at the Moda Hotel and we thought we should try the adjoining restaurant. OMG. Loved the free-run veal with the roasted Thumbalina carrots. And really, doesn’t roasted Thumbalinas almost sound more cruel than veal? At least the baby veal got some free running done.  Whatever that means.

But, these stumpy little carrots didn’t have a chance. Why do things snatched in their thumbalina phase taste so good? Know this, I am very aware that ‘something has to die so that I can live’. I loved that line in the film Departures and it is the truth of our existence. Even for vegans. Those carrots have to be pulled up people. No one gets off the hook on this one salient fact of life. But I think I’m heading off in another direction again…oops.

So. We finished the night with a glass of Sumac Ridge sparkling wine for me and a glass of Cote du Rhone for Kevin in O’Douls. I know I mentioned this already, but jazz every night? Where else does that happen in Vancouver? And O’Doul’s has been a jazz scene for decades.  The Alita Dupray Trio provided a velvet-voiced nightcap to a great evening. Date night. Highly recommended…

Now, you can go ahead and call me shallow but here’s one of those picky things that help me rate a hotel – separate shampoo and conditioner. I really hate the ‘conditioning shampoo’ that some places try to get away with. That should be reserved for those foil packets in motels with paper bathmats. Seriously. In upscale joints, it’s nice to have real products. Not to mention free WiFi. You have my heart when you don’t make me punch in some convoluted password and pay a fee to access the webbie world that I’m so hooked in to. 

Now, if they’d just add another hook or two in the bathroom, life would be perfect. Though with a tub like we had here, maybe I can give that requirement up. I fear that with stays like this, I might be ruined for rough hostel-style travel forevermore.  

And so, it’s time to check out. One last walk-through to view some of the art that is displayed everywhere and then back to a different reality. A good one for sure, but one that is most assuredly without room service.