Vancouver Value Pack

My daughter and I are sitting in a sidewalk cafe on Robson Street, nursing cups of cappuccino and eating croissants on a sunny, crisp spring morning. I am watching Meera, verging on 16, cast an appreciative glance at an “incredibly fine Canadian man” walking past our table.

We are here because of a whim and a Web deal, an air fare so good that I feel I’m saving money even as I spend it: $99 round trip per person, plus taxes, from LAX on Alaska Airlines.

Of course, there were restrictions: I had to purchase the tickets right away, and they were nonrefundable, nontransferable, nonchangeable, non-everything. We had to leave that Saturday, and return the following Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Not a problem, I thought. I had my passport, vacation time and no plans for the weekend.

I had found the fare by accident two days before, on Thursday, while surfing the Web. On the Best Fares Web site (https://www.bestfares.com) news desk page, there was a notice about Alaska Airlines Web deals. Following the link to the Alaska Airlines site (https://www.alaskaair.com), I double-clicked on “Hot Web Fares,” one way the airline sells “distressed seats” that have not yet sold as a flight nears its departure date. A menu there asked me to choose my departure city. I clicked on Los Angeles, pressed “continue,” and on my screen appeared a list of fares, departure and arrival dates between L.A. and various other cities.

I picked Vancouver because Meera wanted to see Canada; one of her favorite singers, Joni Mitchell, is from there. (If you have a teenager, you’ll understand.) I could choose from two departure times: 7 a.m. or 4 p.m. I clicked on 7 a.m. because I don’t like arriving in an unknown city after dark. For our return flight, I had far more choices, and picked 5 p.m. on Tuesday, figuring that it would give us an extra day in the city. After supplying credit card information, name, address and telephone number, I was given a confirmation code for our electronic tickets, details of our flight and assigned seats.

*

Air tickets bought, I had to find a hotel. For that I logged on to the Expedia site, https://expedia.com. (I had an Expedia user name and password set up; first-timers have to establish an account.) The Expedia Hotel Wizard menu asked for my price range, and promptly spit out a list of hotels within it. I settled on the Barclay because of its price and location on Robson Street, downtown Vancouver’s prime shopping street. But I couldn’t reserve a room through the Internet. For that, I relied on an old-fashioned instrument: the telephone.

This was a trip I hadn’t planned on or budgeted for, and my goal was to spend no more than $700 for two (including souvenirs) for the entire four days. We made it within budget, helped by the then-exchange rate of $1.40 Canadian to $1 U.S. The city helped, too, with “child” and “youth” admissions to museums, gardens and other tourist sites. All Meera had to do was to flash her school ID.

We didn’t rent a car, opting to walk or use the easy-to-maneuver-on BC Transit system. To pinch even more pennies, we bought transit passes that allowed travel around the city for $4.28 per adult per day, $2.85 for youths.

*

It was a chilly, drizzly Saturday morning when we landed in Vancouver and made our way to the Barclay. It had an attractive polished marble lobby, a ritzy touch that did not extend into its slightly dowdy rooms. A caveat: Inspect your room before checking in. Still, the Barclay’s off-season price--less than $50 for two in a big city, including a 10% AAA discount--was a good value, and its location on Robson Street couldn’t be beat.

The street is a mix of chain stores, small boutiques and restaurants--”the Rodeo Drive of Vancouver,” the hotel clerk called it. But I found it much more downscale and affordable than Beverly Hills.

The sun was out when Meera and I awoke from our post-arrival naps, and, energized by being in a gleaming city of glass skyscrapers, we walked to Gastown--full of cobblestone streets and turn-of-the-century brick buildings housing antiques and tourist shops, restaurants and galleries. We paused a few times to peer over the shoulders of sketching artists, and watched clowns and street musicians. We ducked into a Starbucks (Vancouver seems to have one on every street corner) just outside Gastown’s centerpiece, an ornate steam clock that, on the hour, renders an off-key version of Big Ben’s tune. I found its mechanics fascinating, but Meera, with her worldly teen air, rolled her eyes.

On to a more sophisticated pastime, dining, and for that I loosened the purse strings. We chose CinCin Ristorante, on Robson, stumbling distance from our hotel. Good thing too, because it was at CinCin that I discovered the unsubtle appeal of martinis. Meera discovered yet another handsome Canadian lad--our waiter, who, when she expressed a desire for asparagus, squatted beside her and said: “We’re here to please you.” Meera beamed and blushed.

Day 2, we woke to a downpour. Just as well that Meera had chosen the Vancouver Art Gallery for our outing. After strolling through an exhibit of Chinese brush paintings, we came upon a room where museum volunteers were demonstrating the techniques of Chinese master painters. We happily spent an hour and reams of paper on our creations. For a $3.60 donation, we came away with meaningful souvenirs.

Continuing our artsy day, we boarded a bus for Granville Island, across False Creek from downtown. We poked around artists’ studios tucked into gaudy corrugated steel warehouses, and enjoyed ice cream and a distinctly Canadian treat, maple sugar candies, at a public market filled with fresh produce and other delicacies.

We finished the day at an Indian restaurant, Vij’s, just south of Granville, which turned out to be worth the extra bus ride. Modern collages by a Canadian Indian artist decorated its walls, and the cuisine was unlike any that I’ve had in Indian restaurants or at home. “Fusion Indian,” Vij’s genial owner and chef, Vikram Vij, called it, when he stopped by our table to chat. Our meals were delicious. I started with a jackfruit couscous curry, and my lamb in fennel and tamarind was succulent and wonderfully and unusually spiced.

Vancouver’s large immigrant population has livened up not only the cuisine. Everywhere we wandered we saw evidence of the city’s Pacific and Asian outlook, from the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Chinatown and the Korean pavilion at VanDusen Botanical Gardens to the artwork we saw hanging in Vij’s, the Vancouver Art Gallery and on Granville Island.

*

As Vancouver’s unusual sunny streak continued into our third and fourth days, we took advantage of the clear skies to explore its heights and the gardens the city is famous for. We took a cable car ride to the top of 3,700-foot-high Grouse Mountain, where Meera and I rented ice skates ($2.85 each), and whiled away a couple of hours making circles on a small pond.

It was late April, and the gardens were a floral spectacle. We stopped at Stanley Park and Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden. But VanDusen captivated us because it has an English hedge maze that we lost ourselves in. Then, tired from running around, we soaked up the early evening sun like lizards on a park bench. (One surprise: The sun sets later at this latitude, and it was light outdoors past 8:30.)

Day 4 dawned, and with a start I realized that there were lots of places we didn’t get to. It’s a good thing I have the Alaska Airlines Web site bookmarked. This flying on the fly could become a habit.

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Budget for Two

Air fares, LAX-Vancouver: $246.64

Barclay Hotel, 3 nights (all figures in U.S. dollars): 140.51

Breakfasts: 21.42

Lunches: 51.95

Dinners: 148.26

Grouse Mountain: 16.80

Skate rentals: 5.71

Vancouver Art Gallery: 11.42

VanDusen Gardens: 8.00

Airport bus, cab, bus passes: 45.70

FINAL TAB: $696.41

Alaska Airlines Web address https://www.alaskaair.com. The Barclay Hotel, 1348 Robson St., Vancouver, British Columbia, V6E 1CS, Canada; telephone (604) 688-8850.