<sniff, sniff>

What’s that I smell? Oh, it appears I’ve sniffed out a market! How completely random and unexpected!

Lies. If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know I’m obsessed with markets. So it should come as no surprise that my first day in Vancouver involved heading over to Granville Island and checking out the famous public market.

You can get to one entrance by taking a two-minute ferry from downtown.
Or get to another entrance by walking over a bridge and walking among some beautiful willow trees.
The views of the city and of the mountains from the docks are beautiful.
And then, my friends, you see the holy grail. The market in all its glory.
I got heart palpitations upon walking inside the building. So many foods! So many art items! And restaurants! Let’s just say I had a field day taking it all in and sampling the goods.
I had not heard of them before, but learned what fiddleheads are (unfurled, edible ferns)…
…watched workers making bagels…
…had an encounter with a boar’s head…
…admired all the different types of smoked fish and fish jerky…
…learned about specialty salts and spices…
…chatted with artists and artisans about their wares…
…and stopped to smell the flowers.
The island has more than just the amazing market. There are art galleries and an art school, and lots of shops.
By now you should be able to understand why I spent so many hours on the island caught up in artsy, market-y, nature-y bliss. Granville Island, for the win!