“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” —Virginia Woolf
(The above quote sits over the open see-through kitchen of Twigs Bistro…)
After enjoying a wonderful vegetable frittata and a short stack of pancakes for breakfast at the Hilton Hotel Cecile and I hooked up with our good friends Nelson and Susan Bye who just returned from the Portland area visiting family. We did a self-guided walking tour of downtown Vancouver enjoying the local parks, colorful wall murals, other public art, and other points of interest. We decided to grab a milkshake and ice cream cone for lunch and save our appetite for dinner. Cecile and I had enjoyed an amazing dinner with an unexpected fiery sunset at the Twigs Bistro and Martini Bar on the shores of the Columbia River—so much—the night before we went back again for an encore with the Byes. We began with Happy Hour cocktails, beer and wine along with appetizers that included fig and prosciutto flatbread with gorgonzola and chives. For dinner we feasted on Orange Chicken Salad, Grilled Ribeye with veggies and mashed potatoes, and southern style cornmeal crusted Lemon Caper Halibut with caper sauce, veggies, tomato confit and jasmine rice.
Vancouver’s new waterfront is the Pacific Northwest’s newest destination for waterfront adventure with unbeatable views. It is nestled along the curves of the Columbia River just 10 minutes north of Portland, Oregon. The 7-acre waterfront park includes the striking Grant Street Pier and renown restaurants such as the Twigs Bistro. The pier juts out 90 feet over the Columbia River and was specifically designed by nationally-renowned public artist Larry Kirkland to evoke the billow of a passing sailboat. It is a popular gathering point for people to take in the wondefrul ambiance and take photos. The Vancouver area was originally established by Native American tribes, including the Chinock, Klickitat, and Cowlitz nations. The Columbia River Renaissance Trail connects downtown Vancouver to the picturesque Columbia River waterfront, and is a perfect outlet for walking, jogging, biking and rollerblading.
By the time we made it back to our hotel we all had easily completed our ten thousand steps for the day and I ready to relax and get ready for our Columbia riverboat cruise tomorrow afternoon. To further that goal, I took a Jacuzzi and swam laps in the indoor large size pool that I have been fortunate to have all to myself the past few days.
