Adventures with Tobey and Michael

You may remember Tobey and Michael from my months in Italy. If not, here is a quick recap. They are both chefs and lived above me in an apartment and worked at Petraia for the whole year. They are twp of the most kindest, warmest, and beautiful people that I know. They are so fun to hang out and they make me smile! By some strange alignment of stars are paths crossed again...sooner than both of us expected! They moved to Vancouver from Spain and it just so happened we would be in the same city for 3 weeks.

We both had very busy schedules but we managed to see each other four times!

The first time was the night I got to Vancouver...as soon as I unpacked and settled into the yacht I hightailed it to Tobey and Michael's where Michael cooked an ah-mazing meal. Just one of the great perks!

The second time Tobey and I met up and did some serious eating. One thing that you can always be certain of is that if you are with Tobey you will eat lots and you will eat well. The first place we stopped was Thomas Hass's bakery, possibly the best croissants in Canada. And I would have to agree!

We shared two croissants and drank macchiatos...just like in Italy!

Then we went downtown and ate at Japadog. Yup, that's a Japanese Hotdog stand! Before you start shaking your head at me, imagine a berkshire pork hotdog topped with caramelized onions, teryaki sauce, wasabi mayo, and strips of nori....ahhh, now that's a hotdog. And served up to you by a smiling and incredibly cheerful Japanese lady! The line ups are long but worth it!

I was ecstatic!

The third time we all met up for a delicious hamburger at a little diner, that serves just hamburgers and fries. That's it. No salad, no other sides, just straight up. Then we went downtown and had the biggest most delicious cream puffs I've ever had. A franchise called "Beard Papa's" from Japan makes these cream puffs right in front of you and fills them as you order them. So they are crunchy and soft. Imagine and shop dedicated to only cream puffs. Heaven.

We then waited in the insanely long line up to get into the Bay so we could purchase some Olympic merchandise...
Just so that during that night's Canada vs. US (not the final game) we could look like this:The last time we saw each other was on Tuesday morning, the day I left. We met up for bagels and doughnuts at Granville Island Market. Then we said goodbye. It was sad. But not too sad, I know (because it was proven to me by this surprise visit) that we'll be seeing each other again soon. And I can't wait!