Stanley Park

A hearty breakfast is an excellent way to start the day. A return visit to Naam was on the cards, given our suspicion that their breakfasts would be far superior to their dinner menu. Our suspicion was indeed proven a reality, as evidenced by our tendency to over order (and over indulge): 

Vegan pancakes with maple syrup and organic blueberries

Vegan breakfast special (home fries, sausages, scrambled tofu and pancakes)

Breakfast burrito and salsa

A long hike around Stanley Park then ensued to try and work over the enormous amount of food we had consumed. It was a beautiful day, and a lot of people were out and about cycling, running, walking and just taking in the views. 

It is quite a spectacular park, particularly for the vivid reds, yellows and oranges of the autumn leaves at this time of year. 

I really enjoyed watching the seemingly endless streams of seaplanes taking off and landing. Another treat was enjoying some maple syrup candies in the sun on a grassy bank next to the Totem Park. Best of all though was the huge number of dogs out with their human companions. There was one particularly enthusiastic fellow who would endlessly swim out to fetch his ball that his human friend kept obligingly throwing into the water. There were also large numbers of geese, swans, and even a pair of raccoons checking out the snack situation:

After swinging by Budgies to pick up another burrito each, it was time to cross the border back into the States and head to Seattle. We had a most entertaining border guard who was keen to hear about why we had come to the States, how we met and the like. The best part came when he asked if we had any food items to declare. T declared the maple and blueberry tea that we had bought, to which the response was: "Tea is ok. Do you have any drugs? Drugs are not ok." The three of us had a good laugh after we had said we didn't have any drugs, and he let us be on our way. Who said that American border guards don't have a sense of humour?