Bright and early, I met B at the YVR and passed through security with minimal fanfare... if you count a sighting of SINBAD as being not a big deal!!! Hence the need for a Sinbad picture to set the tone for our incredible adventure...
I was surprised at how narrow and uncomfortable the seats were compared to other flights I'd been on such as Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, Malaysian Airlines and Cathay Pacific. It won't be a flight I'm looking forward repeating anytime soon.
I ended up sitting beside a very nice Texan couple who were visiting Vancouver, disappointed at the amount of rain, and didn't leave their room the entire time, hoping it would let up! Children! Didn't anyone tell you not to hold your breath? Waiting for the rain to stop in Vancouver is futile.
We landed at around 3:30 in the afternoon after a cramped flight on American Airlines and immediately sought out public transit to the posh Fairmont Dallas. One remote bus, a rapid transit line and a 6 block walk later, we arrived. While lovely and comfortable the room reminded me of my grandmother... a medicinal Eucalyptus smell. But nothing I couldn't deal with.
After a chat with the Concierge, he advised us away from going to Deep Ellum for our tuesday evening towards West Village instead... a strong recommendation for Prima - all accessible via a free trolley a mere block away. He seemed SHOCKED when we asked how far to walk back from West Village, and highly recommended we take the trolley for the 20 min walk back. hah... definitely not from Vancouver!
The trolly was waiting when we arrived. An old vintage trolly, all metal and wood with hand pulls etc. Run by a nonprofit group - McKinney Avenue Transit Authority. A charming ride through town at no charge, however B and I made a donation because of the charm of it all.
We got off at West Village by Brooks Brothers a little bewildered at what we found. Beautiful buildings, but no wayfinding at that bus stop to guide us towards the action. Thankfully we had a map from the concierge and found our way towards some grub.
We ended up settling for a popular patio at Taco Diner.
I ordered a Texan Iced Tea (unsweetened and amazing!) and a basket of chips with Salsa Verde and a blackish liquidy dip... a smoked pepper salsa perhaps. We devoured these as we hadn't eaten since 6 am.
After a quick look at their menu, we settled on Chicken Enchiladas with frijotes, and rice and Fish tacos since B does not eat pork or beef. We shared the plates to experience the variety of the flavors. B liked the chicken best because of the soft unripened mexican cheese with the salsa verde and the rich roasted chicken flavor. I preferred the fish tacos as the tilapia tasted fresh and savoury in it's achiote citrus marinda without competing too strongly with the flavors of cilantro, lime and a sweet/spicy black sauce accompaniment. Unfortunately, I got so excited I ate the food before I took the picture.. so this is all you get is this mess...
Ate quickly then did some shopping around the plaza before moseying back towards the Hotel.
At some point B asked me where all the asians were... at that I realised we hadn't seen one since landing.
We paid a quick visit to Albertsons to check out the prices on food and stock up on snacks for our room. On top of the usual ginormous slabs of cheese for pennies, I saw huge beautifully marbled steaks for cheap cheap prices. For example, six 10 ounce Rib Eyes for $14.85. I couldn't believe my eyes... With all the cheap booze and red meat it's a wonder everyone isn't dead from a coronary.
At the halfway point we got thirsty and stopped at the Black Friar where Barb had an organic apple cider and I had a frozen sangria. Sauced and inappropriate we staggered back to the hotel... (just for the record, I was sauced on the single drink, but hard living B was totally fine and was the responsible one for the two of us)
Upon arrival, we were inspired to go swimming in the pool. Me in my black Joe Fresh grandma bathing suit, and B in a borrowed pink and red striped tank top and underpants... It was already 10pm, but complete darkness had already stolen over Texas. The water in the pool was !!!COLD!!! but refreshing after our long walk, and quickly sobered me up.
The pool lights changed from pink to red, orange, green and blue as we swam, with two staffers enjoying a smoke on the pool, and some creepy guy in a suit getting some eyeball exercise.
After about an hour of swimming... floating and watching the stars in the clear Dallas sky we decided to get out of the ppl, with B giving The EYEBALLER a money shot as she got out of the pool. A tad mortified we walked to the elevator, where he followed, I think to get a better look at B under the lights of the hotel. Slightly, red faced we shared an awkward elevator ride, then darted into our rooms for an early night.
Here is a picture of the pool by day as my camera + my shaky hands make for terrible night photos:
