Tag: Shopping

Coombs BC is an interesting place. It’s 10 km from Parksville and is noted for its eclectic shopping, specifically Goats on the Roof AKA The Old Country Market. See www.oldcountrymarket.com This was not our first time at the market, but changes had been made as they are refurbishing the non wooden buildings across the street from the main market. Because this market prides itself in being fairly brand-free, the opportunities for unique shopping are good. For example, I was not expecting to find a clothing store called Wabi Sabi, which is a surfer clothing store. Considering the nearest surfing in […]

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Everybody loves a good farmers market, especially when they’re close to home. For those living in Vancouver, I strongly suggest that making a trip to the closest market be a top priority when it comes to your food shopping. Founded in 1995, Your Local Farmers Market (The Vancouver Farmers Market) is a registered BC non-profit society. They also offer access to fresh, healthy food for low-income families through the Farmers Market Nutrition Coupon Program. The farmers and food producers offer fresh fruits and vegetables, meat and poultry, baked goods, artisan food products and fresh fish, local craft beer, wine and […]

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On July 9, 2016 I visited Vancouver‘s West 4th Ave, normally a busy thoroughfare on a Saturday, and it was blocked off for Khatsahlano Street Party. Khatsahlano is the First Nations’ spelling of Kitsilano, the neighbourhood for which 4th Ave between Burrard and MacDonald is a focal point. It was quite enjoyable to walk the street that is normally dominated by cars 24/7. There was live music, presentations, henna tatoo artists and virtually all the businesses on the street seemed to have goods and services either on display or for offer. My wife found some good deals at Blue Sky […]

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In a good way, Granville Island in Vancouver is a peculiar place. There’s a fascinating intersection of the arts, retail and not-so-light industry. In other words, watch out for the Ocean Concrete trucks lumbering across roads people often don’t really think are roads. Given the brand-name-free nature of the shopping, it’s a pleasure to actually shop. I don’t understand the allure of Robson Street that has designer name brands you can find in any city’s high street. My reason for being on Granville Island was a child’s birthday where a bunch of kids boarded a barged-converted-to-pirate-ship and all dressed up […]

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Recently it’s been getting much hotter in Vancouver therefore marking the beginning of… Swimsuit Season! So I looked at what I had in the bathing suit variety and well, nothing fit. So my mother and I did some research online to figure out what stores would have suits to fit my human shaped body. Now, I’m no toothpick but I really wanted a two piece with space in the middle that could make me look and feel good. We looked up places such as H&M, Old Navy, Walmart, Gap and places that carry Billabong swimwear. The things we saw on […]

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At the north end of Salt Spring Island, there’s a place to visit called Sunset Farm, which is on Sunset Drive, conveniently. Basically it’s a hobby farm with sheep, ducks, chickens, goats, two ponies and very cute black lambs (just don’t tell my kids what happens to most of them). One thing we learned was that it’s a lot easier to raise sheep on Salt Spring Island because there are no foxes, coyotes or wolves. In the Fraser Valley, predation by coyotes is an issue. Interestingly if you are raising chicken, you don’t want to be too close to the […]

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Coombs BC takes its hippy heritage seriously. If you can imagine a totally funky market with goats literally on the roof, grazing, you are in the right place. Goats on the Roof Old Country Market is located at 2326 Alberni Highway, west and north of Parksville, and west and slightly south of Qualicum Beach. It’s no more than a 15 minute drive from either town. The market, apart from its unusual roofing, has a deli section, a bakery, a restaurant at the back, a great cheese section, a wild selection of craft items including home furnishings, bamboo fans for cooling […]

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Sidney BC is the last outpost of civilization before getting on the ferry to Vancouver where we all know there is too much Lululemon and not enough serious British-ness. The proof of this is The Haunted Bookshop at 9808 Third Street in Sidney. My wife wanted to visit the shop because it’s the only place where she could find Noddy books by Enid Blyton. I have a policy that I can’t go into bookstores because I have a pile of unread tomes beside the bed which are gathering dust. However in this case it was either that or stay in […]

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It’s a near tradition for our family to buy our discounted new calendars at Russell Books on Victoria‘s Fort Street shortly after New Year’s Day. Russell Books is unusual – it has every type of self-help book (Mindfulness for Dummies got me laughing) plus fiction and so forth. There are three floors, which are all only accessible from the outside. But there’s always a decent set of well-priced books. Fort St., running from Government to Cook streets, has an usual collection of shops. Antique Row is the 700 block where you can find treasures. However ‎right beside Russell’s is a […]

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With the exception of banks, pharmacies and gas stations, Qualicum Beach is fairly brand free. This does not mean that there’s no shopping. There’s a lot of knick-knack, clothing stores, independent coffee shops like Bailey’s and perhaps the last video store in existence called Catacombs Video. A partial list is here: www.qualicumbeachdowntown.ca/p/shop.html We did find an antique store that had everything. Good quality antique glassware (it may be a rustic shop, but he knows his stuff) along with old LPs, some comic books and memorabilia from the 50s and 60s. There’s enough stuff to fill a man cave / basement […]

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