GO, BE A TOURIST IN YOUR OWN CITY
Have you ever been a tourist in your own city? While Vancouver may not be the exact city we live in, we love visiting and exploring there. We loaded up the car with the girls, diaper bag, loads of snacks and the stroller so that we could do some wandering.
Being Summer, we knew it would be busy and potentially busier than usual in downtown Vancouver. Having the UPPAbaby MINU with us was a must. We knew we would be parking the car and doing a lot of walking, there was too much potential for little feet not being able to keep up. We knew we’d want to have a place for our youngest to rest and to store other things like the diaper bag.
The MINU doesn’t take up much room in the car when folded, so there was no question about it, we were taking it with us! I also never would have thought about how having a smaller stroller can also make a difference when parked in a parking garage and need to get it out of the boot of the car and then between tightly packed parking spots!
On this day, we had little to no plans with really only one destination in mind. Jason and I needed to get new glasses, we both just got new prescriptions and while they are only the slightest prescriptions we wanted to get something different. We’d heard lots of one company online but we wanted to try on frames in person. Thankfully they have a store downtown, and I am so glad we went because we ended up with our favourite glasses yet.
WHEN A RESTAURANT ASK YOU TO STORE YOUR STROLLER ELSEWHERE
When lunchtime rolled around everyone was getting “hangry”. We needed to find somewhere fast to eat and were hoping for a place we hadn’t been to in a while. Cactus Club was around the corner so we immediately headed there. One thing we’ve realized is that a lot of the restaurants in Vancouver are not stroller friendly. Meaning, they don’t welcome you to have a stroller in there, they ask you to park it far away from you in “stroller parking”, or that they’d rather you do not have one at all, and some places are not stroller accessible.
As a parent, I don’t feel comfortable parking my stroller elsewhere, it’s not a risk I like to take. Thankfully, our MINU came in handy again and surprised the hostess at the restaurant we went to. The hostess was shocked at how compact it got and how quickly I was able to fold it. I was able to fold up the MINU and tuck it under the table. It was out of sight for everyone else, but safe right by us.
Lunch was fantastic! One of the best meals out we’ve had in a while. We were pleasantly surprised by how good the food was for everyone! One of our tricks when dining out, to help keep costs down, is to have the girls share one kid’s meal and then we make sure that one of our meals as parents is also something they would enjoy and can share with us. To our surprise when we said the girls would be sharing the meal, and it arrived… it was a very generous portion and they would have never gotten through one each!
YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU’LL DISCOVER
When you take the time to just wander, you never know what you’ll find. This time, we came across a cute little park and playground tucked away in the city. It had a great little fountain area that many kids were splashing in to try and keep cool. Whenever I see places like this, it always reminds me of the intro for Sesame Street from when I was a kid. Maybe because it is so classic of childhood and summertime moments? The playground was the major hit with the girls. We could have stayed there all afternoon and they would have been completely content.
If you’re looking for something to do as summer is wrapping up and back to school is just around the corner, go be a tourist in your own city. Be prepared to do some walking, pack up the stroller and bring it with you. Go have fun as a family and see what you discover in your area. We will definitely be going downtown and into Vancouver again soon, to take in the sights and just explore together.
I have been dying to go to Vancouver… your pics make it looks beautiful
Thanks Amanda! It’s a gorgeous city
I live a 47 minute train ride from NYC so want to get there more and explore. We are out of the stroller phase, but I HATED having to leave my stroller somewhere unattended. We had an uppa baby gluxe for many years, great brand!
I need all your NYC advice and tips! We are headed there without kids during Christmas
Love that the stroller is compact enough to fit under a table! Great way to keep everything safe with you! Love these pictures too.
-Jennifer
https://maunelegacy.com
Thanks Jennifer! It’s our go to stroller now.
It looks like you all had a great time. We too like to have our kids share a meal to cut down on costs. 🙂
🙂
I love the idea of being a tourist in your own city! And I feel like I need this stroller in my life, like, NOW! lol
It makes wrangling children so much easier!
We LOVE being a tourist in our own city! We just did a Staycation in Chicago and had the best time. Vancouver has always been on top of my list!
Would love to visit Chicago one day
I love the idea of a staycation! I haven’t been to Vancouver yet! Thanks for sharing!!
🙂
Sometimes it is true that we are tourists in our own city. I am happy you were able to explore Vancouver. Loved you photos. I don’t live that far from there. Maybe sometime we can plan a trip there too.
Come visit soon!