Soli Deo Gloria - pt.1

Ah Vancouver, what a lovely place to be. I was able to restore an otherwise frustrating and wasted day by going on a little night time adventure. I wanted to check out this spot Alibi Room that's on the edge of an area called Gastown. Because I was bikeless, I decided to use their public transportation. I know it sounds weird, but getting to know a city's metro is something I look forward to.  It's a great way to people watch and get a feel for where everything is in that particular city.  NYC has the Subway, London has the Tube, Paris the (stinky) Métropolitain, Buenos Aires the Subte, Munich the U-Bahn, and Vancouver the SkyTrain.  I've never met a metro I didn't like...except maybe Brussels'...but that was probably just my fault.  The SkyTrain is clean, roomy, and compared to others I've seen, much more mellow...although I didn't get to see it during busy hours.

I took the millennial line to downtown and got to really see the city for the first time.  Gorgeous.  At Alibi Room I had a delicious veggie burger, but the real stars were the 2 pints I had.  Being from San Diego, the craft brew capital of America (shots fired Portland!), I expected subpar IPA's. The first was Four Winds IPA that had that West Coast hoppiness I'm into.  I'll have to experience it at least once more, but it has a shot at taking over Coronado Brew Co's Islander or Buster 4 as my go-to IPA.  The other was Persephone's Northwest IPA, which was good, but not on Four Winds level.  It was the first NW IPA I've ever had, so it's worth noting.  If ever in the area I suggest checking out Alibi Room. The place is pretty awesome and one of the bartenders even taught me something new.  When getting ready to pay the bill she said, "should I bring the machine?" And after seeing my confusion she guessed I was American because apparently in Canada they bring a portable credit card swiper aka "porty" to you to pay your bill. I explained that we have those swipers in liquor stores and what not but in restaraunts we usually just give our cards to the server and they return with a receipt.  After she joked that they're buying plane tickets and cars with our cards, I thought to myself that maybe we're just more trusting in the USA. #merica

Another thing I should note is how polite people are here. Most notably when driving!  It's definitely noticeable how they respect pedestrians and cyclists.  While most drivers back home will take any window they have to turn before a pedestrian crosses, here it almost makes me feel awkward how patient they are.     And one other thing I noticed on the way home was that Vancouverites are very casual about smoking that BC Bud in the streets!  I wonder if that has anything to do with how polite people are around here.  Just an observation.