Day Ten

Granville Island

Jack checking out urban Van
Wed Apr 28th

The day started trying to work out how to change the Apple App store country location on my iPhone, so we could download local Apps that were barred from being added to a UK configured phone.  After much research, discussions with Apple and trial settings the project was abandoned.  

Changing you country location, can only be done after you have unsubscribed from Apple Music.  You then lose all your music.  I assume this is for copyright reasons.

As part of setting up the country you have to enter a local address.  No problem, we will use our rental address.  As you go through the process of adding a payment card to the store, you discover that the Paypal or Credit Card address, has to match your residential address in Canada.  Except we don't have a Canadian payment card (or bank account) yet.
Lobster Brioche from Popina

So after several hours of trying to resolve this and ending up back at square one, the plan was ditched.  I cannot load a mobile phone operator App to top up our Canadian cell numbers.  So frustrating. 

We decided a trip down to Granville Island was in order to raise the spirits.  It's located at False Creek on the Burrard Inlet beneath the Granville Street Bridge.

It is usually a hive of activity and has a fabulous indoor food market.  A bit like Borough Market in London, only bigger.

It was strangely empty.  The smaller stall holders were absent and instead wide aisles allowed social distancing while customers visited their preferred stalls. Dogs are not allowed inside, so we each Jack-sat, while the other shopped.

The Burrard Bridge over the inlet
Lunch was an 'insane lobster brioche' from Popina, on the dockside.  Just as good as one I sampled in Klaw, a small fish eatery in Dublin, that was 
checked out on a boys' rugby international weekend.

Granville, was apparently the original name for Vancouver, until it was renamed in the mid-late 1800s.  

By the early 1900's Granville Island had become an industrial zone, then it fell into disuse.  It was not until the late 70's when the City Council started the redevelopment plan that the Public Market opened in 1978.

Many of the old tin shacks remain but are now transformed in to a variety of cafe's, eateries, craft activities such as blacksmithing, gin distilling and silk production and locally-owned businesses which grace the old industrial buildings, as well as arts facilities, fine restaurants and the Granville Island Brewery... all a nod to Granville's heritage.  

We love it there.  It is an interesting place to mooch around, where you can even walk through the working boatyard and ogle the yachts and motor cruisers that are in for maintenance.  The Granville Island Hotel, which we have used on past visits, is a good base for exploring the local area and wider Vancouver, connected by a network of small ferries or Aquabuses, that chug around the harbour, and which allow dogs on board.




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