During the month of April I will be featuring a Cherry Blossom Photo of the Day, sourced from the Miss604 Flickr Pool and/or the #Photos604 tag on Instagram. You can barely walk a full block in the city without encountering a photographer capturing this pink blooms — or stopping yourself — so it’s the perfect time to start this series. Enjoy!
View more photography posts on Miss604 along with the Vancouver Photos of the Week.
When the PappaRoti signs when up on the corner of Robson and Nicola I’m certain that many in the West End (myself included) opened up a browser to search the term, curious to see what would finally occupy the long-vacant space.
As a neighbourhood resident for the better part of the last decade, I was certainly excited to see a coffee shop — with a unique twist — move onto that corner. Sure, we have plenty of coffee shops in downtown Vancouver but absolutely none like PappaRoti. This is the very first franchise in North America, the Canadian flagship, and home to the “Father of All Buns”.
What exactly is PappaRoti? It’s a coffee-caramel coated bun, which is wildly popular in cafes and kiosks from London to Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia, India and Australia. There are 400 PappaRoti locations worldwide and this is the very first in Canada and the USA, thanks to co-owners Sherri Zarandooz and Javeed Somji.
Crack through the crisp outer shell of these baked-to-order treats to reveal a soft, buttery centre. Buns are served with cutlery but you can feel free to use your hands to rip it apart, dip, drizzle, and enjoy.
PappaRoti compliments its coffee buns with JJ Bean coffee, loose-leaf tea from Teaja, and freshly squeezed organic juices. You can dine in or take out, and you’ll have the chance to slow things down as you sit and wait for your bun order to be delivered straight to your table.
You can enjoy the bun on its own, or with sides like Pappa cream cheese, local organic jams, fresh fruit, Nutella, kaya, maple syrup, honey, whipped cream, ice cream, dark chocolate, or caramel.
The cafe itself is bright, spacious, suitable for working on your laptop or bringing the kids for a playdate. They’re also open late, until 11:00pm.
If you would like to try the world-famous PappaRoti coffee bun, I have three $50 gift cards to give away. Here’s how you can enter to win:
Follow PappaRoti on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more information and inspiration. I will draw three winners at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Thursday, April 17, 2014.
Update The winners are @conniehgn, Oana, and Eric!
Throughout the spring, summer and fall, Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country is a haven for visitors, capturing the best of the South Okanagan. From vineyards to orchards, the Okanagan is one of Canada’s prime agricultural areas. With dramatic landscapes and remarkable terroir, the valley is one of BC’s most beautiful and diverse places to visit, extending from the southernmost point of Osoyoos to the tip of McIntyre Bluff, north of Oliver. Bordered by mountain ranges, rivers, and lakes, the area is majestic by nature – and naturally unique.
Created by the Oliver Osoyoos Winery Association, and inspired by the legendary Medoc Marathon in Bordeaux, the Half Corked Marathon pays homage to one of Canada’s most decorated wine regions; a celebration of the Golden Mile and Black Sage Road benches connecting the communities of Oliver and Osoyoos. Taking place on Saturday, May 24, 2014 this is the fourth year of the Half Corked Marathon and it will be the largest to date with 800 runners taking part.
The Half Corked Marathon route is 18km and can be jogged or run in 90 minutes or walked in three hours. Racers are not timed but after three and a half hours the wagon comes to collect participants.
Stops along the way include 10-12 wineries and food stations, where racers can sample local wine and fine cuisine from Oliver-Osoyoos restaurants. There will be four waves of runners and a total of 800 participants. Runners are encouraged to dress up and there will be prizes for costumes.
High demand for tickets to the Half Corked Marathon in 2013 meant that a new lottery system was put in place for 2014 and tickets were allocated through a lottery system in February. Over 2,800 people entered for the 300 lottery places. The 2014 event is now sold out, tickets for 2015 will go on sale in February 2015.
Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country want to invite one lucky Miss604 reader to the region to give them a coveted spot in the marathon along with this prize pack:
Here’s how you can enter to win:
Follow Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country on Facebook and Twitter for more information about this event and the region’s many other attractions.
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Friday, April 18, 2014. Prize cannot be exchanged for cash or different travel dates. Must be 19+ to enter.
Update The winner is Gabrielle!
I was recently browsing the Vancouver archive GIF goodness that is Vancouver Rising and I noticed that one of the animated images was a series of photos from the City of Vancouver Archives that were simply stitched together. It reminded me of this collection of “Under Construction” photos I posted last year and made me realize that I could probably achieve the same effect.
Merchants Bank, 1916 | Granville and Pender
VPL Archives#: 20039A, 20039D, 20039F. Photographer/Studio: Dominion Photo Co.
Thanks to sequences of images, photographed by the great Leonard Frank, I created a few Vancouver construction time-lapse GIFs of my own featuring prominent historic buildings in the city:
Marine Building, 1929 | Burrard and Hastings
Source: VPL Archives# 12000-12005, 11990-11999, 104080, 104080A
Stock Exchange Building, 1928 | Howe and Pender
Source: VPL Archives# 12109-12120, 22947
Royal Bank Building, 1930-1931 | Granville and Hastings
Source: VPL Archives# 12074-12083, 15702
View more photos from the Vancouver Public Library and City of Vancouver Archives in my history series.
During the month of April I will be featuring a Cherry Blossom Photo of the Day, sourced from the Miss604 Flickr Pool and/or the #Photos604 tag on Instagram. You can barely walk a full block in the city without encountering a photographer capturing this pink blooms — or stopping yourself — so it’s the perfect time to start this series. Enjoy!
View more photography posts on Miss604 along with the Vancouver Photos of the Week.
