Yesterday after the less than impressive breakfast cafe experience, Dan, Danaka and Mickey arrived to take us to a coffee place Dan discovered last year. Interestingly, the place was established by a lady who learnt to barista in Melbourne, set up her initial coffee enterprise on the East coast of Canada and then branched out to the West in Whistler. She has subsequently sold the shop and it is renamed Cranked but the quality of the coffee has thankfully been maintained under the new owner.
Re-caffeinated, we went to another local haunt, peculiar to this place, called Re-Use in search of a cake tin to cook a birthday cake for Dan. The concept here is that the population is so transient that nobody arrives with much or leaves with much in the way of household items. So you come into town, find somewhere to live and work and then come to this place to buy ample basic items you need to set up home. Items range from kitchen goods and utensils to clothes, books, ornaments, electronics - all at very cheap prices. When it's time to move on, you simply drop off anything you don't want to take with you so it can be resold to the next wave of Whistler arrivals. This is not a second hand store as the stuff here may have been donated multiple times over - in fact Dan saw something on a shelf that he had donated when he moved house a couple of months ago.
After we had located a suitable cake tin and paid the bargain price of $1.60, including tax, as yesterday was a 50% off sale day, we headed back to Whistler Village to call Jayne's mum so she could speak to Dan. Then we set out for a pre-dinner Guinness at the Brick Works followed by a great dinner of authentic pizza washed down by ample Italian red. A very pleasant way to finish Dan's Australian birthday.
Today dawned in Whistler much the same as it did yesterday. The rain commenced around 6am but lasted only an hour or so, the cloud was low and threatened to keep coming down the mountain to the village, almost in defiance of summer. Another lazy beginning to the day and Dan's Canadian birthday. We strolled to the other end of the village for a decent coffee and a breakfast that wasn't over-priced, or over-sized. They have weird breakfast food in Canada. Have you ever heard of a breakfast sandwich my dear reader? It's a thing here. While there is an ample range of pastries that you would recognise they also serve savoury pastries, like bacon muffins. Anyway, at least Purebread understands coffee and the hot chocolate is made on milk - and for the weight watchers out there, skim milk is not on the menu.
Re-caffeinated, we went to another local haunt, peculiar to this place, called Re-Use in search of a cake tin to cook a birthday cake for Dan. The concept here is that the population is so transient that nobody arrives with much or leaves with much in the way of household items. So you come into town, find somewhere to live and work and then come to this place to buy ample basic items you need to set up home. Items range from kitchen goods and utensils to clothes, books, ornaments, electronics - all at very cheap prices. When it's time to move on, you simply drop off anything you don't want to take with you so it can be resold to the next wave of Whistler arrivals. This is not a second hand store as the stuff here may have been donated multiple times over - in fact Dan saw something on a shelf that he had donated when he moved house a couple of months ago.
After we had located a suitable cake tin and paid the bargain price of $1.60, including tax, as yesterday was a 50% off sale day, we headed back to Whistler Village to call Jayne's mum so she could speak to Dan. Then we set out for a pre-dinner Guinness at the Brick Works followed by a great dinner of authentic pizza washed down by ample Italian red. A very pleasant way to finish Dan's Australian birthday.
Today dawned in Whistler much the same as it did yesterday. The rain commenced around 6am but lasted only an hour or so, the cloud was low and threatened to keep coming down the mountain to the village, almost in defiance of summer. Another lazy beginning to the day and Dan's Canadian birthday. We strolled to the other end of the village for a decent coffee and a breakfast that wasn't over-priced, or over-sized. They have weird breakfast food in Canada. Have you ever heard of a breakfast sandwich my dear reader? It's a thing here. While there is an ample range of pastries that you would recognise they also serve savoury pastries, like bacon muffins. Anyway, at least Purebread understands coffee and the hot chocolate is made on milk - and for the weight watchers out there, skim milk is not on the menu.
The breeze had begun to pick up a little by the time we had finished breakfast. The ample queue that almost made me turn away as we arrived, was now out the door and down the steps. Take-out as they say in North America is big. Sippy cups abound. You know my theory on that, if you can't/won't/don't make time to sit and drink a coffee, then you don't deserve to have one. The concept of a coffee is to take time out, to stop and reflect and rest.
Back at the hotel suite, Jayne set about making Dan's birthday cake. This was an interesting experience. The oven has no interior light and is not fan forced. The ingredients had to be improvised a little as well. In a retro move, there is no electric mixer, it had to be done by hand. Finally, the cake tin that we purchased at Re-Use is a different size and shape to the one used back home. We were hoping it was of ample size to hold the rising cake mixture. It was more like a science experiment than baking. Today's title courtesy of Crowded House, 1991.
Once the cake was made and covered in chocolate icing, we went in search of Dan and Mickey who were riding the bike trail. We arrived in time to see them come down the last mountain part of the trail on their last run. We also witnessed a young boy being carried down the slope, tear streaked face, bumps, bruises and grazes. It was painful now, but tomorrow they would be badges as courage as the story of the crash was told and re-told. Dan said he was grateful for his motor cycle riding experience that saved him on more than occasion.
Dinner was at Basalt for Dan's birthday, after we farewelled Mickey who was heading back to Australia. There are many great places to eat in Whistler and Basalt would have to be near the top of the list. A small menu of dishes that are contemporary fusion and a great selection of wine and drinks. Then it was upstairs for dessert, the lovingly baked chocolate cake.
The rain persisted throughout the day, but the promise for tomorrow is blue skies and 24 and a return to summer. We shall see.
And in case you didn't guess, the word of the day was: ample.
Once the cake was made and covered in chocolate icing, we went in search of Dan and Mickey who were riding the bike trail. We arrived in time to see them come down the last mountain part of the trail on their last run. We also witnessed a young boy being carried down the slope, tear streaked face, bumps, bruises and grazes. It was painful now, but tomorrow they would be badges as courage as the story of the crash was told and re-told. Dan said he was grateful for his motor cycle riding experience that saved him on more than occasion.
Dinner was at Basalt for Dan's birthday, after we farewelled Mickey who was heading back to Australia. There are many great places to eat in Whistler and Basalt would have to be near the top of the list. A small menu of dishes that are contemporary fusion and a great selection of wine and drinks. Then it was upstairs for dessert, the lovingly baked chocolate cake.
The rain persisted throughout the day, but the promise for tomorrow is blue skies and 24 and a return to summer. We shall see.
And in case you didn't guess, the word of the day was: ample.
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