Given we didn’t end up in our hotel rooms till well after midnight it was a lazy start for everyone. I went by across the street and got some milk for breakfast and slowly everyone dragged themselves out of bed. We had 2 rooms with 2 bedrooms each, so there is ample space, however the rooms are on different floors which makes communications a bit difficult at times.

As is our norm we had organised a walking food tour at Granville island. We had originally planned to walk to the location, however realised at the last minute that it included a boat ride which we hadn’t planned for. We ended up taking an Uber instead. The tour included samples from about 12 different eateries, all in the Granville island markets, as well as history of the island. It was an industrial zone till the 60s, when the mayor decided to make it a cultural hub. It now attracts over 6m visitors a year and houses a range of fresh produce, craft shops and eateries. Each stop had a story and a history and the highlight of the morning was pickles, cured meats and iced lemonade tea. The pickles were traditional NY pickles with different flavours while the cured meats were from a shop that has been voted the best in all of North America.

The second half of the tour included some Thai food, macarons, fish, doughnuts and chocolate. There were two categories of the smoked fish, one of which was maple glazed and quite exquisite. We had a sampling of a Thai noodle dish and a variety of chocolates. The doughnuts were the fluffiest and lightest I have ever tasted. The tour ended with cold brew coffee. It was almost like a private tour as there was only one other tourist (from San Francisco) with us.

We spent the rest of the afternoon browsing through the various shops in the markets. Emily found a bead shop with an impressive collection of charms, beads and colours. We also found a shop with indigenous arts and patterns. There was such an eclectic collection of shops that the afternoon whizzed by.

For dinner we had a booking at a restaurant called Dark Table. This restaurant is staffed by visually impaired wait staff who have no visibility at all. Moreover the entire dining area is pitch black. It is hard to explain and truly describe the experience. We formed a conga line to allow our server to guide us to our seats. We had to feel around to find our cutlery and our drinks.

Sitting in the pitch darkness waiting for our meals was a surreal experience. It was interesting how we compensated with a lack of sight and we started talking louder. Moreover we could only have one conversation at a time as if multiple people spoke it was hard to decipher. Over the first 10-15 the darkness got quite overwhelming and even made me feel claustrophobic.

We had a three course meal and they were mostly surprise dishes, in that we didn’t know what was being served. Entree was a bruschetta with prawns which we ate with our hands. My main was a baked chicken breast with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Tom and Emily had lamb ragu while Matthew went with the steak. He found it easiest to just eat his steak with his hands without using cutlery.

The desserts were all a surprise and we assumed everyone had gotten the same dish. Quite a confusing conversation ensued where a couple of us were convinced that it had chocolate while others were adamant that it was a cheesecake. We later found out that both were right. It was definitely an unique experience.