Vancouver Archives — Thrifty Mommas Tips

Vancouver Airport Marriott Hotel in Richmond, BC

Paula — Tue, 04 Apr 2017 09:56:17 +0000

That’s right you read the title correctly. The Vancouver Airport Marriott Hotel is in Richmond, BC. It’s a quirky thing that several Richmond hotels are not identified as hotels in Richmond, BC. Such is the case here with this lovely hotel stationed about a 10 minute drive from the Vancouver Airport. The Vancouver Airport Marriott Hotel in Richmond is the best of both worlds. How is the Vancouver Airport Marriott Hotel the best of both worlds? Well, let me explain. It is close enough to the Vancouver Airport to make travel simple and convenient. A complimentary airport shuttle will take you back and forth from this busting international airport. Just look for the courtesy phone after you pick up your luggage. Please note this hotel is right beside the Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel. It is conveniently located close to dozens of restaurants. In fact, from either the Sheraton or the Marriott, you can easily walk to and from many of the restaurants on The Dumpling Trail. Make no mistake, both of these hotels are in Richmond, BC. They are about a 10 minute drive from the airport. Savvy travellers will opt to stay here because the price difference between Richmond restaurants and hotels is significant compared to those in Vancouver. This past month I spent a few days in Richmond, BC while exploring the area a bit and doing The Dumpling Trail. The Richmond area has a vibrant food and culture scene which I honestly can’t say enough about. The Dumpling Trail is a self guided tour of the areas best Asian restaurants. While visiting Richmond, BC. I stayed at the Vancouver Airport Marriott Hotel. The Vancouver Airport Marriott Hotel in Richmond, BC is clean and spacious. I have come to love the Marriott chain for their excellent service. They are an affordable, family friendly option, for all kinds of travellers. Upon checking in at the busy Marriott (pilots and flight attendants also stay here because it is less expensive than the Vancouver city hotels) I discovered a daily apple cider display on offer in the lobby. The March dates we visited Richmond were chilly and rainy so apple cider was PERFECT for taking the chill off. Complimentary apple cider might not sound like much, but it is just one example of great service that has come to endear the Marriott chain to me world-wide. If you look a bit closer at the Marriott chains you will notice that very often they also boast world class award-winning restaurants on site. A few years ago I stayed at the Casa Magna Marriott Puerto Vallarta and wrote about the stay. In 2016 I stayed at Marriott Resort Hutchinson Island in Florida, which was gorgeous. The Vancouver Airport Marriott hotel is tastefully decorated and clean. There is ample parking both outdoors and in a covered parking lot area. I was in Richmond, BC for a foodie tour of The Dumpling Trail. I thought I knew about food before visiting Richmond. Turns out I knew very little about authentic Asian cuisine. If you love food, or want something unique to try this year on vacation consider staying in Richmond and doing the self guided Dumpling Trail. Dumplings are in many ways the original fast food. The Vancouver Airport Marriott Hotel suite that I stayed in was well equipped with a large queen sized bed and a small mini bar fridge. The rooms also have a Keurig, which I appreciate in the mornings because it makes me feel at home. When I first checked in and watched some airplanes coming and going I was a bit concerned that I’d have a noise issue at night. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. I didn’t hear any of the airplanes at night. More details about The Vancouver Airport Marriott Hotel: The Vancouver Airport Marriott Hotel is located at: 7571 Westminster Hwy, Richmond, BC V6X 1A3 Fitness Centre Heated Outdoor Pool Hi Speed Wifi in Rooms that is complimentary and enhanced high speed for $9.95 a day. Pets welcome If you’re looking for a memorable trip and you love food, visit Richmond, BC. They have some of the most incredible and authentic Asian food and cultural experiences in Canada. As a member of the International Food, Wine and Travel Writer’s Association, (IFWTWA) I was recently invited to do a media fam trip with Visit Richmond, BC. Their Dumpling Tour was the focus of the trip. My accommodations, flights, and food were paid for. My opinion is all my own and it is also truthful.

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Visit Richmond, BC and Your Taste Buds Will Thank You #IFWTWA #RichmondMoments

Paula — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 12:54:01 +0000

Visit Richmond, BC, and your taste buds will thank you. This bustling city has so much going for it. Richmond is known for its beautiful waterfront, gorgeous sunsets, and vibrant city. It is the fourth largest city in British Columbia. It’s bustling with people enjoying everything from the arts to shipyards, but for me the biggest asset here is the memorable Asian culture, and food experience. Whether you are planning a trip near Vancouver, in BC, Canada, or visiting Richmond on its own, you will remember this city. Visit Richmond, BC and Find Something for Everyone Whether you’re a history buff, nature lover, pop culture fan, or a foodie, Richmond has something for everyone. This eclectic city is a major cultural hub in Canada, and makes a great travel destination. It is a stone’s throw from Vancouver at only a 10 minute from the airport and just 25 minutes from the US border. Richmond is affordable, fun, safe and a foodie heaven, boasting some of the best Asian food in Canada. Richmond is more than worth a visit. The hardest part of writing about foodie travel is the amount of rumbling your stomach does when revisiting the details of a trip. This morning while writing this post my stomach won’t stop. I’d fly back out right now for Pepper Lunch Canada’s amazing Beef Pepper Rice, or for an hour at Empire Seafood sampling all the amazing dim sum and dumplings. Empire Seafood’s Wu Gok is worth the flight alone. In March, right around Spring Break time, I visited Richmond, BC for a foodie tour of The Dumpling Trail. I thought I knew about food before visiting Richmond. Turns out I knew very little about authentic Asian cuisine. Good news though, if you love Asian food and culture, this is the place to visit. Richmond, BC is extremely accessible from the United States and from many provinces in Canada as well. Richmond sees many visitors from the West Coast of the US. It is a 2-3 hour flight from California. I flew with WestJet from London, Ontario, so that I could write about Richmond and share some of my experience here. Steveston Once Upon a Time fans will immediately recognize Steveston as none other that Storybrooke, the setting for the show. This seaside village is home to historic homes, amazing wildlife, a Cannery historic site, and more. Visitors should check out the Britannia Shipyards for a trip back in time. They can also shop at any number of the shops that line the streets and dine at any of the wonderful restaurants there. Nature lovers can go whale watching, explore Richmond’s miles of dykes and trails, or just relax at Gary Point Park. The Dumpling Trail Don’t miss some of the best Asian cuisine anywhere to be found when you visit Richmond. The Dumpling Trail is a culinary tour of all things dumpling. You’ll explore all the dumplings you can handle from 20 restaurants that are varied and memorable. So get ready for a crispy, chewy, pot-sticky, fried, stuffed, dumpling culinary experience you’ll never forget. Stay tuned for an in depth post about The Dumpling Trail later this week. Museums If you’re a lover of culture, you’ll find more culture than you can imagine when you visit Richmond. From the Richmond Olympic Experience Museum to the Richmond Cultural Centre – housing both the Richmond Museum and Richmond Art Gallery – to a 10 Minute Art Tours map to guide you through the contemporary public art in the city, Richmond has a vibrant arts scene. Family Fun Visit Richmond for some family fun too. The little ones can enjoy Terra Nova Adventure Play Environment, full of everything from playhouses to zip-lines and fields for back to basics fun, or they can watch planes take off and land at Larry Berg Flight Path Park. School aged kids can whale watch, explore the Cannery, go bike riding, enjoy a day at Watermania, a huge aquatic center, and more. Older kids will love Extreme Air Park, the largest trampoline park in Canada. Visit Richmond, BC and Have the Time of Your Life Food and travel are intertwined. When we travel we take the time to pause and enjoy more foods together as a family. My kids are also more adventuresome eaters when we travel, and so am I. There is so much to love about the social food scene in Richmond, BC and I promise it will leave a lasting impression on you. Plus it is incredibly affordable. Many days our entire group of five enjoyed a massive feast of dumplings that rang in at around $45. This year Canada topped the New York Times list of 52 Places to Go in 2017. If you are planning to make that happen, I highly suggest spending a week or more in British Columbia. Take a few days in Vancouver exploring and then head to neighbouring Richmond. Save money by staying in Richmond, BC and enjoy the amazing foodie scene. [tweetthis]Richmond, BC is next door to Vancouver but dining and staying in Richmond is more affordable #RichmondMoments[/tweetthis] If you’re looking for a memorable trip to enjoy the beauty of Canada, visit Richmond, BC. It’s a gem in its own right, and a can’t miss destination. As a member of the International Food, Wine and Travel Writer’s Association, (IFWTWA) I was recently invited to do a media fam trip with Visit Richmond, BC. Their Dumpling Tour was the focus of the trip. My accommodations, flights, and food were paid for. My opinion is all my own and it is also truthful.

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Part 2: Egg Freezing – Anna’s Cancer Diagnosis and Fertility Preservation

Paula — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 03:56:52 +0000

Meet Anna and Marlon Kashani. In January of 2014 Anna, 29 years old, engaged to Marlon, was diagnosed with breast cancer. The Vancouver couple were devastated of course. But they were even more shocked to hear that treatment had to start immediately. Anna’s family history of breast cancer meant specialists wanted to begin aggressive treatment right away. The situation was urgent. There was no talk of fertility preservation, or what might happen, until Anna brought it up. “The cancer clinic told us we would never have kids,” Anna said recently in Vancouver. “We weren’t satisfied with that answer. We did some research. We got a second opinion. The second opinion was that we could quickly take the time to do this.” Anna works with children. She is an ABA therapist. She knew always that she wanted to have children. Marlon, a personal trainer and aspiring blogger felt the same way. They wanted a family. So they requested a second opinion regarding her course of treatment. It was good that they did. Now the couple, who have since become husband and wife, have options to build a family as soon as she is given a clean bill of health, which in this case means that she will be able to carry a child eventually because she froze her eggs. I met Anna and Marlon at an egg freezing information event hosted by Genesis Fertility Centre in Vancouver recently. The topic of egg freezing has been in the news on and off lately as a result of high profile 40ish stars such as Sophia Vergara who openly have spoken about the desire to have a child and their intention to freeze their eggs. At the height of her career, Vergara, a Modern Family TV show star, might not be married, but she is proactively thinking about her future. The star has made headlines talking about egg freezing. And just recently both high tech companies Apple and Facebook made egg freezing buzz worthy when the companies declared intention to help fund the procedure for female employees (up to a cost of $20,000). The subject raised some eyebrows, but egg freezing is no longer an experimental procedure in fertility and it seems like the logical next frontier for fertility discussions, social discussions and even demographic trends. Egg freezing actually began as a treatment for cancer patients. And yet oddly many cancer specialists don’t really discuss fertility options for patients at time of diagnosis. Radiation and chemotherapy take a brutal toll on the body and eggs and sperm are damaged by the treatment. Natural conception is not likely after cancer treatment. As egg freezing techniques have evolved some women are also choosing to have elective egg freezing, prolonging their ability to conceive at a later stage in life. “I feel like the majority of people after cancer might accept that the doctors say you won’t have children. People accept that. We did not take no for an answer,” said Anna. The second opinion led Marlon and Anna to Genesis Fertility Centre. They took out 20 eggs and now the couple have seven embryos waiting for transfer at a time in the future when she is able to do that physically. Anna is clear that this extra step of taking care to preserve fertility helped her get through the rigorous cancer treatment. Anna was also very involved in asking he right questions all the way through treatment. She knew that estrogen fed cancers could respond differently depending on what fertility drugs were used. She made certain that the fertility portion of her journey was working in harmony with the cancer treatment. “The comfort of knowing I had eggs preserved helped me emotionally.” As for the cost, Anna and Marlon would not have been able to manage this amazing feat of proactive fertility health care without Anna’s cousin. Anna’s cousin, is as close as a sister, she said. Her cousin is the one who set up a Facebook page and a crowd funding site and she very quickly raised the money necessary for freezing eggs. There was also some help from Fertile Future. They raised $14,000. Egg freezing is not inexpensive. For more information about egg freezing you can read Part 1: Seven Facts about Egg Freezing. “I always wanted to have a family. When this hit I felt like oh my gosh it’s too late. The fundraiser really helped us.” For others diagnosed and wondering what to do both about the cancer treatment and the future of their fertility, Anna advises: “Don’t accept the status quo.” Anna has been recuperating quickly and has done a host of complementary therapies that have helped her to feel better. She is still faces breast reconstruction. There is a chance the couple could still conceive naturally. But this is their “insurance policy” she says. Egg freezing is offered at many fertility clinics. Genesis Fertility Centre is one of those clinics in Vancouver. I attended their event recently so that I could write about egg freezing. There is one more part to come in this series. Part 1. Seven Facts About Egg Freezing Part 2: Today Anna and Marlon’s story. Part 3: Heather..

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