I have never been to the Vancouver Art Gallery before this night. I have walked by it many many times and been inside once (to wait for a friend), but never paid a proper visit.
It wasn't one of those typical nights where you just finish work and go home. It was rather exciting to have something to look forward to! Plus, I was glad to have done this with one of my lifelong friends.
After much discussion about what to eat, we decided on Chipotle Mexican Grill. The line up is pretty crazy as usual during lunch and dinner times.
An assembly line to get your order prepared from start to finish.
My favourite is the steak bowl with guacamole, lettuce, sour cream, cheese and brown rice. It was much more delicious that it looked! The Canadian portion is much smaller compared to the U.S..
My friend's chicken bowl. This one was exactly the same as mine, but it had salsa and corn as well.
I will miss this a lot! American fast-food is pretty awesome.
The Vancouver Art Gallery was just a three-minute walk from Chipotle, so we arrived with plenty of time before it closing at 9pm. I watch a lot of Chinese history dramas and have seen most of the artifacts displayed in the shows. Still, seeing them in person was different. For example, the amazingly detailed needle work on the emperor's ceremonial military uniform, the accessories of the imperial ladies and the expansion of China throughout some of the dynasties. My only disappointment was that towards the end of the exhibition, there was half a room filled with western artifacts. They were very interesting to look at and fascinating in the fact that such modern objects were loved so dearly by Emperor Qianlong. However, it would've been much more interesting to gain additional insights on the Chinese side of things.
My favourite quote from the whole evening was from Emperor Yongzheng:
唯以一人治天下，豈為天下奉一人。
I was trying to find the perfect translation for this quote. The closest one I've found is this:
"There is only one Emperor to rule all, but it shouldn't be for all people to nourish that one person."
Yongzheng went down in history known to be a frugal and down-to-earth ruler. He gained power when the country was in debt, but managed to resolve and accumulate wealth towards the end of his reign.
My look for an gallery evening: Light pink chiffon blouse (it was too cold to remove my jacket), over-sized check pattern scarf, wool peacoat, very warm tights with fleecy material on the inside and a pair of Mary Jane. Oh, I was wearing my favourite Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter too.
From Mexican to Chinese within four hours, Vancouver is definitely a multicultural city and I'm embracing it!
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