Our host: Joy was an absolute pleasure, and was more than simply accommodating. Joy consistently went above and beyond to make sure we enjoyed our stay, were able to interact with neighbors and friends of hers, and get to know a bit of history about her family's long history with the main house. She even offered her bicycle to us to use, as I had brought one for myself but we didn't have one for when my spouse joined me.

The home: The coach-house is a fairly recently constructed stand-alone, with two stories. There is a full kitchen, dining, and sitting area on the main floor; large loft bedroom and full bathroom on the second floor. Joy obviously took a lot of care being involved with the architect and builder, and what came of it is a really lovely home. The coach-house was perfect for the two of us, and truly felt like a home-away-from-home (granted it was possibly a better home than our actual home)! The property is very secure, and Joy provided us keys to our unit, which separates the coach-house from the other coach-house and main house.

The neighborhood: The neighborhood is extremely safe, and there is plenty of free parking on Princess Avenue and Heatley Avenue (before it turns into Keefer). Strathcona is adjacent to both Chinatown and the Gastown neighborhood. Be cautious, but unafraid of the East Hastings block, its evolving and offers a variety of awesome restaurants, community art galleries, and cafés (Check out Acme Café for breakfast).

Getting around: We found this to be the perfect location to see a great deal of Vancouver by bike and on foot. It takes about 10-15 minutes to get to the edge of downtown proper, and 20 minutes in the opposite direction to a number of micro-breweries along Clark Drive, and a smattering of AMAZING restaurants along Commercial Drive. Assume half the time each to ride by bike.

Biking: The Adanac bike route is two blocks away, and runs far to the east of the coach-house and southwest to the Mt. Pleasant and South Cambie neighborhoods. You can get to Granville Island, the Seawall / Stanley Park , and a number of other amazing neighborhoods by bike with very little interaction with vehicles by using Vancouver's extensive separate and semi-shared bike paths.

Enjoy Strathcona, Vancouver, and Joy's company! We can't wait to visit again.