Fun around UBCO: West Kelowna & Wine

Formerly known as Westbank, West Kelowna is home to a number of you-pick farms and orchards, and award-winning wineries. Any other must visit places in West Kelowna to recommend? Comment below!

Paynter’s Fruit Market
Besides purchasing a variety of fruits in the market, you can pick peaches, pears and other fruit in the orchard behind the market for a reasonable price.

There’s awesome Vietnamese Pho in West Kelowna 🙂

If you appreciate fine wine,  check out:
Mission Hill Family Estate
The architecture and vineyards are worth seeing.  Our group was served a free glass of wine. If you don’t drink, request your complimentary glass of wine to be replaced with their sparkling pear juice. It’s so sweet that it’s heavenly.

Quail’s Gate
The view from here is spectacular. US President Obama visited here.

Volcanic Hills
Mt. Boucherie

Those listed above were all along the same road but there are many more wineries located around. Although I don’t drink , I admire how wine-making is a science and wine enjoyment an art. The acidity, sugar levels and other fine details are closely monitored to produce the finest wine. Did you know that it’s common for grapes used to make ice wine to be picked in the middle of the night, e.g. 2 am? That is when the grapes’ sugar levels are highest. I was also impressed by the wine connoisseurs who  could tell you which types of wine are best paired with slightly spicy food and what type of food you should cook to pair with a particular wine. Their seriousness towards wine is admirable.

Fun around UBCO: Downtown Kelowna

You can take the public double-decker bus from UBCO campus to Downtown Kelowna but if you plan to buy fruits, you might want to drive.

Early morning: Stop by BC Fruits Co-Op to buy some affordable fresh fruit and support local farmers.
Get organic Bubble Tea at Formosa Cafe.

Mid-late morning: Head Downtown to explore Kelowna’s galleries, theatres, restaurants, and trendy retail.
BC Orchard Industry museum (Check out the Apple Dolls) and BC Wine Museum are right beside each other and are great places to start.  A few steps away is the Rotary Centre for Performing Arts where you can view some art, listen to free live music and catch a theatre performance. Pulp Fiction Coffee House is an interesting book store to check out. Relax and wander around Downtown.

Lunch: Bulgogi Japchae and Bulgogi Stew at Gueng is pretty good, albeit a tad pricey. By the way, Gueng means “palace” in Korean.

Afternoon: Change into your swimsuits and head to the lakeshore. The lake is quite calm and perfect for a relaxed hour paddleboarding or  kayaking. Spend the rest of the afternoon playing volleyball or with an ultimate disc and taking in the beautiful view on the beach.

Dinner: When you’re hungry, head to Da Tandoor Fusion Indian Cuisine for their delicious chicken mahkni. Spicy level 5 is already extremely hot. I don’t know what happens if you choose spicy level 6.

Night: Downtown Kelowna Marina. By the boardwalk, sometimes there are outdoor family-friendly movie screenings. There are also two pianos right by the water that any one is allowed to play. Channel your inner Mozart or Oscar Peterson.

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