In this informal walking‑tour vlog, the host takes viewers on a ten‑minute uphill walk from downtown Nanaimo to the Old Quarter, a compact historic district packed with independent shops and eateries. He highlights a variety of stores – The Refillery (bulk, zero‑waste personal‑care and cleaning products), a vintage‑style barber, a long‑standing yarn shop that hand‑dyes its yarn, a tattoo studio (Max Tattoo Studio #1) with a yoga area, several local bookstores noted for their pleasant scent, a highly‑rated Italian restaurant, a cupcake shop (Venenamo Bar), an eclectic clothing boutique known for natural‑fiber dresses, a jewelry store, a coffee shop famous for Nanaimo bars, a spa, a waffle‑and‑bubble‑tea spot, a shoe store, a tanning salon, a home‑goods store with cats, and a nearby pub (The Occidental) serving Indian masala cuisine. He repeatedly points out that most venues are wheelchair‑accessible, mentions occasional train traffic nearby, and advises visitors to expect rain typical of a coastal rainforest – suggesting a raincoat but noting it’s usually a light drizzle. Personal touches include a quick “lightning round” of rapid shop highlights, a brief mention of his wife’s favorite bookstore, and a note that he must return to his day job. The video ends with a reminder of the Old Quarter’s proximity to downtown, the ocean, and the convenience of a short walk to explore the area.
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So many of you liked the downtown video and a lot of you asked for the Old Quarter, which I mentioned. So let's go to the Old Quarter. The Old Quarter is about a 10-minute walk up a very small hill from downtown Nanaimo, and it's a collection of really cool stores. The Refillery is a place where you can get all sorts of bulk products and you don't have to get any packaging with it. Some of it is cleaning supplies, some of it is like personal care, all sorts of different kinds of shampoo and conditioner. We got a barber shop. Like, I'm telling you, if you like vintage vintage clothes, this is the city for you. Okay, knitters and yarn people, all sorts of yarn in this store, and they hand dye some of their own yarn as well. The store has been here for 27 years. This store has been here for 23, 24 years, and almost everything in here is local. Lots of local art. They have a room just for incense. Unfortunately, the best thing in the store you cannot buy. Look at this dude. This is Max. Tattoo Studio Number One. A yoga area. Guys, do not sleep on the vegetable bento box here. Okay, this is me and my wife's favorite. It is one of the bookstores in town. Lots of local books and local indie books as well here. What is it about bookstores? Why do they always smell so good? Italian restaurant. Everyone raves about this. I have not actually been here yet, but people say so many good things about it. A wee cupcake. All sorts of cupcakes, and of course they've They've got Venenamo Bar cupcake, pumpkin pie kids stuff, the cutest little hats, more funky eclectic clothing. Almost all of these wheelchair accessible, by the way. They have been here 50 years. They're really known for their dresses. They use like a lot of natural fibers and linens. It's actually a way bigger store than I'm showing here. Okay, I got a lightning round some of this stuff. This little corridor, by the way, is the cutest thing at night if you want pictures. So jewelry store if you like strong coffee, here they got tons of Nanaimo bars. In here, over here is a spa, a pretty big spa actually. Waffles and bubble tea here. Uh, there's a shoe store here, and there is a tanning place. And on the topic of tanning, um, you may notice it is raining here right now. Will it rain when you're here? Maybe. We are in a rainforest, but it's not cold in April. The rain— if you have never experienced rain falling in a rainforest. It is the most beautiful smell you will not be able to get out of your head. Will it rain? It might. It's like a 50/50 chance. Bring a raincoat just in case. It is not like a torrent of rain. You'll be fine. More lightning round. A home store and kitties and cream. Let's go inside. Uh, they call this Mäuschen Dice, which is, you know, adorable. And the best part Hi buddy. Oh no, no, no, no, no. Oh shit. Also, there's sometimes trains that go through. Okay, I have to get back to my day job, but I want to show you— that's, that's some of the Old Quarter. I want to show you what's like literally just across the street from the Old Quarter because there's lots of cool stuff too. The Occidental is like a super favorite local pub. Jocelyn and I keep meaning to come here. Everyone raves about it if, um, if you like Indian food, and it is masala culture. It's also like a specialty food store. Okay, I'm out of breath and I gotta go back to work. So I hope that was helpful. The Old Quarter in Nanaimo, BC, you're gonna want to visit it for sure. It is maybe about a 10-minute walk away from downtown. Like, see that, that orange building back there? That's one of the downtown hotels, and right behind is the ocean, by the way. Like, that's how close everything is to everything else. Okay, bye!
