Have you been gorging on berries like I have lately? For the past couple of weeks all I’ve been eating are blueberries and raspberries. I even took a pint of blueberries with me on the ferry for snacking. My tasks, appointments and meetings are expected to eat up all of my day in Nanaimo, so I grab a quick bite beforehand.

Quick coffee and snack grab at Bocca, which is located in Nanaimo’s Old City Quarter.
Bocca is busy. I sit through three waves of line-ups before I decide to get in the queue for my coffee today.

Large Coffee ($2.50)

Here I am in Nanaimo, again. I really didn’t want to make another ferry trip out so soon, but it is what it is. I discover a new little eatery while I am here, so that’s worth it, no? After I finish with my tasks a few doors down, I happen to walk up the street and I notice this new restaurant where a Thai restaurant used to be. It was one of those, “Hey, this was never here before” moments.

Is it just me or has the The Old Country Market become a huge tourist trap over the years? I use to come here about once a month to shop for specialty products and to pick up my Maldon Salt. I thought I’d grab some flakey sodium today, but when I spy their newly inflated prices on the 8.5 ounce box, I take a pass. It’s still a fun place to browse and their pies are still some of the best I’ve encountered.

The Old City Quarter in Nanaimo is a small section of downtown that is lined with retail shops and restaurants in refurbished spaces.