Where Vancouver

Amazing Grace

Grace Park is exactly what you’d expect from a model-turned-actress who grew up in Vancouver and continues to live here: gorgeous but not pretentious, with an easygoing West Coast vibe. She suggested a photo shoot on Granville Island and chatted over coffee about her life, filming the final season of Battlestar Galactica and her favourite local spots.

On Battlestar Galactica:
I think it’s socially really relevant. At some point the show begs everyone to take a stand and think about what you’re doing, what you’re thinking and what your actions will ultimately manifest as. It’s a grown-up show.

On how the final season will end:
No idea. It just gets weirder.

What she’ll miss most:
The cast. Especially working with Tahmoh Penikett, who plays Helo.

On getting included in Maxim magazine’s Hot 100 list, doing a photo shoot for GQ magazine and being featured in the New York Times:
All these things are always surreal, every time they happen.

On the Maxim photo shoot:
I was so stressed before I went there, because when you look at Maxim, everyone is airbrushed to perfection. I know I don’t look anything like that. They were like, “Honey, we’ll airbrush it.”

On her appearances at the annual Comic-Con convention in San Diego:
It’s like Halloween on steroids in space. It’s crazy. People are so dressed up. It’s like Disneyland meets space-freak-show on October 31st.

Why she loves Vancouver:
It still has a little bit of a small-time vibe, even though we’re growing into a cosmopolitan city. We’re having the Olympics here—you can’t get around that. But I appreciate how the city was planned, how downtown is really dense, how they maintain the parks. It’s a gorgeous setting. It’s a jewel between the mountains and the ocean. The weather’s mild, yet we still have the four seasons. And we can go sailing, golfing and skiing in one day, at a world-class resort. Then we have cute things like Granville Island, which kicks ass over Pike Place Market [in Seattle].

Why she prefers Vancouver over Los Angeles:
I love that Vancouver seems so normal. When you go to a city like LA, you go, geez, how does anyone grow up normal in a city like that?

On her recent conversion to yoga:
I finally started yoga. It’s so Vancouver that I was completely avoiding it. I was like, yoga schmoga! Enough with the Lululemon pants, everybody! Get some real clothes on. Then I fall into it and I’m like, oh my gosh, I’m doing the exact same thing.

Her favourite place to do hot yoga:
Yaletown Yoga has this great class. It’s not too hot. But I like having a good sweat.

On other fitness activities:
I like snowboarding. I go to Whistler and Cypress. I love Whistler! And pilates is awesome. I’m doing all the stereotypical Hollywood things.

On local sports teams:
I wish I watched more Vancouver sports and was more of a fan, but I think in true Vancouver spirit, I don’t have a lot of spirit for my teams.

On the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, coming to Vancouver and Whistler:
I love the Olympics. I would love to see the ski jumping. And figure skating is cool. How many times do the Olympics come to your home town? I’d love to watch everything. I’ll probably go watch the speed skating, because Koreans always kick ass on that one.

On the Vancouver dining scene:
You’re going to get great food at killer prices. A restaurant will not survive here if they’re going to charge $45 for entrées.

Favourite restaurant:
Oh jeez, that’s tough. There’s so many! I love going to a hole in the wall, or out for Asian food. I like Tropika a lot, and Azia has great food. I like going to Boneta, and Salt is great. There’s just so many.

Favourite spot for a romantic meal:
La Regalade in North Van. It has fantastic food. It’s bistro-style, so it’s not ultra-fancy, but you go in, it’s cozy and they bring you everything in these little dutch ovens.

Favourite place to go for a walk:
The seawall is really beautiful. Anything by the water, pretty much.

Favourite thing to do on a rainy day:
It’s called living. It’s not a one-day affair, when it rains in Vancouver.

Favourite places for coffee:
The Epicurean Cafe. It’s bustling, it’s great. Of course Caffe Artigiano has great coffee. And Il Caffe De Milano sells great coffee, but I just buy it and bring it home.

On shopping:
I’m not the girl who buys lots of heels and purses, who goes and has shopping therapy, but I’ve kind of found myself turning into that girl who ends up buying stuff. I’m a collector, of things like jams, spice jars, containers.

On clothing stores:
As a shopping place, Holt Renfrew is great. Before I had any money, I’d never, ever go to Holts. Holts was bad. Holts was a money pit. I’d go to True Value Vintage. I like finding unexpected places, or going through a rack and being able to find one or two things that actually look good but they’re not expensive. I like Global Atomic, they’ve got some cool stuff.

Favourite places to shop:
Capers, Whole Foods.

On Granville Island:
It’s almost like visiting little countries. You go to one booth, and ooh, there’s a bakery! Ooh, there’s a seafood guy! And candied apples! If I get to Granville Island, I buy vegetables. I buy fruit from the locals. The meat guy, ooh! Such good sausages, pâté—amazing. I buy flowers. And maybe tea. And probably a chowder or two or soup from the soup guy.

OH FRACK!
The end is near: the final season of Battlestar Galactica, which is filmed in Vancouver, begins airing this month. We’ll miss the show when it’s over, but we can’t wait to find out how all the plot twists are resolved. So say we all.