The historic heart of Vancouver, B.C., Gastown was named for Capt. John ""Gassy Jack"" Deighton, whose nickname, fortunately, referred to the gentleman's loquacity rather than his digestive shortcomings. He had been a steamboat pilot, but he helped found Vancouver in 1867 when he offered the locals all the whiskey they could drink in exchange for helping him build a saloon. They took him at his word, and within 24 hours--so the story goes--they had built the Globe Saloon, which is now an intersection. Gaoler's Mews, a courtyard off Water Street, was the site of Vancouver's first jail (which had no locks). Today some of the city's most offbeat establishments rim its walkways, including the Cigar Connoisseur, one of many Canadian tobacco shops that thrives on the United States' Cuban embargo with its 60 types of Cuban stogies. Also on the Mews is Hats, which offers everything from wool cloches to fishing caps. Matahari's Clothing sells fashions that are designed by the owner and manufactured by a women's cooperative in Nepal. For the anti-Starbucks contingent, there's Black Cat Coffee, with its hodgepodge of tables on the courtyard.