Victoria - 20th-24th December 2009

Victoria is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. It is the capital of British Columbia, Canada. It has a temperate climate, natural beauty, recreational sites and superior economic opportunities.

Greater Victoria has attracted people from all over Canada, the United States and other countries.

The region's strategic location as a gateway to the Pacific Rim, its closeness to U.S. markets, and its many sea and air links have made the area a hub for business development and economic investment.

Our neighbours said it would be a piece of home, as they regard it as very British.

We dropped the dog off at Kathy and Gord's nice and early and set off on a lovely sunny day along the Oceanside highway 19A. This route follows the coast on our left all the way to Victoria.

We went through a number of small towns, which were once miners' or loggers' settlements. We passed through Ladysmith, a heritage town, and Chemainus, famous for its wall murals. We stopped half way in Duncan a small logging town, to have a cup of coffee at Tim Horton's, a very popular chain of coffee outlets. We also succumbed to a donut.

The trip down took about 2 hours, and it was interesting to see the different scenery in this part of the island. The landscape had been cleared of trees and was utilised for grazing, cows and horses, and agriculture.

We found our way to Victoria very easily and to our hotel, the Inn at Laurel Point. We had a lovely view across the harbour, looking at the Parliament building and the famous Empress Hotel, which are the main focal points of the city.

On our first evening in Victoria we had a quick look about our local vicinity, just to stretch our legs, but as it was pouring with rain, and we got very wet, we had a meal in our hotel restaurant. This was expensive but absolutely delicious.

The next day, although cold, was clear and sunny. We initially headed for a diner, to get some breakfast which set us up to have a look along Government Street where all the big shops are located. We were magnetically drawn to Eddie Bauer, our fave store, and luckily for us, they were having a sale that day! Result.

When we had dragged ourselves out of there, we had a look in the many gift shops along this road, so many lovely souvenirs.

We had a look around the Fairmont Empress Hotel, just to warm up. They offer afternoon tea here, but we just watched the 'tourists' partaking in a little British custom


When we had thawed out we had a look at Chinatown where the first chinese immigrants
settled in this fur trading and gold rush town.


We enjoyed looking around the marina and watching the ferry boats come and go, from Seattle US, and Vancouver, Canada. There were a number of little ferry boats which took passengers from one side of the harbour to the other, they were all driven by Father Christmas!

We were told that the museum was worth a visit, but we didn't have enough time to spend in there.

We wentt into the parliament building which dominates the inner harbour area. The inside is very ornate, with stain glass windows, and spiral ceilings.

Victoria is made up of lots of districts which we did not get to see on this trip. We took a drive out to Butcharts' Gardens which is in the north of the city.

We followed the south east edge of the island with the ocean on our right. It was a beautiful sunny day, cold, but clear, and the water was sparkling. The houses that line this coast are magnificent. They are huge and very individual, all with electronic gates and huge gardens. This is in an area known as Oak Bay, and Cordova Bay. This is a seriously rich neighbourhood. We kept driving, in our big truck, which gave us a good view over many of the walls, to have a look at the nice houses.

We stopped at a few view points along the coast to look out at the view.