Day 17 (Victoria) – Tuesday, 26th July

Another very good night’s kip in a very comfortable bed (although the aircon is noisy). First world problem, I know….

Tried breakfast in the hotel. Expensive again, but I can feel myself getting inured to these prices. It was at least large, but not outstanding.

Booked a restaurant for tonight’s dinner via the hotel concierge and gained info about a hop-on-hop-off bus service around Victoria which we are planning to undertake, as is our wont in an unknown city.

Some arty-farty stuff in the hotel :

Reception area
Quarter of a million crystals, apparently

Have to say, it’s all rather pretentious. I know we’re privileged to be able to stay at places like this, but it is pretty up itself.

Anyway, we got booked onto a bus tour around Victoria, which was very interesting, but once again, there were four women chatting away in Spanish in front of us who never stopped to draw breath, making it hard to hear the commentary over the bus PA system. We were delighted when they got off.

Some pics from the bus tour, most of them hastily taken:

View from Wharf Street
Chinatown – the oldest in North America
Chinatown again
Beacon Hill Park
Tallest free standing totem pole in the world (Beacon Hill Park)
Restored 200 pipe organ in this church, apparently
Ross Bay
Oak Bay Marina

We finished the trip in blazing heat. Lovely for me, not so much for Jean.

A couple more views of the front of our hotel:

Jean needed a nail bar (?), so we found somewhere that appeared to fit the bill. 10 minute wait. Time to find my kind of bar, then:

Jean departed for her nail mission, and I stayed in the bar in lovely sunshine. Fantastic.

Jean returned, well satisfied with her result but considerably poorer.

We then decided to take a walk to Fisherman’s Wharf, an area that had captured my imagination on the bus tour. 20 minute stroll in very warm conditions, but worth it. Well, I thought so anyway. Very picturesque, if rather twee.

A reminder….

Back to our air-conditioned hotel room to relax ahead of dinner.

Which was thoroughly enjoyed at a local bistro. Thank God we’d booked it, as there was a constant stream of people trying to get a table. Very popular and very busy.

Jean had a pork chop for her main. Like no pork chop I have ever seen. More like a steak, but it was delicious, apparently. Me, I had halibut and chips. You won’t find that in many fish and chip shops in the U.K. Absolutely fab. Oh, and a decent bottle of Sauvignon Blanc…..

Back once again to our hotel room to finish packing. Well, sort of.

Early night beckons, as tomorrow I have to pick up a hire car early doors, drive it back to the hotel on the wrong side of the road (gulp), collect Jean and our vast luggage, then set off for Butchardt Gardens, 11 miles north of Victoria (highly recommended by many people). After that, a 2 hour drive to Parksville, further up the east coast of Vancouver Island.

That’s the plan, anyway. I’ll keep you posted.

8 responses to “Day 17 (Victoria) – Tuesday, 26th July”

  1. Great atmosphere at Fisherman’s Wharf. Lots of tourists wandering up and down the floating wooden platforms, as it’s an attractive place. One dwelling had this written on a white board on their front porch to satisfy the no doubt endless questions they get asked:
    TOP 5 QUESTIONS
    1. YES, THESE ARE PRIVATE YEAR ROUND FAMILY HOMES.
    2. NO, THESE ARE NOT AIR BNB’S RENTALS ARE NOT PERMITTED
    3. THESE ARE FLOAT HOMES NOT HOUSEBOATS. WE HAVE NO MEANS OF PROPULSION OR NAVIGATION
    4. YES, ITS EXPENSIVE TO LIVE HERE JUST LIKE THE REST OF VICTORIA
    5.BY POPULAR DEMAND: OUR POOP IS AUTOMATICALLY PUMPED FROM OUR HOMES, UNDER THE DOCK & UP TO THE CITY SEWAGE SYSTEM! Please be…
    RESPECTFUL OF OUR HOMES OUR WAY OF LIFE (WE LOVE IT HERE)

  2. Fisherman’s Wharf is somewhat reminiscent of the one in San Francisco.

    1. Yes. Not so extensive. The weather was far better here than when we saw it in San Francisco!

  3. I’m really enjoying your tales and photos, I have never been this far north but my parents did, it makes me wonder if they followed a similar journey to yours. Keep up the blogs as they make me smile and teach me about a land I have yet to explore.

    1. Thanks, Dawn. It becomes something of a mission to complete the posts! I find it helps if I keep it updated as I go along. Glad you’re enjoying it.

  4. Adele Gardner avatar
    Adele Gardner

    Victoria looks so clean and beautiful and so nice and sunny
    You should have taken a picture of Jeans nails i hope they last a long time since they were so expensive!
    We had a lot of halibut in Maderia and also red parrot i love fish and when i was little i used to take cold fish sanrnies to school for my lunch this is typical jewish school lunch that and fish balls
    tonight we are going out with James and Ellie for a curry

  5. Yes, definitely keep the blog posts coming, Chris. Victoria under that blue sky looks a beautiful place to be!

    1. Sorry about the late reply. Only just got a decent Internet connection! Plenty more to come – there’s a lot awaiting upload!

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