Early, early start today as I leave Seattle for Victoria,
British Columbia. A couple days earlier, I bought tickets for The Clipper, the
passenger only ferry to Victoria. It’s about a two and a half hour boat ride
with a full service bar, pretty decent food and, my own row to spread out in.
While booking my tickets for the ferry, I also booked a
combination city tour and tour of Butchart Gardens. Hopping right off the boat
and onto a bus, a group drove through the city with our tour guide, John, who
was just delightful. He was knowledgeable and funny, often making jokes at his
own expense. Because we were on a tour bus, I didn’t get a lot of great
pictures, but here are a few that are presentable.
About a half an hour later, we arrived at Butchart Gardens.
Both my parents told me that I had to see it, and I’m so glad they told me
about it. The gardens are humongous and have maybe different themes. There’s a
beautiful Rose garden as well as country garden- Italy and Japanese being my
two favorites. Put on some sunblock and walk through the gardens with my visual
tour!
My next plan for the day was High Tea at the historic
Fairmont Empress. Of course, I had to dress for the occasion, so I slipped into
a bathroom and shed my sweaty travel/ garden clothes and but on a simple
sundress and tried to coif my hair into something even remotely tamed. Frankly,
the entire experience was wonderful. Starting the meal off with Empress blend,
taking it as the English do with just a splash of milk and a cube of sugar. The first course was blueberries with
Empress Cream. I don’t like blueberries very much, but these were perfectly
ripe and sweet. With a little scoop of the whipped cream with every bite of the
blueberries, I had no problem finishing the dainty portion.
The next three course come on a tier; finger sandwiches on
the bottom, scones and shortbread cookies in the center, and dessert on top.
Finger sandwich flavors included a smoked salmon pinwheel with dill cream
cheese on a soft wheat bread, roasted honey ham with tarragon dijionaise on
cranberry and rosemary bread, egg salad on a croissant, cucumber with ginger
mascarpone on a butter brioche, and Moroccan Spiced chicken on marble rye.
Everything was absolutely wonderful. Eating foods that royals have had looking out onto the waterfront and looking around at the historic walls, I really could not have been more content.
Finishing up, I finally made my way to the home that I was staying at. A really lovely 15 minute walk from all the action was an adorable cottage that I got to call home for a couple nights. After unpacking and resting for a bit, I walked down to Fisherman's Wharf about two minutes down the road. Not only does this pier have a couple different places to eat, kayaking tours, and whale tours, but it also has house boats. And the people that live there take pride in their unique living situations.
After walking around for a bit and finally feeling hungry again, I decided to get some boardwalk food. I chose flash-fried Fanny Bay oysters. These suckers were humongous! And absolutely delicious with nice crisp fries and just-spicy-enough cocktail sauce. While I was eating, a seal decided to pop it's little head out of the water and make a show for some people standing around. The place where I ordered my food also sold raw fish that you could feed to the seal. If I could have, I would have taken that little guy home! Look at those eyes!
A jam packed day left me exhausted. I relaxed for the rest of the night and had a good nights rest for more adventures in the morning. Stay tuned for more adventures in Victoria!
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