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Published: June 20th 2017
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Geo: 48.4644, -123.38
Butchart Gardens, VictoriaSeptember 5th
Did you know that Canada also has a Labor Day holiday? But I guess in their case it would be "Labour Day", eh? We didn't either and it is the same weekend as the holiday in the US. This weekend.
Had we known we might have switched our sightseeing agendas between today and yesterday. Today we are going to Butchart Gardens, and with it being a holiday AND the last Saturday night of the Butchart Gardens fireworks show, we're sure to be in a crowd.
We walk a few blocks from the hotel to catch the bus and we're on our way.
The Butchart Gardens are built over a limestone quarry, and the area is still owned by the Butchart family. It is unbelievable. Imagine one of the biggest, most beautiful, well kempt botanical gardens you can. Now double that and you have the Butchart Gardens.
Mr. Butchart quarried the limestone which was used for making concrete. He made a huge fortune because his limestone becane incredibly important when the earthquake of 1906 devastated San Francisco. Suddenly there were building regulations - concrete buildings were it and there was a huge demand for his product.
Mrs.
Butchart was the instigator of the gardens; so, they have both left their marks on the world albeit in very different ways.
As we paid our entrance fee and entered the park, Jeff looked at me and said, "Crap!" But he has his hat on... "What??" I ask. He pulled out the camera and showed me the empty battery compartment. Crap! Well, I do have my GoPro and we have our phones, so we can get some snapshots.
We started by going through the Sunken Garden, which was the actual limestone quarry, then through the Rose Garden (such incredible smells), the Japanese Garden, on and on for several hours. After stopping to buy a cup of coffee (free refills all day throughout the park) we found the carousel of custom, hand carved animals. I am a carousel animal afficiando and was just in heaven! There are a few photos of beautifully carved animals below.
We walked past native totems, flowers that towered over us both, a dancing fountain and some lifelike topiary animals.
A separate part of the Butchart Gardens is a boat tour. We pay our money and climb aboard with three other couples and our guide. The first
thing we see is a school of moon jellyfish! Wow!!
We tour the area for about 45 minutes and see where the original dock/wharf stood when Mr. Butchart was shipping limestone, and where some of the old buildings, now ruins, still stand. We see the pricey real estate around the cove and learn that in Canada a boat can be moored forever as long as it is afloat and not leaking anything. Several of the boats we see are in horrible shape, clearly abandoned, but there is nothing anyone can do about getting those wrecks out of the pretty harbor.
It is getting late now so after our boat ride we head back toward the entrance to catch our bus. We are like salmon swimming upstream as crowds are coming into the park for the fireworks. We've heard that the fireworks show is spectacular but we're concerned about using public transportation afterwards (like when, really, is the last bus?) and we have to get back to town.
Tonight we are having dinner at the other restaurant that Janet's cousin recommended, "Be Love." This is a vegan and raw restaurant and I can hardly wait! Jeff looked at their online menu
and they have smoked cashew "cheeze" that I'm anxious to try.
Be Love was WONDERFUL!! A very small and crowded restaurant with amazing food. I had their housemade ginger beer and an heirloom tomatoe lasagna made with a delicious (almond?) cheeze. Jeff had a raw dinner - a pasta dish made with raw zucchini noodles and vegies. Both meals were delicious, oh, and the smoked cheeze was excellent.
Be Love lives up to its name. The restaurant has a Be Love bowl of healthy, yummy grains and greens that they will serve to anyone regardless of their ability to pay. Be Love, indeed.
Stuffed beyond words we waddle back to our hotel and sleep well.
It was a great day!
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