Blogs from Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, North America - page 20

The lonely planet quite often comes in handy but never more so than our second day in Victoria. We read about a small diner called Johns Place that was purported to have good breakfasts. It was close to our hotel so we ambled on down. The place was packed which is always a good sign. We arrived at the right time as shortly after there was a huge queue winding out the door. We chowed down on eggs benedict, hash browns and fresh orange juice which fueled us for the days festivities. I wonder what percentage of my blog is about food? Probably over 50%. We decided to take a walk around the port, we watched as sea planes took off and landed, they seemed to be everywhere. We passed the parliament buildings, lots of flower ... read more

July 16 Victoria to Harrison Hot Springs From Victoria we drove to Butchart Gardens at Brentwood Bay. But first we had breakfast at a quaint little café called the Seadrifter with the locals. Butchart is divided into several gardens, including the Rose Gardens, the Formal Gardens, the Japanese Gardens, the Sunken Gardens, and the Totem Gardens. Jennie Butchart developed the gardens on a played out gravel pit her husband had quarried for his successful concrete business. They traveled the world collecting plants. Entering the Rose Gardens was overwhelming in its magnificence with more than 2,500 rose bushes of 250 different varieties in full bloom. It was almost sensory overload. The other gardens were equally impressive. We hurried down the road just in time to catch the noon ferry from Sydney to Vancouver - actually Tsawwassen, just ... read more

We got to the ferry at 10 in order to insure a spot on the 12:45 ferry to Victoria. We walked around the town and had lunch at Rick's American Cafe. The ferry ride was about an hour and half and was very scenic. Arriving at Victoria we found our hotel, The Delta, another Priceline find and very, very nice. We walked over the draw bridge to the main part of the city. First stop was the Parliament House. Victoria is the capitol of British Columbia. It was very impressive, especially from the outside. Since the Empress was close by we decided to have High Tea at the Empress. At $60 it seemed a little high for tea but it was well worth it. We had tea sandwiches, scones, and sweets in a beautiful setting. Since ... read more

We haven’t put anything up for a few weeks now, mainly because we have been working a fair bit and have been essentially living the lives of shift workers. We’re keeping the bar staff at our local wondering why we are so weird - rolling in at about midnight, dressed from head to toe in black (our work uniform requirements), carrying backpacks, dark bags under our eyes, ordering a couple drinks and then wandering out the back service door and into the back alley (we live on the other side of the alley). We’ve had a few firsts for us in the past couple of weeks. July 1 is Canada day, which is pretty much like Australia day with people enjoying free festivities, dressed in red and white, holding Canadian flags , sporting fake flag tattoos ... read more

Dianne retired from her job as an elementary school principal in June 2007. She wasn’t really ready to retire, just not willing to keep up the pressure of being a full time principal as well as teaching two days a week. During her “year off” she managed to keep busy as International Student Coordinator one day a week as well as completing a seven week project as Literacy Coordinator. Late last fall, the Superintendent of the system returned from China where he had been working as part of a team evaluating a school system that follows the BC curriculum. He spoke very highly of the system and mused that teachers should take a leave and go to China for a year or two. Dianne said “I could do that!” I replied that I was sure she ... read more