The first 3 days - Victoria

Hello from beautiful Victoria Canada!

Well at the moment we are actually leaving Victoria on a big ferry heading back to Vancouver. Our first few days have been so full that I haven't had time to sit and write as I usually would as for the first time on an overseas holiday, we are not by ourselves and  I have someone else to talk to and do things with and not just Peter. It is fabulous but it doesn't leave much time for just sitting in our room and blogging! I love it.

Day 1
So we'll go back to the beginning of our trip and fill you in. Most of you would have seen the posts from the airport where we enjoyed the hospitality of the Qantas Lounge which started our holiday on a great note. Our flight was good and we landed in Vancouver along with hundreds of others all looking to pick up bags and get on with their holiday. Well that was the longest wait we have ever had but I think that was because we were probably the first bags on the plane. After our bag pickup we made our way to the next plane a little 2 propeller one to make the final leg to our first real destination Victoria.
It was a very short flight we levelled out for a total of 11 minutes! Arriving in Victoria we got our shuttle to Hotel Rialto and checked in around 4.30 so a very long day from when we started our journey. Great hotel and fabulous location in Old Towne Victoria. We decided that we would just have a quiet night and have a couple of drinks in the lounge and dinner in the hotel restaurant as we all needed a rest. Although John and Peter did venture out for a beer after Cheryl and I went to bed but that was ok as we needed our beauty sleep :) Day one done and dusted!

Day 2
We woke to a beautiful sunny day which was so nice after the gloomy days we had had in Sydney before we left. Our first activity for the day was a visit to Craigdarroch Castle. It was a reasonable walk through the streets of Victoria with some beautiful buildings to look at along the way. This was one of my must sees in Victoria as I had seen some fabulous photos of it on the tourism website and heard glowing reports from friends who had visited.
As with most things Peter looks at a map and he says it's not far! It probably wasn't but it was still a decent half hour walk but when we got there it was worth it. Along the way we saw some very nice houses all made of what appears to be weatherboard.

Lots of these flags outside buildings in the town

Gorgeous examples of the type of homes along the way

Built between 1887 and 1890 for Robert Dunsmuir a Scottish immigrant who made his fortune from Vancouver Island coal. It is a Victorian mansion built on a hill (as most men of wealth in this time period chose to do) overlooking the City of Victoria. The building of the house made a huge statement about who Robert Dunsmuir was and his wealth and his importance in Western Canada. He died before he could enjoy the fruits of his hard work and his entire estate was let to his widow Joan. At the time his estate was valued at $15 - 20 million US dollars. Joan moved into Craigdarroch Castle in 1890 and lived there until her death in 1908.

Looking up from the ground floor

Looking out from the top floor towards the mountains

The Sitting Room

The interiors are magnificent with wood panelling, stairs, doors and window frames throughout all pre-fabricated and shipped out from Chicago to Victoria in five railcars. It has many other beautiful woods throughout the house and the furnishings which have been recreated are fabulous. I was in 7th heaven looking at each room and the period in which they were recreated. Once Joan died she left the house to her 5 surviving daughters, one son in law and three grandchildren. They then sold the contents of the Castle in  three day auction to divide the proceeds between them. It is this auction catalogue that has helped with the purchase and recreation of the interiors as the curators knew what had been in the house when the Dunsmuirs lived there. Over time the house has been left vacant with only a caretaker by one owner, been a military hospital, the Victoria College and then the Victoria Conservatory of Music. It was then co-leased with the  Society for Preservation & Maintenance of Craigdarroch Castle until in 1979 when the conservatory vacated and it gave the society the opportunity to operate the Castle solely as an historical museum.

It was a truly magnificent house!

After our visit we walked back down towards the harbour where we saw the preparations for Canada Day. After a quick stop off for a refreshment we decided to venture around the harbour to Fisherman's Wharf. It was quite a way but with the sun shining it was quite nice. When we arrived it wasn't quite what we expected. There were some quaint float homes. We decided we might have lunch but as it was very crowded we caught a water taxi back to Old Towne and had some lunch at pub by the water.  We were all feeling like our jet lag was catching up with us so decided an afternoon nap would be in order.

Friendship Bell between Victoria and her sister city.

Empress Hotel

Float houses at Fisherman's Wharf

Canada 150 sign by the harbour

Gay Pride crossing

We met in the bar for an afternoon aperitif and got chatting to 2 couples from the US who were visiting for Canada Day. What a hoot they were! We shared a few drinks and some lively conversation before they left to go to dinner. Can i say I wouldn't have been driving if I was them as they didn't hold back that's for sure. We decided to have a very late dinner at a pub Peter had researched and it was a good choice as not only was the food good but there was a live band as well. A very late night was had by all but definitely a good one.

Day 3
Very easy start to the day with catching the bus right outside our hotel to the Butchart Gardens. Great that you can buy a day pass for the bus for only $5 and it lasts all day. Glad we went early as by the time we were leaving they were flooding in in droves. It was started by Jennie Butchart as a way to beautify the worked out limestone quarry which had supplied her husband nearby Portland cement plant.
What a fabulous job she did, the gardens are spectacular and so extensive. There are no photos that could do the gardens justice. There is the Sunken garden, the Rose garden with so many beautiful species of roses you just can't imagine, the Japanese Garden, Star Pond, Italian garden and the Piazza. The gardens themselves cover more than 22 hectares. We strolled around and about half way through came upon and old fashioned carousel. It was lovely so Cheryl and I decided to take a ride. It was so much fun taking us back to our childhood. Cheryl naturally rode the giraffe and I rode the polar bear next to her.

The Carousel that we rode.

John by the Totems in the park

Back on the bus to town to soak up the atmosphere around Canada Day. Lots of things happening in all parts of the town with everyone proudly wearing their red and white colours. It was very busy but we had a great time also doing a bit of shopping along the way. Back to the hotel for an afternoon relaxing beverage where we were once again joined by out American friends before finishing off a great day with dinner in Veneto Restaurant.

A photo taken by our favourite waitress Mel.

Time to pack to leave on the next part of our adventure.