September 20-23, 2017 - Our big adventure for 2017 was to fly north to visit the city of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. Geographically, it is south of the 49th parallel north and it lies roughly between the cities of Vancouver, Canada to the north and Seattle, Washington to the south. We had a very tough time getting here due to flight delays, mechanical problems and other delays, but we finally made it although we were frazzled, to say the least. It's a beautiful city!
The first night we ate at Finn's on the waterfront. It was good, but it was pretty much standard fare.
Our second day was very busy, starting out by touring the Fairmont Empress which dominates the view from the harbor.
Our next stop was to tour the British Columbia Parliament Building, which opened in 1898.
The statue is of Queen Victoria.
This is the Legislature Chamber.
This stain glass commemorated Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.
We were lucky enough to be told about the Parliamentary Dining Hall where Members of the Legislative Assembly eat. Whenever we heard loud chimes, Members would jump up from the chairs to hurry to the Assembly to vote. The food was very good and the atmosphere was incredible!
Right across the street is the Royal British Columbia Museum.
From the museum we headed south towards our next stop and enjoyed the scenery walking through the neighborhoods.
Our destination was the Emily Carr House where the author and painter grew up.
After a lot of walking it was time to relax and eat at the Aura Restaurant overlooking the harbor. This was probably our best meal of the trip, as you can see by the cheese plate.
The views of the harbor are spectacular.
Later that night we had some tapas snacks at our hotel restaurant, the Veneto Tapa Lounge. We liked it so much, we came back the next night as well.
Our next day was also busy. Victoria's Chinatown is just one block away, so we checked it out.
It boasts of the tiniest shopping alley in the city, sometimes only four feet wide.
Then it was off to the Christ Church Cathedral built in 1929.
Judy was getting some blisters on her foot, but we trudged on to the next stop Craigdarroch Castle, built in 1890.
Close by is the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and we stopped in to see their Emily Carr exhibit.
We were also fascinated by the older, original part of the gallery.
Lunch today was at Zambri's Restaurant and the Italian cuisine was suburb!
Our last stop of the trip was to visit the Robert Bateman Center located right on the harbor.
I get up early in the morning, very early. So, to let Judy sleep, I go out for coffee and take pictures.
Everything was lovely and it's a beautiful place to see.