We left at sunrise Saturday on the Victoria Clipper, a catamaran passenger boat that makes the 86 mile trip to Victoria in about 3 hours. Crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca can be rough and I stocked up on seasick remedies, but the trip was as smooth as driving down the freeway.
A friendly local greeting at the Laurel Point Inn.
The Clipper vacation package included a bus tour of the city and a visit to Butchart Gardens on the outskirts of Victoria.
It was beautiful as always, but so crowded on a warm Saturday afternoon with groups of tourists. You can't tell from this rose garden picture John managed to take, but it at times it felt like more people than flowers.
At the end of a long but pleasant day, looking happy at oyster happy hour...
And a sunset view from our hotel room overlooking the Victoria inner harbor...
On Sunday, new adventures. The day finally arrived to visit the world-famous Victoria tourist attraction, "Miniature World." We missed it on all our previous trips.
Miniature-themed dioramas and displays representing historical times and fictional worlds. Nova and Maya would love this. We did too!
All that mini-excitement worked up an appetite, so we walked to the Chinatown district for lunch. Fan Tan Alley is the narrowest street in Canada. The alley was originally a gambling district with restaurants and opium dens. These days of course, it's a tourist destination, with small shops and galleries, including the most expensive umbrella store in the world. It was raining lightly by then, and John found a $10 brolly at a Chinese souvenir shop instead.
We went shopping after lunch, and took a rain check on the Rolling Barrel.
Looks too much like work.
A fleet of little water taxis called "pickle boats" crisscrosses the inner harbor carrying passengers.
Adorable. We had to ride.
So we went to "other side" for dinner at a brew pub on Sunday night.
The Pickle Captain.
Another dramatic sunset on the ride back to the hotel...
Then a final stroll along the waterfront to see the 3,300 lights on the Parliament Building.
One last indulgent breakfast, and it was time to cruise back to Seattle laden with tea, chocolates and new hats.
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