Victoria
2003
Day 6: Wednesday,
Sept 3
We arrived on the ferry from Vancouver
just as it was getting dark in Victoria, and checked into our hotel
just blocks away from the fabulous harbor. Looking around for a
relatively late dinner spot, we tried Hugo's
Lounge in the Magnolia
Hotel. It was a good place for food (I sampled the chilean sea bass),
but a little dead on a Wednesday night.
Day 7: Thursday,
Sept 4
Today was the day to explore the capital of British Columbia. The
easiest way to do this was on the Gray
Line tour bus (see my Around
Town pics). Our tour took us through the shopping
district, Chinatown, and some fancy residential areas on the outskirts
of town. After the tour, it was time for lunch at......
Barb's
Place. Located right
on the docks right in the harbor, this little shack has fish and
chips wrapped in real newspaper that just melt in your mouth! It
immediately became one of my favorite places. Then we hit the some
of the fancy touristy stores in town, including Rogers'
Chocolates, Murchie's
Tea and Coffee, and the famous Hudsons
Bay Company store, which has a more modern sounding
name "The Bay", and is basically a department store in
a downtown mall. In the harbor area we took a quick walkthrough
of the Parliament
and the Royal
BC Museum. Before we knew it, it was time for afternoon
tea at......
The
Fairmont Empress Hotel.
The Empress is the kind of hotel where the Queen stays when she's
visiting the colonies. The setup for our afternoon tea is what you
would expect: lots of waiters and even a pianist playing some tunes
while we enjoyed the view of the harbor. We had a few different
teas to choose from, plus finger sandwiches such as cucumber, carrot
and ginger, and smoked salmon. Desserts included strawberry shortcake
and an assortment of cookies, plus scones with chantilly cream.
Very British!
Day 8: Friday,
Sept 5
Although we were over an hour early for the Coho
Ferry, it was already booked solid for the morning
trip to Port Angeles, Washington, so we had to cool our heels for
about five hours and catch the afternoon ferry. We had lunch at
the Garlic Rose. Finally, it was back in the car, on the ferry,
and back to the US
of A . . .
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