victoria, british columbia

Victoria, British Columbia is always in season! Victoria has the mildest climate in Canada, and is a place so green all year that flowers fall out of the sky and even the lamp posts bloom. It is no wonder that it is called The Garden City! The wild beauty of the Pacific coast and the adventure of the great outdoors are within the city limits and ocean and mountain vistas will follow you wherever you go.

Victoria remembers its colourful history with First Nations totem poles, heritage architecture and afternoon tea, and bustles with the energy of a university town, having the University of Victoria, Canada within its limits. Shop windows are full of British imports, Native art and the latest trends. Restaurants and cafés serve the freshest cuisine. The harbour is alive with the romance of an era when tall ships moored alongside the wharf and evenings glitter as lights twinkle and cast their magic from atop the landmark British Columbia Legislative Buildings.

First stop was the Butchart Gardens. It's supposedly one, if not the best gardens to visit in BC but sadly, it felt like there were too many plants and flowers and not much grand landscape architecture compared to the Minter Gardens. That and the fact that there are a thousand other tourists behind you so you can't really walk around at leisure without annoying anyone. The flowers were beautiful though, especially at this time of the year... it was pretty tempting to pluck out the huge roses.

flowers that look like little ballerinas

the Sunken Garden... the one in UP sure doesn't look like this!

Two kilometers away was the Butterfly Garden. It was an indoor garden with controlled temperatures to simulate tropical weather. It felt like we were in Manila because of the temperature, plus the banana trees, yellowbelles, and gumamelas. The butterflies are free-flying so it was awesome to see different kinds flying around.

Less than an hour's drive later, we were in Downtown Victoria.

the Parliament House

someone slept right thru the car ride

The next day, we visited the Craigdarroch Castle... oddly enough, it is now smack in the middle of a residential area so it was a bit weird to see a castle beside houses. LOL. The castle rooms are presented like a museum so some of them felt slightly creepy because some had clothed mannequins. I guess it didn't help that the floors were creaky too.

The ferry ride to and from vancouver was great. even if we had to wait for all 200+ cars, buses, and trucks to load, it was organized and systematic. Convenient too, since there's a ferry every hour. (If only the philippines had an organized travel system such as this, then local tourism would probably be even better. I guess it's already an achievement that there is a RORO ferry in place now.)

Travelling with an infant wasn't as bad as I had previously imagined - thanks to Baby Bjorn, Peg Perego, Medela Quick Steam Bags, and Ready To Feed Enfamil A+ in cans!