July 2
Greg picked up pastries from Crust while I showered. We
grabbed the first HOHO and had planned to stay on until we got to the castle.
It was cloudy, cool, and breezy today and unlike other days it did not warm up.
We did sit up top for most of the day.
waiting to board the bus
stuffed bears - First Nations people honoring the 215 children killed in schools (there were removed when we went by later)
close to where we walked to from the park
Lots of deer seen today. The lady across from me on the bus
joked we were on the great North American safari.
petting zoo in Beacon Hill Park
lots of wild deer in the fields
Christ Church
performance outside the church
We did enjoy the Craigdarroch Castle visit. (masks required) It is not really a castle, but a multi-storied Victorian-era Scottish Baronial mansion. It has been meticulously restored and they were currently working on the kitchen. It was also used as a Military Hospital. Some rooms were left to show that.
was the lady's master bathroom - it used to be part of the hospital, which is why there are so many sinks and there were many toilet stalls and urinals
Dark-Eyed Junco
Then we got off at Oak Bay and had a lunch at Oak Bay Beach Hotel
at Faro for wood-fired pizza.
We had some fresh baked bread with olive oil & rosemary
and a Gamberi pizza which was wild Argentine prawns, garlic cream, parsley, lemon
and cashew romesco. Wow, was it good.
We had an hour until the next bus (we just watched it drive off as we were paying the bill) We walked back to the little town of Oak Bay to find the chocolate shop we passed on the bus. We walked right passed it, so we never got chocolates before it was time to board the bus. As we drove away, we noticed it almost right across the street. (it was recessed and hard to see when beside it) It was a cute town.
Oak Bay
We took the bus back to the starting point and went around again this
time stopping at Fisherman’s Wharf which was a charming area with many colorful
liveaboards. (Houseboats) We had planned lunch here at Barb's Fish & Chips, but the timing did not work with our castle stop.
the driver joked he was going to land on our bus
Fisherman's Wharf
We had some ice cream and wandered around before it was time
to walk back to the bus.
ice cream stop
old boat is part of the houseboat attached to the ice cream shop
It had gotten colder and windier, so we tucked in up front
under the covered part out of the breeze, but still on top.
Our next stop was the Christ Church, but it had just closed,
and they were having a concert so we couldn't go in. We shot some pics through the windows since we
were there.
war memorial across the street from the church
We were close to the hotel, so we just walked back and put some warmer clothes on. We still had 2 neighborhoods to explore. The buses had stopped, but the neighborhoods were walkable from the hotel. We started at Market Square. Lots of bars, restaurants and shops. Most of the shops had closed.
why didn't I wear that?
Next up was Chinatown where we went in search of dinner. We walked the narrow Fan Tan Alley. The HOHO driver recommend the Fan Tan Cafe which didn’t disappoint. I had honey garlic pork, pork fried rice and an egg roll and Greg had spicy vegetables, chicken fried rice and an egg roll. It all was very tasty, and we had not had “real” Chinese food in a long time. We were stuffed and wandered around the small Chinatown area.
me in FanTan Alley
lunch
Honey Garlic Pork & chicken Fried Rice & Egg Roll
Spicy Vegetable Combo with Chicken Fried Rice & Egg Roll
We then walked back and heading for the Harbourfront, for a
walk along the harbor and to check out the Legislative Assembly of British
Columbia.
pretty hall of shops
1 chair barbershop
jazz vs rock chess set
back at the Empress
street performer
Emily's Javanese monkey 'Woo' perches on her shoulder and
her dog 'Billie' stands nearby. The statue was erected along Victoria's
Harbourfront on the grounds of the Fairmount Empress Hotel was unveiled during
Women's History Month in Canada, on October 13th, 2010.
After walking off some of the dinner we headed for BeaverTails, we split a cinnamon sugar and an apple one.
pretty rose peeking out of the fence
mother & baby dolphin topiary
apples
cinnamon sugar
We walked back to the hotel where we tried the gummies we
bought on the first day. Unlike the space cakes in Amsterdam these had zero
effect. We'll chose differently next time. (ratio of THC vs CBD)
Tomorrow is a travel day. We take the afternoon ferry to
Vancouver.
For larger photos:
HOHO Vicotria https://photos.app.goo.gl/BwjEVg6RA1trJJBF8
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