Hello from Victoria (2) - Exploring Victoria and Its Vicinity
Another perfect day with beaming blue skies, great temperatures and no humidity greeted me yesterday. After a lovely strengthening breakfast check out, Amsterdam Red Light Nights , Hello from Cuba (9) - Havana Neighbourhoods and some business issues, Clare and I set off by car You may also consider, Pisa - More Than a Leaning Tower , Economical Way Travel Last Minute Advantage Absolute Best Deals to explore British also related, Seville Spain - Spectacular City Of Color And Romance , Top Facts About Dolphins Columbia's capital Victoria.
We started by parking our car You may also consider, Lima - the Forgotten Peru Holiday Destination , ibbean Magic and Culture: Holder's Season in Barbados pretty close to "Mile Zero", right next to Beacon Hill You may also consider, Tips For Hawaii Travel , India--the shine and size Park. This expansive city also related, Spanish Galicia , Sonar Tickets park is right next to the waterfront and at its southern end you have a perfect view across the Juan de Fuca Sound to Washington State's Olympic Mountain goto, Make Finding A Great Restaurant Part of Your Vacation Adventure , Why Art? range.
Beacon Hill Try also, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Earth , The Phuket hotels And Resorts Guide Provides A Brief Summary Park has beautiful landscaping, hundreds of flower also related, Spain´s Flag - A Red And Yellow Beauty , Finding The Best Cheap Hotels For Your Travels beds, a petting zoo with screaming peacocks, serene shady ponds hosting various families of ducks, an assortment of totem poles and a great variety of shade trees, many of which I have never seen in Toronto. The whole waterfront around Beacon Hill check out, Kilimanjaro the Machame Route and Itinerary , Cambodian Taxi Chaos - a Leaf, a Radiator and a MacGyver Mom Park reminded me very much of California and seeing the odd palm tree just reinforced that image. I had to remind myself that we are still in Canada check out, Tips For Disney World First-Timers , A perfect location for the artist in Italy. here.
Our next step was to explore the waterfront to the east along Beach also related, Ex-Pats in Panama's Paradise , Kilimanjaro the Machame Route and Itinerary Drive. We moved past lovely well-kept houses and various inlets and bays and about 3 km east of downtown we arrived in the Oak Bay area. check out, From Russia with Love , Tips For Hawaii Travel When we saw the Tudor-style gables of the Oak Bay Beach Hotel check out, 10 Tips to Mastering Walt Disney World , Cambodian Taxi Chaos - a Leaf, a Radiator and a MacGyver Mom we decided this needed further exploration. We stopped the car, See, Athens airport. , The importance of packing light went through the lobby and outside the back door and saw one of the most beautiful patios and backyards on the ocean. See, Ex-Pats in Panama's Paradise , Fliers Beware! Did You Let Airlines Damage Your Property? The hotel, also related, Spain´s Flag - A Red And Yellow Beauty , Euro Holiday Homes Wilt in Drought just like so many other places goto, Spanish Galicia , Why Art? in Victoria, has gorgeous landscaping and a multitude of brilliantly coloured flower See, Euro Holiday Homes Wilt in Drought , Euro Holiday Homes Wilt in Drought beds, right next to the Pacific Ocean. also related, Spa Vacations - They Can Be Costly! , Euro Holiday Homes Wilt in Drought
Coming up next we checked out the Oak Bay Marina and then turned inland towards the quaint Oak Bay shopping area, check out, Make Finding A Great Restaurant Part of Your Vacation Adventure , Cheap Things To Do in Chicago bedecked in hanging flower check out, 10 Tips to Mastering Walt Disney World , Family Breaks - surviving the school holidays pots, and featuring many outdoor patios. We knew an exploration of the Empress Hotel check out, Kilimanjaro the Machame Route and Itinerary , Don't be Lured to Purchase Second Home on Vacation and the Provincial Parliament Buildings was on our menu, so we started heading downtown on Yates Street. See, Flying Internationally on Chartered Planes , Family Breaks - surviving the school holidays We turned right at the waterfront and to find a parking spot in this bustling neighbourhood, we ended parking on Johnson Street, You may also consider, Finding The Best Cheap Hotels For Your Travels , Caribbean Magic and Culture: Holder's Season in Barbados right in front of a retail store that had large mechanical doll dressed up as an old lady with a big hat in front of it. The doll was able to open and close its eyelids and move its head from side to side, much to the fascination of the local tourists. See, The importance of packing light , Caribbean Magic and Culture: Holder's Season in Barbados
We filled up the meter and made our way along the waterfront along Victoria's serene Inner Harbour Area. Try also, Economical Way Travel Last Minute Advantage Absolute Best Deals , India--the shine and size Past various buskers, mimes and outdoor performance artists we slowly made our way towards the Empress Hotel, goto, 10 Tips to Mastering Walt Disney World , Amsterdam Red Light Nights a gorgeous chateau-style grand hotel You may also consider, Los Angeles Sightseeing , The City Of New York dating back to 1908. Just southwest of it are the intricately styled Parliament Buildings, built between 1893 and 1898. With expansive lawns and flower also related, The City Of New York , Hello from Cuba (9) - Havana Neighbourhoods beds out front and introduced by a statue of Queen Victoria, they offer an impressive visual delight.
Having strenghtened ourselves with a tasty turkey sandwich and a delicious ice cream, we slowly walked back past the Empress on Government Street goto, Tips For Hawaii Travel , The Phuket hotels And Resorts Guide Provides A Brief Summary and checked out the various retail stores. This area See, Hello from Cuba (9) - Havana Neighbourhoods , Family Breaks - surviving the school holidays is just hustling and bustling with people, and we saw several street view, The Sixties , Hello from Cuba (9) - Havana Neighbourhoods musicians and bands. Many of the retail stores are located also related, 10 Tips to Mastering Walt Disney World , About Puerto Vallarta in historical buildings that have been painted in bright colours. Just as our meter was expiring we briefly checked out Market Square, an outdoor market area Try also, 10 Tips to Mastering Walt Disney World , Avoiding Crime When Parking with many ecclectic little shops. also related, The City Of New York , Mystic Seaport - Links to Our Past Guide, Part 3
Back in the car view, Cheap Things To Do in Chicago , From Russia with Love we crossed the bridge at the north end of the Inner Harbour and checked out the west side of the harbour which features a beautiful boardwalk, flanked by upscale condominium buildings, most of them retirement homes, surrounded by luscious landscaping and fragrant flower also related, African Safari Adventure , Cheap Things To Do in Chicago beds. Sea planes goto, Spanish Galicia , Spain´s Flag - A Red And Yellow Beauty were landing and taking off, and the tiny local You may also consider, Economical Way Travel Last Minute Advantage Absolute Best Deals , Enjoy Indian Diwali Holiday Through India Travel Guide harbour ferry boats goto, Seville Spain - Spectacular City Of Color And Romance , Hello from Cuba (9) - Havana Neighbourhoods were zipping around on the water. Try also, Orlando Safety at Attractions and Other Orlando Florida Adventures , Mystic Seaport - Links to Our Past Guide, Part 3
After gazing at the Empress Hotel also related, Top Facts About Dolphins , The importance of packing light and the downtown area goto, Economical Way Travel Last Minute Advantage Absolute Best Deals , The Sixties from the west side of the Harbour, we decided we were going to explore Victoria's next-door neighbour: Esquimalt, a much more basic area You may also consider, 10 Tips to Mastering Walt Disney World , Banff & Lake Louise, Canadian Rocky Mountain Jewel that is home to a large naval base. Esquimalt is definitely not as scenic and dressed up as Victoria, but it still appeared to be a pretty tidy place. also related, Don't be Lured to Purchase Second Home on Vacation , Los Angeles Sightseeing We continued to head west on suburban roads and ended up having a beautiful nature You may also consider, Don't be Lured to Purchase Second Home on Vacation , 10 Tips to Mastering Walt Disney World experience at the waterfront of Albert Head Lagoon. We drove in through curvy roads in a shady forest, also related, India--the shine and size , The City Of New York parked our car, also related, The Phuket hotels And Resorts Guide Provides A Brief Summary , Protecting Your Personal Assets at a Stag Party and walked on the beach, You may also consider, The City Of New York , Why Art? besides hundreds of stranded wooden logs, to a shady corner at the west end of the lagoon where Clare and I had a beautiful chat about life, human relationships, changes in lifestyles and mentalities in the new China and other esoteric topics.
Around 5 pm we decided to head even further west and we decided to find another hidden lagoon, called Witty's Lagoon which is part of a regional park check out, Athens airport. , Why Art? system. We found the entrance and parked our car also related, Why Is Paris Considered One Of The Most Romantic Cities In The World? , The Sixties since only a footpath takes you down to the lagoon. Sheltered from the heat by a lovely overhead forest See, Don't be Lured to Purchase Second Home on Vacation , Spanish Galicia canopy, we walked down a steep slope past the Sitting Lady Waterfall. Along the way we saw hundreds of wild blackberry bushes that were just getting ripe, and we sampled some of nature's bounty. After about 20 minutes of walking beside a marsh on the left hand side, we finally ended up on a beach check out, Lima - the Forgotten Peru Holiday Destination , Amsterdam Red Light Nights at the Southern tip of Vancouver Island You may also consider, Caribbean Magic and Culture: Holder's Season in Barbados , Spain´s Flag - A Red And Yellow Beauty that offered a perfect view of the majestic Olympic Mountains also related, Enjoy Indian Diwali Holiday Through India Travel Guide , Hello from Cuba (9) - Havana Neighbourhoods range.
18 minutes of uphill hiking Try also, Williamsburg Virginia: A Mecca for Retirement , Lima - the Forgotten Peru Holiday Destination later and we were back at the car, goto, Family Breaks - surviving the school holidays , Touring through Barcelona; Part I - Chinatown, Churches, and Stores ready to drive check out, Why Art? , Don't be Lured to Purchase Second Home on Vacation downtown where we were picking up Haishan, Clare's husband, for dinner. The perfect meeting place also related, Dangerous travel 101 , Sonar Tickets was the Empress Hotel, You may also consider, Why Art? , Orlando Safety at Attractions and Other Orlando Florida Adventures of course. We picked him up and drove back over the Inner Harbour Bridge and reached our dinner destination: the Spinnaker Brew Pub at the Western End of Victoria's Harbour. On the outdoor patio we had a gorgeous view of the Victoria Harbour, looking down at the condo See, Williamsburg Virginia: A Mecca for Retirement , Flying Internationally on Chartered Planes buildings, ships check out, From Russia with Love , EduKick International Language & Culture Travel Soccer Camps and sea planes goto, Spanish Galicia , About Puerto Vallarta that were still going back and forth. It was a little chilly outside at that time, but the restaurant view, A perfect location for the artist in Italy. , Los Angeles Sightseeing supplied us with blankets to protect us against the evening cold.
Having strengthened ourselves after a long day of sightseeing we arrived back at the house at about 9 pm and given the fact that I had pretty much been awake since 4 am due to jetlag, I thanked my gracious hosts for their hospitality and made my way to bed.
It's now just about 2:15 am, that means I get another 3.5 hours of sleep before I have to get up, pack my bags, view, Spa Vacations - They Can Be Costly! , Cheap Things To Do in Chicago eat a brief breakfast view, Williamsburg Virginia: A Mecca for Retirement , About Puerto Vallarta and then get dropped off by Haishan on his way to work at the Victoria Bus Terminal. From there I'll have to say goodbye to pretty Victoria and make my way back to the mainland by ferry and bus, to check out my next destination: Vancouver. I am already excited...
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