The Mother Visits the Pacific Northwest 2011 - Visiting Victoria, Part II

So remember that one time that I went to Victoria?  

I guess it's about time that I finish blogging about it.  Especially since I have about one million other things to tell you about that have happened since then and we don't want to go out of order now, do we?  

So, in case you don't remember ... you can read about our first day in Victoria here. 

We started our second day in Victoria bright and early ... we had a lot to accomplish before catching the evening ferry out of Sidney, B.C.

We wandered a few blocks away to Chef Suzi in the Square for breakfast.  It was the cutest little cafe and nice on our pocketbook after our slightly expensive first day in Victoria.  

Photo from Chez Suzi website

After breakfast, we wandered around the square - there was some kind of Sunday market going on with lots of cute little jewelry vendors.  Then we headed back to the Fairmont and got the car so we could head out on our adventures for the day. 

First up on our list was Mile 0 ... I've been to Mile 0 in Key West and now Mile 0 in Victoria.  Probably couldn't get any more far apart huh?

Mile 0 - US 1 

Key West, FL

Mile 0 - Trans-Canada Highway (or Highway 1)

Victoria, B.C.

Coincidentally, they are both popular tourist photo ops :) 

Mile 0 is also conveniently located next to Beacon Hill Park which had great views of the Olympics across the Strait of Juan De Fuca.  At Beacon Hill, we were directly north of Port Angeles, WA on the Olympic Peninsula.

View from Beacon Hill Park:

We hopped back into the car and headed towards Mount Tolmie, which had great views of the city and also Mount Baker. 

Loved the compass pointing you in the right direction:

Can you see Mount Baker in the pictures below?

And then we headed out of Victoria, towards Buchart Gardens which were conveniently located between Victoria and Sidney (where we needed to catch the ferry!)

Butchart Gardens were amazing.  I didn't think it would be THAT cool, because how cool can a garden really be?  But they were amazing.  So amazing that I took a billion pictures and my camera battery died.  And then I seriously considered running out to the car to re-charge it so I could finish taking pictures.  Seriously.  CRAZY.  They were also so amazing that I'd like to go back because the gardens are different each season.  

Double headed Begonias.  Love.

The Sunken Garden

Lilypad

Ross Fountain

Take 2

Totem Poles

Dahlias.  I LOVE DAHLIAS.  Love them.

Dahlia Row.  LOVE.

Cherry Parfait Rose

More roses

Sturgeon Fountain

Japanese Lantern

Pacific Northwest Style = covered in moss.

Butchart Cove

Because no estate is complete without a cove, right?

AJ in the Japanese Garden

A little stone bridge

Lily pad!

Me in the Japanese Garden

Let's pretend that stripes don't make one wider :)

Italian Garden 

.... and then my camera died :( 

Map of the Gardens. 

After Butchart, we headed to Sidney.  We walked around the shops a bit and had an adult beverage and snack at Beacon's Landing Bar & Grill.  They had amazing bruschetta and fun cocktails.  Perfect for an afternoon pick me up :)

And then we hopped on the ferry (and I charged my camera battery so I could take MORE pictures). 

Mt. Baker

Good-bye Sidney!

Mt. Baker

The sun setting on Mount Baker ... love the colors in this one!

And that was our trip to Victoria ...

The Mother Visits the Pacific Northwest 2011 - Visiting Victoria, Part I

On Friday morning, we got up bright and early and headed back to Anacortes to catch the ferry to Sidney, B.C.  It was a pretty long ride and then we had to drive south to Victoria, but once again, the views were gorgeous and we weren't disappointed with our room when we arrived.  We decided to splurge and stay at the Fairmont Empress, but we ended up getting a pretty good deal.  We got the tea and garden package, so for just a little bit more than we would have paid to stay at any of the other hotels in the area, we stayed at the Empress, went to tea in The Empress Room and got tickets to see Butchart Gardens.  I definitely recommend looking into this package if you are heading to Victoria! 

Our room:

After checking in, we had about 45 minutes before we had to be at tea.  We walked down along the Inner Harbour and out to Laurel Point Park.  

The Fairmont Empress from Laurel Point Park:

The seaplane airport:

Parliament:

After walking out to Laurel Point and back, we headed over to the Empress Tea Room for afternoon tea.  According to the Fairmont's website, they have served afternoon tea to famed royalty, celebrities and royal dignitaries since 1908.  The most recent royalty to attend were the Emperor and Empress of Japan.  It is also, apparently, Victoria's most beloved ritual.  Who could miss it?

The mother and I at afternoon tea:

Our tea tray - they served the famous Empress scones, tea sandwiches and mini desserts along with your choice of eight different teas.  We chose the signature Empress blend (duh).

The mother's favorite part of tea was the signature scone.  I enjoyed the the egg salad tea sandwich on a mini croissant.  The croissant was to die for ... I could have eaten 10!

After tea, we went on a little walking tour of Victoria.  

We came across this lovely mural:

and this gorgeous church, St. Andrew's:

The Dutch Bakery (which was on our "must-see" list):

Our goodies:

We also ventured over to Antique Row on Fort Street, which was not quite the bustling street of shops that I imagined.  And I didn't take any pictures, whoops!  After our little walk, we sat on the patio at Lido's on the Inner Harbour, had a drink and watched seaplanes take off and land:

Can you see all three planes?

As wewalked back towards the Fairmont along the Inner Harbour, they were having a little market:

Parliament Building from the pier:

After all that walking around, we decided we needed a little rest before dinner so we headed up to our room.  We were pretty tired from all of the week's adventures, so we decided to have dinner on the Fairmont's front veranda and then call it a night.  

Parliament Building at night:

The Empress all lit up:

We had dinner just to the left of the steps, in that big open window:

Come back tomorrow to read about our adventure to Butchart Gardens!