July 30, 2014; We were island residents for about 2 years now and had mostly been exploring places north and west of us on our weekend road trips, so now it was finally time to go south to the Provinceβs capitol, Victoria. We had my in-laws visiting from Toronto, so it was the perfect way to entertain and experience something new here together.
We were all excited for this trip because even though we liked the slower pace of island living, we still missed and yearned for city life and the amenities it offered such as, more selection in dining and shopping, and a night life! Our first stop was straight to the waterfront where it was alive with tourists and locals alike enjoying a beautiful July day, some even by horse drawn carriage.
I was in awe of all the beautiful gardens and sculpted landscaping. Everything was so perfectly manicured and colourful with all of the blooms.
The historical architecture of all the buildings nestled around the waterfront with all the boats moored perfectly in rows in the marina and of course, the grand Parliament Building with its turquoise coloured patina roof overlooking it all, along with the distinguished Empress Hotel, with itβs ivy covered facade, was just beyond what I had imagined in person. The energy in the air, the excitement of all there was to see and do was all around. No wonder this is such a popular Canadian destination. To think, this was just one of the highlights the city had to offer and I was already in love with it.
There is so much to do already just at the waterfront. A simple stroll would make your day, but if you wanted to, the Royal BC Museum is across the street from the Parliament Building and always features a 3D exhibit, well worth the visit. Also, as I mentioned before, there are horse drawn carriage rides around the downtown and along the lower area of the waterfront is a walking path filled with artisans and seating areas. The kids decided to get sketches done of themselves on this visit. Aside of things to do, donβt get me started on the places to eat! So many choices, all so close and all offering beautiful views.
We checked out a bit of the downtown core and shops before it was time to move onto one of Victoriaβs other βmust seeβ landmarks. Along the way, we stopped at, for obvious reasons (my Portuguese background), Casa Nova, a Portuguese catering/restaurant with all the Portuguese eats. Unfortunately, being a Sunday, it was closed, so no beefanas (fast fry pork with caramelized onions and sautΓ©ed peppers on a Portuguese bun) or quejadas de nata (custard cupcakes) for me this time.
We didnβt have a lot of time to fit in and explore all that Victoria had to offer, so we chose 1 unique site that we could all agree on, Craigdarroch Castle.
The castle was built by baron Robert Dunsmuir, a Scottish immigrant turned industrialist during the coal era and earned his wealth from Vancouver Islandβs coal. It was built in 1887 and 1890 on a hill overlooking the city of Victoria. Rumour was that he was the richest and most important man in Western Canada. The level of wealth is reflected in the 4 floors of lavish furnishings, stained glass windows and intricate woodwork throughout. Unfortunately, Robert passed away a year and a half before its completion, where his sons then took over finishing the home.
In September 1919, the castle was renovated and reopened as a military hospital . It also served as a college and music conservatory in its lifetime.
In 1979 it was repurposed into a historical museum and has since been designated a National Historical Site of Canada. Today it remains open to the public, and is a huge tourist attraction, receiving over 150,000 visitors per year. On this lovely July day, we were among those visitors.
On our 3 hour drive back to Campbell River, we enjoyed the beautiful views from the viewpoint off of the Malahat of Mount Baker overlooking the city of Saanich below as well as Brentwood Bay. We will definitely be back on multiple occasions. Victoria instantly became a favourite place for us. I could definitely see ourselves moving here one dayβ¦.
β¦.fast forward to today, as I write this blog from our recently moved into apartment in View Royal, VICTORIA, BC!
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