We spent 6 nights in the Victoria area. We stayed at Oceanside RV Resort on the
Saanich Peninsula overlooking the bay.
This is a very nice RV park about 10 miles outside of the town of
Victoria and very close to Brentwood Bay where Butchart Gardens is. The majority of the sites have permanent
residents. But the area is clean, nicely
landscaped and quiet.
Butchart
Gardens
We
had two beautiful days of sunshine and warm weather. We spent those days exploring Butchart
Gardens and the Victoria Butterfly Gardens.
It was very crowded in Butchart, but we walked slowly (stopped to smell
the flowers) and took lots of pictures.
We have explored a lot of gardens in our travels and this is by far the
best garden we have ever seen. What is
truly wonderful about this place is that it is dog friendly. Your dogs are welcome. There are several poop bag stations and
automatic water bowls throughout the park.
And the park is open at night. It is beautifully lit up with colorful
lights and is really magical at night.
There
are lots of fall colors in the garden now.
This fountain is lit up with multiple colors at night. It is quite the light show.
Flight of the bumblebee
The Rose Carousel, opened in Dec 2009, is the only carousel on Vancouver Island.
The animals were hand carved by some of the few remaining crafters of carousel art.
Does the below cat with mouse in its mouth look familiar?
Almost looks like the same design as our cat w fish on the San Francisco Zoo carousel.
You pay
a fee to enter the park on day one. You
can leave and re-enter on the same day or you can return the next day for only
$3.50 (Can$). We returned the next day,
late afternoon, so we could see the gardens at night. There is a fine dining restaurant and a café
for meals. The fine dining restaurant
also has high tea in the afternoon.
There is a coffee shop and an ice cream kiosk. And two wonderful gift shops with high end
stuff. We looked, bought nothing, but
got lots of garden ideas. This garden changes
with the seasons. So it is always
different when you visit. This place is
a must see if you ever visit Victoria.
Do you see slowpoke?
Notice something different about this scene, besides the lights? .....No people.
It's a lot less crowded at night. You just about have the place to yourself.
Victoria
Butterfly Gardens
Before
re-visiting Butchart Gardens on the second day we stopped at the Butterfly
Gardens which is only blocks away from Butchart. This is a rain-forest habitat with
butterflies and other animals, such as Ms. Jigs (Green Iguana), Sulcata
Tortoises, variety of parrots (that are loose..find them if you can), and
flamingos and of course Koi fish. The
butterflies are everywhere, watch where you step and they land on you. I almost walked out of the habitat with a hitchhiker
on my hat.
Tailed Jay
White Tree Nymph
Video of Ms. Jigs and the fluttering of many butterflies.
Royal
BC Museum
It
rained the next three days, so we found indoor activities. We discovered the Royal BC Museum in the
heart of Victoria many years ago on our very first visit to Victoria. It's a great museum with walk on and through displays of life in historical British Columbia. We really enjoyed it and have always returned to it when ever we visit Victoria. Another 'Gem' and must see on Vancouver Island.
This was a thrill to see. I remember reading about Lyuba.
Craigdarroch
Castle
This castle is up in the hills overlooking Victoria.
It was completed in 1890 and was the home of coal baron Robert
Dunsmuir. However, he died before it was
completed, so his wife, three of their daughters (they had 11 children) and two
orphaned grandchildren lived on the original 28-acre estate. The castle has been used as a military hospital,
Victoria College, offices for the school board and a conservatory of music.
Today it is a historic house museum.
It’s
a self-guided tour through 4 floors of the house. You explore ½ of the first floor and ascend
the main stair case and explore ½ of the next two floors, all of the fourth
floor and the tower. You then descend
another stair case and explore the other ½ of the three lower floors. The rooms are fully furnished with a
description of what each room was used for.
This was our first visit to this place.
It is a beautiful house; really feels like a castle and a very
interesting tour.
This is how they read in the evenings.
Although I would have used a more comfortable chair.
To all my Marin County friends. Read the second paragraph above.
This was an exciting find. Our very own Mt. Tam in a castle in Victoria BC.
Does not really look like Mt. Tam, but maybe that's what it looked like in the 1800's.
Exploring
Victoria
In
between the rain and sunshine and our visits to the above places, we walked
parts of Victoria. We found the cheapest
parking garage and got lost a few times getting to our destinations so we saw a
bit more than what your average cruise passenger would see. So Victoria has more than the Empress Hotel
and the Parliament buildings. There are
shopping malls (got my hair cut and colored in one), Costco, Best Buy, Home
Depot, JoAnn’s Crafts, etc. and lots and lots of Starbucks. Just about one on every corner.
Emily Carr (1871-1945) is British Columbia's most famous artist. Her art and writings are known throughout Canada. In 1899 she opened the world up to Aboriginal culture with her inspiring images of the vanishing totem poles in their natural settings.
I just love the way these Gelato shops display their choices of tasty treats.
This one just pulled me in and I had to buy a taste.
Rocky Mountain Chocolate with a tray full of Minions
in the window calling out to everyone that passes by.
We found this place by accident. We were just strolling the streets looking for a place to have lunch. This Italian place looked inviting. It was full of locals and found out this place has been in business for 40 years. Our meals were very good.
Next
posting is VANCOUVER ISLAND – CONTINUED where we will explore more of this
island.
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