We left this morning early. Sadly, no breakfast at the New Leaf Cafe. Sorry Tina … no smoked Salmon “Benny.” It was way to early. Chris (the trip-master and organizer extraordinaire ) made a ferry reservation. Though honestly, for these “out of season tourists,” we didn’t need any stinkin’ reservations. We were only the third car in our lane, waiting to get to Victoria. In the meantime coffee and breakfast were in order. Again, many places were closed. Thankfully a little market selling warm egg, sausage and cheese sandwiches was open. Oh and lest we forget … Torrefazione Italia! Mmm mmm mmm! With sandwiches and coffee in hand, we found a picnic table to eat and prepare ourselves for what was to come.
After a lengthy ferry ride, and disembarking, it was off to Butchart (boo-shart) gardens. In the thirteen years I’ve lived in Seattle, I’d never been to Orcas Island, nor to Victoria. So it goes without saying I’d never stepped foot in Butchart. Or “Butch Art” as Chris was calling it. :) But can there really be any butch art in a garden? Hence my urinal photo. That’s Butch Art baby!
Unfortunately just as we arrived at the gardens it started raining. Barrows of umbrellas were carted out for the visitors. Hmm … think this happens often? It is the Pacific Northwest! So we ducked into the shops (I bought seed packets for this years condo balcony garden) & had a snack trying to wait out the rain. And so we did. During said rain break we all went about exploring the vastness of Butchart. For Chris & I it added another dimension to our photos. You have to give something to get something. So we traded a little sun for raindrops on flower petals. We both took lots of photos. How could you not in a place like this!
There were so many tulips, daffodils, pansies, and other flowers blooming, but there were many more threatening to bloom. Chris and I both thought it would be even more incredible in another week or two. There were azalia and other bushes budding and ready to bust out. Well …. maybe a return visit will be in order. But could we have some sun please? We’ll bring our own spray bottles for water special effects. Thank you. :)
After spending most of the day in Butchart, we finally made our way to Victoria proper & our hotel, the Queen Victoria or the “QV.” When we saw the logo, this group of cable-TV-files thought it looked just like the QVC logo …. same type and everything!
Once in our rooms we all downloaded and viewed our photos on my PowerBook. With a little rest we were off to find a place to eat dinner. We roamed around a while and found a place called Pagliacci’s. Not to be confused with the Seattle pizza joint. This was a very “cozy” little place. I certainly liked my pasta dish … the others weren’t too crazy about theirs. Oh well.
After dinner it was back to the QV. That was the end of our first day in Victoria.
Victoria BC – Buchart Gardens
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