laurainlimbo: (lighthouse)
posted by [personal profile] laurainlimbo at 09:06pm on 21/08/2009
I love sitting here and listening to my husband practicing his guitar. it's fun being married to a musician.

we got back from Victoria B.C. yesterday around 5 p.m. It wasn't a really eventful visit - we've been there many times before, so there wasn't so much we wanted to do or see. We really just wanted to get away from Port Angeles, and to see the little Canadian city, which is so pretty and full of interesting stuff. On Wednesday we took the 8:20 ferry and arrived in Victoria around 10 a.m. It was gorgeous weather, so we just wandered around the shops a bit, had some Chinese food in Chinatown, then went to our hotel to check in and drop our heavy backpacks. We went back out and wandered around some more, I bought some books and had some coffee at a little gallery/cafe, and then we chilled in the room until late evening when we wandered to the little restaurant/bar next to our hotel for a fantastic dinner. We ate some fried squid for an appetizer, followed by risotto with scallions and baked salmon. Our dinner was accompanied by a delicious glass of Chiraz. It was really a nice dinner, and afterwards, we walked around the streets nearby a bit, got some bottled water at a little market, and then returned and slept. Our little hotel, the Dalton, was really old - we'd stayed there before, but liked the location rignt downtown on Yates street (Yates, if you all don't know, is my maiden name) and the funky atmosphere. The room was really small and sparse - just a double bed, a small tv with few channels, and a shower that didn't drain very well. The window didn't even have a screen, and we had no A/C - though we didn't need it fortunately. But it was a quiet place and I slept well. Thursday morning we got up early and ate the continental breakfast in the hotel (waffles, coffee, muffins, fruit), and then caught a bus out to see Victoria's Craigdarroch Castle. This castle was built back in 1890 for the extremely wealthy developer and politician John Dunsmuir and his family. However, he died before it was finished, so it became the home to his wife Joan, who inherited Dunsmuir's multi-millions. The admittance to the castle, which is now a museum, was way overpriced at 12.00 per person, but we went in nonetheless and wandered the four floors of artifacts and historical facts. There was a great view of Victoria and the harbor from the top of the castle, but otherwise, I don't think the castle was that fascinating. However, the decor was beautiful and the old furniture and collection of paintings and artifacts was impressive. When we returned to town after the castle, it was lunchtime so we wandered the waterfront a bit, then went to a Vietnamese restaurant right near our hotel. Then we picked up our backpacks, and headed back to the waterfront to wait for our ferry, which left around 3 p.m.

Today we were both sore from all the walking, so we didn't do much except a little grocery shopping and internet surfing, etc. Tomorrow I'm having breakfast with my cousin Lynn who's in town visiting my aunt and uncle, and I might also see her son, Sam. Then Sunday I think I'm finally going to see Harry Potter with my mom. yay!

I do plan to post pics of Shannon and Cameron, but for now, here's a few pics from our visit to Victoria - I didn't take many since I've got so many pics of the city from years ago.

Here's a view looking back at Port Angeles from the ferry:


Here's Craigdarroch Castle:




And me in front of the castle (that's a very small me on the left - hi!):



Here's Victoria and the harbor from the top of the castle (they had some kind of tower, but unfortunately we couldn't go outside, so this was taken through the dirty window):


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