"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report #14 Victoria, British Columbia Canada July 16, 2017 Sunday Partly cloudy & 64 degrees Part #1 Of 2 63 Pictures

The capital of British Columbia, Victoria, is located on the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island. Originally begun as a trading post for the Hudson Bay Company, it was part of the 1860's gold rush. Now a popular tourist and retirement community, the residents and visitors can enjoy the mild climate. It has a distinct British atmosphere with tea rooms, pubs, and double-decker buses.

Industry includes commercial fishing, lumber, naval operations, and trade. Tourism is near the top as well. Marine-based activities are numerous, such as fishing, sailing, kayaking, canoeing, cycling, hiking and whale watching. Most of the ship's tours offered many of these fun excursions.

But probably more famous has to be Butchart Gardens with 55 acres of artistically landscaped gardens. There are at least 700 varieties of flowers this time of year. This garden started in a limestone quarry in 1904, and 100 years later, it was recognized as a National Historic Site. Guess how many people visit these gardens in one year? Try one million. It is a little way out of town, but well worth the ride. We have enjoyed visits there over the years, and have never been disappointed.

Another display nearby the gardens is the Butterfly Gardens. It is housed within a 12,000 square foot enclosure and has over 3000 butterflies in a natural setting with koi ponds.

Tours offered today were one to four hours in duration, and ran from $20 to $120. They included a horse-drawn trolley through town, a guided stroll, parks, high tea, museums, farm to table tastings, and orca watching. Easy touring was a bus ride to see the Parliament Building, the Fairmont Empress Hotel, Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, and Craigdarroch Castle.

So we had the morning to pack, a chore we mostly hate. That is one good aspect of a two week cruise – we kept the clothes to a minimum this time, and also kept the bags underweight by 5 pounds when we left home. We bought very little, so there was no worry about overweight luggage. We may have already mentioned this, but we took advantage of the Port Valet service. As long as we were flying a qualifying airline, and were leaving after 11am, this service was available to us. And it was free on top of it. This afternoon, we got our boarding passes, luggage tags, and directions for tomorrow. Once we put the bags out tonight, we should not see them until we land in SFO. The luggage fee for the airlines was put directly on our shipboard account. We'll let everyone know how it worked after we get home.

The Amsterdam did not arrive to the port until 1pm. And it took a while before we were cleared by the local authorities. The good news was that all aboard was 10:30pm, so we had the whole afternoon and early evening to visit the city.

We had been enjoying the sail into the harbor, so when they announced the ship was cleared, everyone and their brother bailed down the forward staircase, blocking our way to our room. We think the majority of tours were also going off at the same time. Oh well, they were in a hurry….we were not.

So by 1:45pm, we left the ship, walking to the center of town. There was a stand with city maps available for everyone right outside the gate. There was also a bus transfer to town for $10, and a horse-drawn carriage ride as well.

The first thing we noticed were new structures of condos and apartments with killer views of the harbor. Across the street from these highrises were typical Victorian homes, all with English-style gardens. The first place we came across was Fisherman's Wharf, a floating village with a handful of restaurants and cute little yellow water taxis.

We continued around the bend to the impressive Parliament Building, which is full of history, as well as being lit up at night with 13,000 lights. With its domed green copper roofs, it must be a stunning sight. Near the sidewalk, is an ancient redwood tree that is also decked with lights at Christmas time, adding to the beauty of the area.

Right across the street from here is the Fairmont Empress Hotel, which opened in 1908 as one of the grand and elegant Canadian Pacific Railway hotels. The granite foundations, stone, brick, and Douglas fir all came from Vancouver Island. It's always nice to enter the hotel from a side entrance to see the traditional high tea being served in the delicate English bone china tea service sets. It is not surprise that you can purchase similar tea sets in an adjacent shop in the hotel.

Exiting by the front of the hotel, we continued along the beautiful scenic street lining the Inner Harbour. There was a very busy marina down on the water, where people could catch the water taxis or enjoy the antics of a few street entertainers or bands. In fact, all the way up Government Street, there were many young singers or musicians working for tips. Have to admit, there were many typical beggars you encounter in large cities.

Numerous souvenir shops lined both sides of the street, but we were looking for a restaurant. It was already after 3:30pm, and if waited much longer, it would be dinnertime. It has been a few years since we were here, and we could not remember the name of the restaurant where we had lunch. Naturally, pizza was on our minds, and we didn't want to settle for anything else today.

So we asked a local tourist guide, who happened to have a stand near the Hudson Bay Co. Turned out tht the same place we ate, was nearby……Earl's. Perfect. They had a good-looking pizza from what we saw customers were ordering at the outside tables. Since the heaviest of the lunch diners were gone, we were seated inside quickly. We split a margherita pizza with craft beers. The pizza was so, so tasty, we ordered another small one, since it was the happy hour price of $5. Adding a chocolate volcano dessert with vanilla ice cream finished the meal just fine.

To do some window shopping, we headed across the street to Bastion Square. Because it was Sunday, we assume, there were street vendors selling some clever souvenirs. More pubs lined this no traffic street. Reminded us of home, where we normally walk on Sunday morning at a farmers market, where they sell produce as well as local honey and home-baked items. Going back up to Government Street, we popped into the typical shops, looking at sale items. Most everything was expensive, and did we really need anything? With our bags almost packed, we figured no, we did not need to add more.

It was more fun people-watching along the marina. Being that today was Sunday, the entire area was full of locals enjoying this incredibly warm and sunny afternoon. Boy, did we luck out on this two week trip or what? The little bit of rain we had was negligible. By reading a local visitor's guide, we learned that Victoria and Vancouver Island gets on the average of 24 inches of rain a year, the least amount on Canada's west coast. It seldom freezes, and if it does, it does not last long. That's one good reason that this city gets over 3.5 million visitors a year. And the fact that it has been rated as the number three friendliest city after Auckland, New Zealand, and Sydney, Australia, comes as no surprise.

Taking our sweet time, we made our way back to the pier, but taking a different route through the Victorian homes. Lined with huge shade trees, these quaint houses were well maintained with lovely gardens. We passed a community vegetable garden too, where some of the neighbors were tending it. Following a map, we came out to the correct street and the port area, where the ship waited. The last chance to shop was in a small store in the terminal complex. It came as a surprise to us how crowded it was.

There was quite a long line getting back onboard. Buses were just coming back from their tours, and the rush was on for early dinner. For most of this trip, we have had very efficient re-boarding with little or no waiting. For those who might want to know, there has been a collection table set up for alcohol purchases made in the ports. Since we have not visited any duty free ports, we never did see the staff confiscate anything. And being that we are on the subject of ship services, we believe the charge for the use of the laundry room washing machines is $2. That also covers the use of the dryer.

It wasn't long before it was time for dinner. This would be the last meal we would share with our friends, new and old. The only one missing was Patrick, who we never really did have a chance to know. We had missed six dinners in the dining room, and Patrick only came about four times when we were there. We certainly missed an interesting gala dinner at our table, because we were in the Pinnacle Grill last night. They had a repeat crew member, Victoria, came once again to host the table. Guess she liked us. If you remember, she is the shopping ambassador, who gives the pitches on buying souvenirs and high end jewelry. While in a few ports in Alaska, she became almost a personal shopping guide to places like Diamonds International, for instance.

Anyway, this gal has to be the liveliest and most energetic person we have ever met on a cruise ship. Trust us, there was never a lull in the conversation at the table with her present. Dave and Bob had told us that they had a hard time getting a word in edgewise. And the wine flowed like a river, they said. Stories about taboo subjects kept us laughing all through dinner tonight. All-in-all, we really had a nice table this cruise. Must have been good, since we seldom got out of the dining room before 10:30pm. Of course, that was probably due to the fact that one of our tablemates indulged in multi courses…….like three appetizers, or a combo of three entrees and desserts. Taste-tester, and why not? Now we all know in advance what was the best, and what to skip. Our kind waiters, Andri and Jodi, were most accommodating.

Remember the old days, when the final menu was a farewell special? Well, those days are gone. The menu was still special, because all of the top chefs gave their most recommended specialties. The only traditional item missing was the Baked Alaska. No more parade through the dining room by the cooks and waiters. That display bit the dust a couple of years ago, as did the napkin-waving as our favorite waiters passed by the table. Now it is a simple goodbye with no frills. With handshakes and hugs, we said our final goodbyes to all.

With a couple of things left to stuff in our suitcases, we hauled the three pieces out into the hallway for pick-up sometime during the night. The next time we see these bags (God-willing), will be at our final destination in San Francisco. We noticed that we had not received a log of the cruise yet. Thinking they stopped providing those, we called the front desk, and were informed that everyone got one with the nightly turn-down service. No, for some strange reason, the mail in our section of the ship has been spotty. More than once, we had to call and ask where some notices were. We were missing the customs form with our disembarkation envelope, and they had to deliver that. Anyway, with everything in order for tomorrow, we set the alarm clock for 5am. Yuck……

Looks like the weather will be nice and sunny for the early morning sail into Seattle.

Will follow up with a final report once we are home. As always, it's been a pleasure.

Bill & Mary Ann

Arriving to Victoria, British Columbia