Totem Poles in Victoria
Monday, April 24 It was a bit sunnier today with some blue sky and big fluffy clouds. Linda took me to the bus terminal in Surrey which is about halfway to the ferry terminal. We made it just in time so there wasn't time for long good byes. Just as well, i likely would have been in tears. The bus ride was uneventful and not very pretty, driving through industrial areas along the Fraser river leading up to the delta which was very flat. The ferry is south of Vancouver and the airport at Tswassen and it takes about 90 minutes to go across the straight and through the Gulf Islands to Schwartz Bay, which is about 30 km north of Victoria. It costs $8.50 for a walk on passenger which is pretty cheap. I don't know what it was for cars and trucks. There's a cafeteria and a snack bar and also a gift shop on the main deck. I didn't bother, and wandered around the two decks, going outside once we got near the islands. It was cold out on deck though and windy but i took a few pretty pictures
Bill and Denise were there at the Schwartz Bay ferry to meet me and we went to Butchart Gardens from there. Bill works there so we got in for free. It's fairly expensive, about $13 off season but nearly $18 in the summer apparently. Lots of day trippers can be bussed over from Vancouver and the cruise ships. It was sunny this afternoon for a change so we got to see the flowers in the sunshine and that made it great for picture taking. Past the parking lot there is a sort of compound where the buildings are, gift shop, cafe, tourist information and restaurant all built in and around the original mansion.
Short history of Butchart Gardens. a These gardens were started in the early years of this century
Steven and Vanessa have bought an old farmhouse that is now surrounded by a new suburban neighbourhood and have divided the house into to flats. There is a shared access door between them through the laundry room. They have renovated and decorated the house and it is absolutely amazing. Some of the walls have been knocked down opening up the whole downstairs with large archways between some of the rooms. The upstairs has a loft type family room with the children's bedrooms off one side and their bedroom off the other. My aunt and uncle's side has a bedroom and den/sitting room, and a large living room dining area along with a lovely sunroom out on a glassed in porch!!! The grounds have gardens and a large rock garden that my aunt takes care of. There is a garage which was used as an artist's studio but which is now renovated so that part of it is storage and the rest is a guest suite with a bedroom and toilet/sink area. They live out near the Oak Bay area of Victoria and it's very very nice!
Later after i got unpacked and settled, we drove around the outskirts of Victoria and Esquimalt where the navy base is and where there is a reproduction of Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway's cottage along with a few other Tudor style buildings containing gift shops and a tea room. It's closed right now while the owner looks for a new buyer apparently. We headed to the Victoria harbour where we had a really good meal at the Swan Hotel, which has a brew pub on the premises. Afterwards we walked while the sun went down, along the inner harbour. Victoria is the provincial capitol and has a large parliamentary building which is all outlined in lights at night. There is a marina, some boats-restaurants and ferry docks around the harbour and out at one end are a few condo buildings. But Victoria is unusual in one respect. There are no skyscrapers in the city due to height restrictions. The tallest buildings only seem to be about 10 stories high or so and there aren't many of those. There are little courtyards full of shops and lovely old late Victorian buildings along the downtown. Victoria has a Chinatown as well, but it's only a block or two though there's an elaborate gate at the intersection.
Tuesday April 25 Had breakfast and a shower up at the house and then we drove around some posh areas of Victoria. Lots of trees here and the houses are all so different looking. Much different styles than i'm used to seeing in Nova Scotia. They almost look like they could be in the decorating and architectural magazines. There is so much green!! It's fairly warm and wet here all year round so everything grows!
We headed for the Royal British Columbia museum in downtown Victoria, right beside the parliament buildings on one side and the old CN railway hotel, the Empress on the other. In behind the museum is Thunderbird Park where there are about a half dozen or so totem poles. There was a special exhibition at the museum called Out of the Mists, the special treasures of the
I was so impressed by this museum that i didn't want to leave. Denise and Bill had to go back to the house to take their grandson and drop him at school so i decided to stay and explore further. I'm so glad i did because i really got a good look through the First Peoples' art and history section and i am now officially enthralled with the totem poles and masks. I even bought a book on Totem poles though have only glanced through it yet. The art of the west coast natives is quite a bit different from that of the East coast tribes like the Mi-maq.
I had a light lunch at the museum cafe and this afternoon we had a walk through the Empress Hotel, admiring it's high decorated ceilings and elegant fittings. There is a lot of Indian (India) and African art and prints and hangings in the hotel, leftovers from the British Empire i guess. You can have afternoon high tea there but it costs $32 per person if you please!! It's all very elegant but we decided to pass. There was a gallery of native sculpture and when i went in for a quick look , the man that was working there seemed to latch on to me and followed me around, showing off the art and explaining all about the pieces and the artists. The room itself was beautiful. Not large but again with high ceilings and carved moldings. It was apparently a library and is going to be again. The gallery is moving to another location in the hotel and this will be converted into a library style bar.
We left here and went to Miniature World which is in a building just around the corner from the hotel. Might even be in the same complex. Miniature World is quite interesting. It's a series of dioramas, all done to scale but in ...well... miniature size with landscapes and small figures. There are reproductions of medieval battles, American Civil war battles, the Canadian National railway all across the country with representations of various geographical regions. There were castles and cities. There was a section that had reproductions of fairy tales and literature based scenes, like Dickens and Shakespeare's enchanted forest from Midsummer's Night's Dream. There were elaborate dollhouses representing royal palaces and humble churches and one large town that was hosting a circus. There were workshops, a parade through town and the big top tents out on the outskirts with all the people, performers and animals! Oh and the first thing you see when you go in are glass cases with sets of space stations and mining stations on another planet circa 2200 a.d. and it's dark and the walls have computerized screens and information. Very neat!
Leaving there we drove around some more through the most exclusive neighbourhoods of Victoria where the mansions were either very old turn of the century or ultra concept modern design. Some were behind walls or high hedges for privacy. We also drove up Mount Douglas for a look out over the greater Victoria area. Very tall, tall trees! Very windy there as well.
Back home we got ready for dinner, with my cousins Steve and Vanessa and the kids coming over for a meal of lasagna, garlic bread and salad with a spice cake for dessert! I got some computer time in on Steve's computer to check my email and send a few reports off to Mom and a few others. I managed to get in touch with a friend from the chat room who has moved to Victoria. We're having lunch with a few Coronation Street pals tomorrow.
Aunt Denise and I went to the Elephant and Castle pub in the Eaton's Center just at noon when we were to meet the Corrie gals. A couple of them came but the others that were coming from up north on the island couldn't come after all as the gal that was driving them had a family emergency unfortunately. So we were only 5 but it was great to catch up to Deb who i had met in Ottawa and Toronto and Mary who used to live in Halifax and attending a few pings here. New to me was Leslie and the five of us got on great! Mary and Deb are also new to the area as is my aunt so i think it was nice that they got to meet a few new people. Leslie is a born and bred Victorian. LOL that sounds a bit odd doesn't it!
After lunch we picked up Bill and took off "up island", driving north, to a town called Chemainus. It was originally a logging town with a seaport. About 20 years ago someone painted 5 murals on building walls for a festival and the fad grew and grew. Now there are over 30 and they even paint the public trash cans to match the building they are in front of. For instance, the trash can outside the post office has stamps on it and one outside a church has little stained glass windows painted on. Artists from all over have contributed and the murals are quite a tourist attraction now. There was even a small cruise ship docked the day we were there. There are some nice older homes with pretty gardens but a lot of the shops have gone gingerbread cute and have overdone the "quaint" aspect of the town, at least for my taste. One B&B actually had a grotto out front with Snow White and the dwarves as lawn ornaments around it, and another has it's exterior decorated like a castle.
The murals, however, are well worth the hour and a half drive from Victoria. My favourites showed a privateer type sailing ship and the other, a scene with several geisha's. There were a lot of them with native art themes as well. We walked around the town, peeking in to one or two shops, one of which was in a new complex of shops and was a wine making supply store. As my uncle makes wine, he was particularly interested.
The murals on the right are, from top to bottom: Geisha, Sailing ship, Loggers, Phone booth
We drove back to Victoria with a detour through a "bedroom" city of Victoria called Colwood where Steven and Vanessa's offices are. We had a late supper and a quiet evening after that.
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