Today we are leaving Vancouver Island, again on the Clipper to Seattle. This afternoon we had high (very high) tea at the Empress Hotel. Those pics will be at the end of the post because we saw Butchart Gardens yesterday. That will come first. Both of these excursions are places that my deceased husband visited years ago. He said I had to see them. If he were here, I would be happy to tell him that I have checked those off the list. They are highlights for anyone visiting the island.

Our day started after a good night at the Oswego Hotel. It is one of many hotels that are within walking distance of the harbor. Our two bedroom suite on the corner of the ninth floor had views in two directions. Mountains with snow were visible out my bedroom window and the harbor out the sliding door in the living room. The Oswego is an excellent hotel and I highly recommend it. 

Part of the fun of any new place for Esther and Ryan is to find an interesting coffee shop, with REAL coffee (Esther’s description). Our morning walk took us to Good Earth Coffee, a shop in the Parliamentary Plaza. The coffee shop has to have good pastry too, and this one did. We sat at a ledge table along the picture window and did some people watching. Esther is working on her visual journal every day and got Saturday’s pictures started. 

Our plan was to ride the city bus to Butchart Gardens. The gardens are about 15 miles outside the city so transportation is necessary. The bus runs a regular schedule out there and cost $3 a ride or $6 for a day pass. They accept U.S. dollars so we had an easy time getting on a nearly empty bus. It didn’t stay empty for long. People were standing in the aisles by the time we got outside the city. Most of them got off at the gardens where the line ended. 

The gardens were not disappointing. I might have thought “another garden – how exciting can it be?” But this one was unusual because it was formed in an abandoned quarry. The lady of the Butchart house decided she wanted some gardens. They hired people to design and create some awesome gardenscapes. I can only imagine the work that it was to make a quarry into a place where plants could grow. They started 100 years ago, according to the sign at the entrance. The gardens are now mature and constantly being replanted and updated. Parts of the Butchart house are open to tour and there are concessions and a very nice gift shop. We walked the gardens for over three hours, wishing we were home making gardens just like those!

They must provide employment for a whole army of gardeners. I took dozens of pictures and ran out of battery on my phone. These are only a few of the highlights.

We encountered some of the same people on the bus home that we had seen earlier in the day. There was a group of six young people sitting in the back of the bus with us who were speaking a foreign language. I was listening closely to their chatter to figure out if it was Spanish. It was Portuguese. One of the girls finally noticed and told the boy sitting next to me to start a conversation. They switched to English and we found out who they were. They were college students sponsored by their government in Brazil to come to Canada and learn English. Some of them had been there for a couple months already and spoke very well. What nice kids they were! That little bit of international connection made the bus ride special for me. 

This morning we took our time at the hotel. It was partly because Esther had brought a jigsaw puzzle fup rom the lobby and we had started it in our room on the kitchen counter. We sorted the edge pieces, did the border and some of the easier sections of it before going to bed.  The rest was looking like it would be very difficult. And it was. But there were three of us and it just wasn’t the right thing to leave it. We worked on it right up to check out time and got it done. Teamwork and anti-puzzle-abandonment syndrome in play. 

We checked our bags at the hotel and walked around the city for a couple of hours. Our reservation for tea at the Empress Hotel was at 1 pm. We had time for hat shopping. I never wear hats at home but somehow, when I’m with Esther I end up doing uncommon things.  I’m going to wear hats this year and remember that I bought them in Victoria.

The Empress Hotel is old and grand. We were escorted to the perfect table for us, in a corner away from the buzz of the crowd. We each chose a tea and our waiter brought the pots, put them on the warmers and started the three minute timer. There was the expected amount of pomp and elegance. I felt special because when do I ever get cucumber sandwiches at home? The desserts were very elegant. It was high tea and not really a meal, but there was enough that I felt full. I’m not sure what everything was but I ate it all. 

We had time to walk back to the hotel and get our luggage, rest a bit and walk to the Clipper 5 for the ride back to Seattle. That’s where I am now, writing this summary of my trip to Victoria. One more day in Seattle before going back to Las Vegas to join Kevin again. I will miss my Washington kids. This two weeks has gone so fast!