Girls Trip to Victoria ~ Day 3 Part 1

Saturday August 16th


We wake up to beautiful sunny skies!  Today is Treat day.....when my boss learned that we were going to Victoria, he said we must go for tea at the Empress.  Well, yes, we'd love to but it's really expensive! Nice surprise....the day before we leave, my boss hands me some money....'Take your mom for tea'.  How wonderful!  My mom worked for the same company for 45 years before retiring and letting me take over.  We make reservations for 1pm and look forward to a very special afternoon!

A small breakfast and we're out the door on a special errand.  We pick up a pretty bouquet of flowers from one of the many street side stands and then follow the meandering streets to a cemetery.  Very good family friends that lived in Vernon for many years and then retired to Victoria.  My mom and dad moved to Vernon in the late 50's and we shared a home with this family for several years.  Their daughter was 5 years older than me, but I always thought of her as a sister.  Together, our families shared many special holidays and camping trips over the years.

It's very picturesque....

We arrange the flowers and think of the many happy times shared.....

On the way back to the condo we stop at The Dutch Bakery to pick up goodies to take back home.  Vanilla slices, deer leg cookies and a florentine.  Yes, I just had to have a little bite!

The set up for the rooftop wedding is underway!  Maybe we'll catch some of it later!

A short walk and we enter the Empress via the Convention centre entrance...

Flowers, flowers everywhere!  Anyone could be a gardener here!

Inside the Empress.....beautiful decor....

And then it's time for Afternoon Tea....

We are seated by a wonderful table by the window with a great view of the inner harbour.  Robert serves us fresh BC blueberries and cream....

The Tea Room

The menu and table setting...

Mom is enjoying the VIP treatment!

There are a variety of teas to choose from....we both decide on the Empress Blend.  It was perfect!

Two steaming pots of tea arrive.....I've never had that much tea in my life, but it was so good!  We received complimentary boxes of 10 bags of Empress Blend tea when we were done.

And then the tray of treats arrive!  Oh wow!  I didn't expect this at all.  The bottom tray has mini sandwiches, middle tray has scones and the top tray had cookies and tarts.

We start with the sandwiches.....an absolutely amazing smoked salmon and cream cheese, a thinly sliced cucumber, a chicken mango curry on pumpernickel, a liver pate and and an egg salad croissant.  It was all amazing!

The salmon and cream cheese...

 The curry...

And then the scone with devon cream and strawberry preserves...

Somehow we find room for more.....macaroons that melted in our mouths, marzipan, chocolate cappuccino cups and lemon meringue tarts....

This was our view out the window....

Our tea was 2 hours long....the tea room was still full when we left!  What an amazing experience!  Really the highlight of our trip!

There was piano music throughout the tea....

Staircase leading to rooms.....

The Empress reminds me a lot of 'Titanic'.....lots of beautiful woodwork....

Pretty scenery, inside and out....

Taking a walk around the grounds.....

The Empress Hotel.....

I'm not sure what kind of juniper this is, but it's very unique...

Across the street, the inner harbour walkway....

And from a distance, the Parliament Buildings....We had planned to take a tour if the weather wasn't nice, but the sun is shining so it's great to be outside.....

 To be continued......

Girls Trip to Victoria ~ Day 2 Part 1

Friday August 16th

I'm never too happy when the weather doesn't cooperate with my plans!  We woke up to some serious sea fog this morning.  But we won't let that stop us....we've got places to go and things to do!

We set out for a walking tour this morning....heading up Douglas Street...

If there's one thing that you will see a lot of in Victoria, it's Flowers!!!  They are everywhere and they are beautiful!

Is it too early?

We should probably be here instead....

We need some brekkies and I hear my favourite bakery calling!  Dutch Bakery here we come!

We've been going to the Dutch Bakery since.....oh, the 60s sometime I think.  They've been open since 1956.  The Dutch Bakery   It's not a fancy place and I don't think the decor has changed much in all those years.  And that's what's so great about it....the cakes and pastries haven't changed either.  They are always exactly how I remembered them from the previous visit.  I like when things stay the same yumminess!  It's definitely a Must Do when you're in Victoria!  

Mom gets a cinnamon danish while I get an almond one.....delish as always!

We sit and people watch while enjoying our treats.

We'll be back again later this afternoon to pick up dessert for tonight!  And then back again tomorrow to pick up goodies to take home to the family.

My favourite....Vanilla Slices

So, back to walking to burn off those buns!

We turn down one block to Government Street.....this is as touristy as it gets in Victoria, but a lot of my favourite places are here....lots of great memories!  We took a lot of family trips to Victoria when I was young and then I went to the University of Victoria for 2 years.  One place I went often during UVIC was Munro's Books.  It was in a different location back then and now it's in a historical building that is just beautiful.  There's just something about book stores!  Munro Books

We didn't buy any books but I did buy a card made by a local artist.  It's for our wedding anniversary on August 29th....shhhhhh, don't tell Vince!

Back to our walk.....






























Next to Munro's is another favourite haunt...Murchie's Tea.  When I moved to Victoria, it seemed like you just had to drink tea.  Mostly just to stay warm during the cooler, damp winter months.  I have never been a coffee drinker except for late night exam crunching, but I've always enjoyed a good cuppa!






























I wasn't sure if we should shop here, or bend over!

There are a lot of great places to sit outside and have a drink or meal.....

 On to Bastion Square, which is often an open air artist market

The view from Bastion Square to some of the inner harbour area....my yacht awaits!

I love all the old historical buildings in Victoria....some great scenery....

 I was quite surprised and impressed that Victoria chose to copy the exact same plants that I used for my planters!

 On to Market Square.....

During UVIC days, we used to go to Market Square a lot!  There was a little pizza place called Noose Pizza.  One of the first places that I tried a whole wheat crust.  It was sooo good!  Anyway, back to 2013....

Now it houses a few little specialty shops and a very pretty drink fountain....

Next up is Chinatown....

The impressive entrance....

I really wanted to buy some fancy chopsticks but the packaging was all in Chinese.  Which was great except for one word "Danger".  I couldn't quite figure out what Danger was referring to, so we left those behind and bought lottery tickets instead!

I had downloaded an app on my phone called City Vibe.  It listed all the events taking place, when and where.  One was a Flamenco Festival, nearby at Centennial Square.  Apparently they have a variety of musical and dance performances throughout the summer from 12-1.  This was a real treat and we thoroughly enjoyed the great dancing and music!

Take a look and listen!

At this point, Mom was getting pretty tired from all the walking, so we headed back to the condo for a bit of coffee and a sit down.....

To be Continued!.....