Living Our Dream

Victoria, British Columbia Part II: Victoria and the Inner Harbor

In our last post, we told you about our visit to Butchart Gardens, but we didn't tell you about the ferry to and from Victoria or about the city of Victoria. We'll do that in this post.

There are two types of ferries from Port Angeles to Victoria. You can take your car, or even your RV, over on a large ferry; or you can take the smaller, faster, passenger ferry. We decided on the passenger ferry.

Once in Victoria, there are a variety of things you can do. If you're going to Butchart Gardens like we did, you can take a public bus, a taxi, or a tour bus for the 14-mile trip from the ferry to the gardens. We opted to take the tour bus because it provided narration about some of the sights on the way to the gardens, and it also meant there was no chance we would get lost on the way back to the dock and miss the last ferry over to the United States.  :-)

There are a couple of companies operating ferries out of Port Angeles. We took the Victoria Express. To make things easy, you can book packages directly through them that include the ferry, transportation to the gardens (or other city tour if you prefer not to go to the gardens), admission to the gardens, and even the afternoon tea.

We showed up bright and early for the 8:10 AM ferry departure. Parking in downtown Port Angeles was reasonably priced from $11 a day at the garage directly across the street from the dock to $6 for a lot about a few blocks down the street. We parked in the lot down the street and had a walk of less than 5 minutes to the boarding point.

The photo below is a shot of the ferry as we were about to board.

We had a fairly smooth crossing that took about an hour. Over in Canada, it took only a few minutes to clear customs, then we were on the tour bus and on our way to Butchart Gardens that we told you about in our last post. In this post, we'll tell you a little more about some of the things we saw in Victoria.

As the bus pulled out of the parking lot, one of the first things we saw was the turn-of-the-century Empress Hotel. The hotel was renovated in 1966 at a cost of $4 million and again in 1989 at a cost or $45 million. The Empress has all the things guests expect to find in a 5-star resort - an 18-hole golf course, a spa, fine restaurants, and even afternoon tea in the finest English tradition. The photo below shows the Empress Hotel overlooking Victoria's Inner Harbor.



The Art Deco building adjacent to the Inner Harbor that is now the Victoria Visitor Center was originally an Esso gas station. The top is designed to look like the Empire State Building.



The next photo is Victoria City Hall, which we passed on our way through downtown on the way to the garden.

After our visit to Butchart Gardens and our tea, we caught the next tour bus back to town. We had a few hours before the ferry departed, so we spent some time around the harbor area.

There were some street entertainers along the docks. We watched Plasterman for a while. He would strike a perfectly motionless pose, then reach out and hug an unsuspecting passer-by. If you dropped something in his container, he would pose for a picture with you.

 

We watched a few other entertainers, then strolled past the craft vendors along the far side of the harbor. Indian art and jewelry were popular items.

 

The food at the tea at Butchart Gardens was excellent, but it wasn't all that filling. Plus, it was a long day, so we were both getting hungry again. We remembered our bus driver mentioning a good place for fish and chips near the harbor, so we set off looking for it. It is called Barb's Place, and it's a floating restaurant located about four blocks from the Inner Harbor at the fishing docks. The photo below shows Barb's Place.

They had all sorts of seafood - fish, mussels, oysters, prawns, crabs, and more. They are best known for their fish and chips, so we split a two-piece order of fish and chips with a side of slaw. It was delish.

Back at the ferry dock, it was soon time to board to head back to the United States. As the ferry left the Inner Harbor, we could watch the float planes land and take off on the waterway beside us. Victoria is the busiest float plane port in Canada, much to the dismay of the local residents. The photo below shows a departing flight, and, as you can see, there are condos in the background.

 

As we reached the outer harbor, there was a large cruise ship in port...

...and we overtook another one that had just left port and was heading for the Pacific.

 

As we crossed the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we could see the Olympic Mountains over on the U. S. side.

The next photo shows the harbor as we approached Port Angeles. The ferry dock is the second building from the left.

We again cleared customs fairly quickly and were on our way back to the motor home. It was a long, but interesting and fun day. Stay tuned...we have more plans for the Port Angeles area.

Victoria, British Columbia Part I: Butchart Gardens

In addition to wanting a convenient place from which to visit the northern side of Olympic National Park, another reason we stopped in Port Angeles, WA, is because that's where we could catch the ferry for a day trip to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Victoria is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island a little over 20 miles across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The reason we wanted to go to Victoria was to visit Butchart Gardens, which has an international reputation for its spectacular display of flowering plants.

The public areas of Butchart Gardens cover about 55 acres. There are over 1 million flowering plants representing about 700 varieties on display. There is also a lot going on behind the scenes with 26 greenhouses covering almost 2 acres, trial gardens, and tree and shrub nurseries.

We knew Butchart Gardens was serious about their floral displays when we saw all the flower beds and hanging baskets lining the entry driveway before we even got into the gardens. Even their sign incorporates live flowers.



Robert Butchart, who was a former dry goods merchant, began manufacturing Portland cement in the late 1800s in Ontario. In 1904, he established a limestone quarry and a cement plant in Western Canada on Vancouver Island. Robert and Jennie Butchart made Tod Inlet near the site of the quarry their permanent, year-round home in 1906. Their home near Tod inlet, which is now a restaurant, is a short distance inside the entrance to the gardens.

 

There were a lot of intertwining paths at Butchart Gardens, so we followed the garden map like we did at the Portland Japanese Garden to avoid missing anything. There are luxuriously-planted beds everywhere. We liked seeing the different combinations of color and texture. In the photo below, a bed of blue heliotrope and contrasting pink geraniums is edged with silver-gray dusty miller.

The next photo shows a water garden outlined with pink begonias. Notice there are hanging baskets on the fence in the background and even flowers on top of the fence.

Even in the shade there were colorful beds.

In areas where there wasn't a lot of room for large planting beds, they used hanging baskets and containers. Each was like its own miniature landscape.

The first major garden we came to was the Sunken Garden. In 1909, the quarry on the property was abandoned when the supply of limestone was exhausted. Jennie Butchart decided to reclaim the bleak quarry pit. She had topsoil hauled in from neighboring farms and had her workmen begin to line the floor of the quarry. Jennie herself hung in a boatswain's chair to plant ivy in the cracks of the barren walls of the quarry. In 1921, the Sunken Garden was completed. The next photo is the view from the entry steps of the Sunken Garden.

 

There is a mound of unquarried rock in the middle of the Sunken Garden that makes a great vantage point to look down on the colorful flower beds and the different textures of shrubs and trees.

On the floor of the Sunken Garden, there are too many beautiful views to count.

A lake was created in the low point of the quarry.

At the far end of the Sunken Garden is the Ross Fountain installed in 1964 by Ian Ross, who was the Butcharts' grandson. The fountain rises up to 70 feet as the jets swirl and sway in an ever-changing water display.

 

In the 1920s, the Butcharts began to receive visitors to their gardens. In 1939, they gave the gardens to their grandson, Ian, who was involved in the operation of the gardens for the next 58 years until his death. The gardens remain a family operation today and are currently managed by the Bucharts' great-granddaughter.

From the Sunken Garden, the walkway passed the shade/bog garden, the concert lawn, and the fireworks viewing area. The next photo shows one of the two totem poles near the fireworks area that were carved in 2004 to commemorate the gardens' 100th anniversary.

 

After the fireworks area, we passed more beautiful flower beds.

 

The rose garden was added in 1929, and replaced the Butchart's kitchen vegetable garden. Judging from the number of people in the rose garden, it is a popular addition.

From the rose garden, the walkway went on to the Japanese Garden. The Japanese Garden was actually the first garden planted by Jennie Butchart. Soon after moving to Tod Inlet, Mrs. Butchart designed the garden with the help of a Japanese landscape artist. We took time to rest on a bench to enjoy the peaceful tranquility that is typical of a Japanese garden.



The next photo is another view of the Japanese garden. The shade and moss add to the tranquility.

At the far end of the Japanese Garden is the inlet where the Butcharts used to greet guests who arrived in their yachts.

The next stop was the Star Garden, which was specifically designed for Mr. Butchart's collection of ornamental ducks. Today, colorful annuals are planted between the points of the star and water lilies bloom in the pond.

 

The last stop on the garden tour was the Italian Garden. This garden replaced the tennis courts in 1926.

 

We completed the tour of the garden at just the right time for our scheduled reservations for tea. Margery and our daughter, Lora, frequently go to have tea when we visit them. When Margery found out the restaurant at Butchart Gardens serves afternoon tea, she was excited. Since Lora obviously wasn't with us, Paul agreed to go. A good pulled-pork barbecue or burger is more to his liking; but, hey, he'll give almost anything a try. The photo below shows us in the tea room.

 

The setting was lovely with orchids and potted plants all around. The next photo shows Margery with our tray of goodies.

We learned a little about the British tradition of serving tea. The terms afternoon tea and high tea are frequently interchanged, but afternoon tea is traditionally served in the afternoon and usually consists of small sandwiches, cakes, and sweets. High tea is usually a variety of hot foods and would be served in the early evening in place of afternoon tea and in place of the evening meal. The tea at Butchart Gardens is afternoon tea with some elements of high tea because it includes a few hot foods.

We started with the bottom layer of the tray where there were warm sausage rolls and roasted-vegetable mini-quiches. There was also a variety of cold sandwiches including smoked salmon, smoked honey ham on a cheddar biscuit, and mango chicken salad. Margery liked the honey ham and Paul's favorite was the sausage roll. He wanted a dinner-size portion.

The sweets started on the middle layer. There were lemon tartlets with blueberries, slices of lemon and poppy seed loaf, chocolate/Grand Marnier truffles, and more.

The whole thing was topped off by their signature ginger scones with strawberry jam and whipped cream. Everything was yummy!

After our tea, we caught the next tour bus back to town. We'll tell you a little more about our ferry ride and the town of Victoria in our next post.