Stu and I started our day with a bit of a walk. We wandered down the path next to our Airbnb and up to the main road – not thinking it would be busy at 7:30 in the morning. Walking on the road was a little nerve wracking so today (as I am writing this) we will probably stick to the heritage trail with the cougar.
Molly made pancakes for breakfast this morning and we had Canadian maple syrup which was delicious. I will be bringing a little bit of that home!
We headed off to Butchart Gardens today. Butchart Gardens was designed by the Butchart family in an old limestone quarry. There are distinct gardens that you walk through. They are beautifully maintained by about 70 gardeners and there are different flowers on display depending on when you visit.
The sunken garden is where you can really appreciate that the gardens are built into a quarry. You walk down into them and then at the back there is a lake/pond with a dancing fountain. The flower displays are absolutely amazing.
From the sunken gardens you walk up to the top of a hill where there is a beautiful carousel that you can ride for just $2 per person. I thought I probably would have to sit in a carriage rather than on a mount but there was no weight limit. It made us all feel like we were kids again riding the carousel. We thought it would go around sedately but it spins at a fair pace which added to the fun.
From here you walk down through to the Rose Gardens then on the Japanese Gardens. At the back of the Japanese Garden there is a gate that takes you to a little cove that the family used to use for their boats and to go down and swim in. We hadn’t realised how close the gardens were to the sea until you get to the gate and can see the cove.
After the Butchart Gardens we went to Victoria. We parked the car and wandered around the town. We saw these pedicabs with a double carriage which looked like fun. The waterfront is beautiful, and the streets are very picturesque. We decided that we would get a pedicab which took us through Chinatown and over to the Parliament House built by Francis Rattenbury in 1897. From here Anton (our driver) took us to Beacon Hill Park which is about 134 acres and has a lovely sundial garden in it. he pedicab ride was great and we got to see lots of things we probably wouldn’t have if we hadn’t of done it. The last place we went past was Emily Carr’s house. Emily Carr was an unmarried (important in 1891) artist and writer. She had a pet monkey that she treated like her child, dressing it up in children’s clothes, and bred English sheep dogs and Belgian griffons.
As we have been on the move all day today, we didn’t stop to have any lunch, so we settled for an early dinner at Finn’s Seafood restaurant instead. Linsey, Molly and Stu had seafood/fish in various forms while I had a burger. By the time we had dinner and got back to the Airbnb it was 7:30pm. It has certainly been a big day out.
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