Let me get this straight… an short drive along “sea to sky” highway from Vancouver, I can get to the city of Whistler? Where I can do the following:
1) Play golf
2) Snowboard down Blackcomb + Whistler
3) Mountain bike down Whistler
4) Get within 150metres of a black bear cub…..while on the balcony of my resort?
… come on Ontario…. come on…
zip line down Cougar Mountain!
Victoria can’t be beat for a nice, quaint town with great food and creature comforts (Breakfast places + David’s Tea + Pacific Ocean = pretty sweet). The whole city had a charming, relaxing feel to the city. It also helped that we probably got the most amazing weather ever in Victoria. Strolling around town, we visited the oldest Chinatown in Canada, capital hill, and MEC.
At first I wondered, how can a city of 80-thousand have the same number of MECs as Toronto ( the answer is 1). After getting here, it’s not hard to understand why everyone loves the outdoors when the surrounding habitat is just ripe for athletics…..
Pacific ocean? Check.
Rocky mountains? Check.
What else do you need!!! …. how about a University built inbetween a provincial park, sandwiched by those two things! Throw in a “clothing optional” beach, and you’ve got….
U B C….. acrynom for I am jealous. My university never had a pretty campus, but now I’m just upset. Nobody told me campuses like this exist?!??!?!?
Why….
Did I not come here to study?
After stopping by Richmond for some good dim sum, we headed over to Tsawwasen to hop on the ferry with our minivan to Victoria.
Victoria, the capital of Beautiful British Columbia, really lives up to its name!! Hopping off the ferry, we stopped by to grab supplies at Shoppers Drug Mart (with a strange strange sign) before going into Butchart Garden. Driving on up, I was shocked at the $30 Adult admission price, but it didn’t take long before I realized why.
Maybe it was December, or maybe because I didn’t walk through the whole garden, but Versailles and Schönbrunn can take a back seat… This place was R I D I C U L O U S. Grass was greener and better maintained than golf club greens, and the landscaping and variety of flowers was really impressive. Oh, and did I mention Victoria is off the waters of the Pacific Ocean!
Downtown Victoria couldn’t be more quaint. Our hotel is next to market square, with modern furniture stores, David’s Tea, sitting next to small cafes and crazy good restaurants…. and Canada’s oldest Chinatown!!! It may also be the cleanest…..
We have one more day here, but maybe a few more wouldn’t hurt =)
After cleaning up to the very last minute (and a lot of help from the family), we managed to leave the house we called home and turned that into 2 backpacks.
Tired and excited, we arrive in the beautiful west coast! No wonder people like being out west so much, the whole city just has such an awesome feel to it, from the food, to the undulating roads, everything just feels so cozy and calm. What was really strange was that, we feel like we’re already on our ‘journey’, carrying our packs and gear around, and the whole city feels foreign, the constant sights of Tim Horton’s and Maple Syrup reminds me that, I still haven’t left Canada! Still have 2 more weeks go to….
.
A quick stop at Granville Island (similar to Toronto’s Distillery District), a stroll through the magnificent Stanley Park, and finishing the day at the original Guu, we’re all looking forward to falling asleep. It may be the 3hrs of sleep, or the time zone differences, but something is definitely ‘right’ with Vancouver.
At Granville, tired and hungry, a jolt of caffeine definitely hit the spot courtesy of JJBean! After J&J Moving company, JJ Petshop, JJ Dry cleaners, there’s a new addition to the JJ empire!!!! Muwahahahaha..
Next stop: Victoria!
Join us as we set sail around South America 