Victoria, British Columbia

Another Canadian city that’s new to us but not one in which we felt we needed a formal excursion since the port is close to downtown.

Our original plan was to Uber/taxi to Buchart Gardens in the morning and then go downtown from there, have tea at the Empress Hotel and walk back to the ship. Turned out the Pride Parade was on and driving anywhere would be a nightmare. We quickly changed plans and walked to the fisherman’s wharf and took a water taxi downtown and started exploring.

Victoria is very touristy but still lovely. We watched the parade and then stopped for a drink at a legendary hillbilly bar our friends recommended called Big Bad John’s in the Strathcona Hotel. Oh my! The pictures tell the story.

From there, we went to tea at the Empress and then walked over to Carr House, artist Emily Carr’s home growing up. Unfortunately, it had closed a few minutes before we arrived but we did get to visit its garden. We then walked back to the ship.

We’re now done with Canadian ports and back to the U.S.Read more