Central Saanich

My sister organised a trip to Butchart Gardens and Victoria through her friend Rhoda while we were still spending time with Tita Agot in New York. She secured the trip for us to go with West Coast Tour.

It was raining when we woke up early to ready for the day. We were praying and hoping that the weather in Victoria would be different. We had our breakfast and then called the cab to head to Robson on Rosedale hotel. There, we waited for the tour bus for quite some time and instead of being picked up at 0845am, the bus came at 0915 instead.

Our tour guide's name was John. He was very descriptive about Vancouver and its suburbs. He even had input regarding the real estate prices, the connection of the places we were passing through to the first nation, the livelihood background of the locals, and how Victoria's weather is affected by the geography in Seattle.

We waited to board the ferry service that will take us to Vancouver Island at Tsawwassen Port, and there my mom and sister purchased some new hat wear. My dad sacrificed his desire to buy himself a cap he liked so he could buy mom the one she fancied.

I was thoroughly surprised by the ferry. It was huge, with two floors of storage dedicated for vehicles alone and can contain trucks and buses. But not only that, it also had 3 floors of passenger capacity teeming with retail shops, cafés and a buffet restaurant.

My sister treated us to a relaxing lunch buffet up in the front deck of the ship ferry. There was a 180 degree view of the Salish Sea and the ship passed by Sturdies and later, Swartz Bay. It was still cloudy and rainy outside, but it was a wonder to watch the birds trying to make their way across the gray body of water attempting to catch fish despite the dreary weather.

Upon arriving at Vancouver Island, we were then driven off to Butchart Gardens in Brentwood Bay.

What a sight. There was so much to see in such a small amount of time. Our tour guide only gave us an hour and a half. We tried our best, we probably spent most of the time in the Sunken Gardens, and later, in a section with an assortment of flowers. It was tough to get pictures when everywhere you look at there are tourists upon tourists fighting for that same photo angle. On another note, apart from the landscaping and the myriad of plants exhibited, there were very interesting water fountains sourced from all around the world scattered in the garden.

We were second to the last in returning to the bus. John then took us to Victoria, the Provincial capital. It was a nice port city, but unlike Vancouver it did not have any mountains surrounding it. On the way, John introduced us to the local Chinatown and its rich history, pointing out the narrow brick-walled Fan Tan Alley, where, later on, my sister and I had a picture at. He dropped us in front of the Royal BC Museum where we were instructed to return there in an hour and a half's time.

We had a lovely afternoon tea in La Roux Patisserie and enjoyed their bread pudding and Opera cake. On the way back, my sister and I walked past Bastion Books in Bastion square where there were plenty of rare and second hand books (the smell of the book shoppe was thick with antiquity). Then we took pictures of the British Columbia Legislature building and the Fairmont Empress hotel. They were regal looking structures both facing the harbour--commanding yet elegant all at once. The waters mirrored the gloomy skies but thankfully there was no rain at this stage.

Afterwards John drove us through a town called Sidney, apparently it is often used as setting for North American soap operas. Unfortunately it had grown too dark when we got there and the temperature outside the bus had dropped making the windows all fogged up, so all we had to rely on were John's commentaries.

When we got back to the very wet Vancouver, we said hello to my sister's friend Rhoda at the hotel reception desk, then we braved the rain to buy takeaway from a nearby Maccas. We were very grateful for the divine providence of our transport home when just after our orders arrive, a taxi pulls over right in front of us, then a couple alights, as if on cue.Read more