It was a very pretty journey as the ferry wound it's way between the San Juan Islands.
It was a quick ride south from Sydney to Victoria and thankfully we found our hotel very easily and although we were too early to check in we were allowed to park in the secure underground parking garage, leave the bikes and explore town.
In short order we discovered Chinatown and Bubble Tea!
Bubble tea, apparently originated in Taiwan when someone poured their Tapioca pudding into green tea!! It is now quite the thing and is available in many flavors, tangy or creamy and with tapioca "pearls" (the black bubbles) or with flavored jellies - I have white coconut jellies in my mango tea, Tom has Tapioca pearls in his creamy, mango tea.
As we walked to the harbor, we discovered why we had such a hard time finding somewhere to stay. It turns out that the 23rd Annual Dragon Boat Festival was held this weekend - who knew! There were many teams from North America competing and we were able to watch a few of the races - all quite exciting.
After spending the afternoon walking around town we checked in to our room and headed out to Chinatown for dinner - we were not disappointed!
Saturday morning we were up early and headed out to Breakfast. We chose the Blue Fox for it's number 1 rating on Trip Advisor, arrived 10 minutes after they opened and were lucky enough to get the last table!
This place is very popular as evidenced by the line when we left.
After a hearty breakfast we waddled off to the next activity on our agenda - a guided bike tour. This was a great way to see more of the City and learn a bit more of it's history.
I secretly thought our tour guide should have worn more appropriate footwear but she was really good and gave us a very informative and entertaining tour.
then around the inner harbor and up to Craigdarroch Castle, a historic Victorian era Scottish Baronial Castle.
It was constructed in the late 1800s as a family residence for the wealthy coal baron Robert Dunsmuir. Unfortunately he died before it was finished and the family struggled to pay for it's upkeep. It was saved from ruin by a Historical Society and is now a designated National Historic Site. We would have loved to have had time to go inside.
After a short 2 hours the tour was over and we went to the Royal BC Museum, where there was a special Terry Fox exhibit. This was a very moving exhibit and told the tragic story of this everyday young man and his attempt to run across Canada, after having his leg amputated due to bone cancer. His goal was to run 26 miles every day until he reached Victoria, having started in St John, Newfoundland. He did this to raise cancer awareness and to raise money for research. Sadly, he only made it half way and had to stop due to failing health. He had developed recurrent cancer and died just a few months later at the age of 23. His effort was recognized by the country and indeed worldwide. The Annual Terry Fox Runs continue to raise money for Cancer research. Over 650 million Canadian Dollars have been raised in his name.
By the end of the day we were quite worn out and after Tapas for Dinner turned in for the night. We are very happy that chance and altered plans brought us to this corner of the world. We will definitely be back!
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