First Trip of the Year!!
Friday, May 9th
Poked my nose outside for a minute or two and it is a beautiful morning! I can’t wait to get started! It is one of those calm soft mornings that call your name, it is a spring morning that speaks of promise of quiet and peace. It only happens a few times through out spring, so don’t waste it.
Started the day with an excellent breakfast, eggs, toast, sausage and hash browns, what more could you asked for. Then it was off to do some exploring and the first stop was to Canada’ Oldest Chinatown. And a wander down Fan Tan Alley, it’s about a meter wide. Victoria had the most opium factories in North America. 100,000 pounds of opium arrived in Victoria per year, mostly from India.
Victoria’s Chinatown was first settled in 1858 and is the oldest and is the most intact Chinatown in Canada and the second oldest in North America. The first being San Francisco.
I walked along, looking and checking little things out and enjoying the day. I walked along the waterfront, watched some boats and planes come in. Found a little coffee shop and enjoyed a very good cup of coffee.
Was excited to see a hummingbird, no idea which one and of course not the right lens. However, I was thrilled to see him!! You forget how small they are and how quick as well!
I decided to do couple of touristy things, I know, I know but they are fun! First off I did the Victoria hop on off tour. I love these, sometimes you don’t have a great deal of time and these tours give you a nice overview of the city. Not only the different views and architecture but the interesting history of the city, which I promptly forget. This city of Victoria has a long and interesting history starting with the First Nation People through the beginnings of the Hudson Bay traders to the Chinese People who helped build the city to now. Long and rich history not only of the island but of Canada it’s self!
My second tour I took was a little boat around the harbour up the Gorge were all the fancy homes are. It was a pleasant day, the sun was warm and the winds were light. And even by water, there is a huge amount of history. From the First Nations boat races to a large amount of industrial to the planes and ferry traffic nowadays.
I think it is the history of a place that intrigues me the most. Little things, like the Butcharts that missed their departure date to come home to Canada by one day in April of 1914. If they were on time, there wouldn’t be the beautiful Butchart Gardens. Or Victoria wouldn’t be the place it is without the Gold rush and the generosity of San Francisco sending up ready made buildings to get the city started, which can still be seen on the fronts of many buildings. Or the phase “They roll up the sidewalks by 8p”, here in Victoria. Way back when during Victorian Times, because the streets were mud and other things, they built a wooden sidewalk, but it was rolled up in the evenings to prevent animals living under the walks.
