Oh, Victoria. My, my! You dazzled us with your charm and beauty. You even gave us picture perfect weather during the third week of September…lucky us!
Upon our arrival, we instantly knew 2 days wouldn’t be long enough, but all the more reason to go back soon. We literally did not stop the entire 2 days. I’d say we were quite successful doing most things on our list, although we left much of the beautiful island untouched.
Here are some of my favourite shots from our time in Victoria. A photography lover’s dream, it was! At the end of the post, I’ll give you a brief summary of what we did and where we ate. To my surprise, Victoria is very vegan-friendly. Three cheers for that!
Ghost pictures were taken at night!! (click to enlarge) Eric made me do it… ;)
What we did:
– Walked around the charming downtown, Butchart Gardens, drove along the coast and walked along beaches (man, that sun is strong!), shopping (check out Sarah’s Place in Market Square), farmer’s market, enjoyed a drink or two at Irish Times pub with amazing live music, bought snack food at Planet Organic, waterfront for sunset, late night photography fun w/ tripod.
Where we stayed:
– Oswego Hotel. Modern suites. Full kitchen (I really appreciated the French press and blender!). 5-10 min walk to downtown. Downside – no A/C and a hot room, but we weren’t in it much anyway. From what I hear, A/C is rarely needed on the island. You can click to enlarge the above hotel pictures.
Food highlights:
– Café Bliss (loved the Thai Noodle Bowl and the Bliss BLT!!), the famous Rebar Modern Food, brunch at Mo:Le (vegan options like tofu scramble). All highly recommended!
I think I might have to put together an entire post on Butchart Gardens…so. many. pictures. to share!
Victoria, you’ll forever hold a special place in my heart.
I am so homesick seeing this! Miss taking the ferry over from Vancouver! Beautiful pics Ange!
Gosh those pictures look beautiful!! I want to go!
We went to Victoria last month and spent a week there. It still wasn’t enough time! It so was fun to go through the post and point out places that we saw. I was so excited to see you stayed at The Owesgo too! We loved it! I was a little surprised with the lack of AC as well but we had a great cross breeze with the windows so it was perfect. I can’t wait to go back!
glad you also enjoyed it :)
What gorgeous pictures! Was that lit up ivy covered stone building your hotel? That building is so beautiful!
Nope that was the Fairmont I think?
Hi
The hotel with the ivy is the Fairmont Empress but we just call it the Empress. The building with all the lights is our Legislative Building. It and the Empress were built at around the same time, and designed by John Rattenbury. We are very proud of both those beautiful buildings :) Victoria is my home town, can you tell?!?!
I think it is perfecting timing that I found your website right after you were here. I was looking for a gluten free, dairy free pumpkin pie and yours was the first recipe to come up. The pie is in the oven and I can`t wait to try it. I made it with the classic filling and the pecan crust. Smells great in my house :)
So glad you had a great trip! Lovely photos!
Is that a cruise ship? I’m sure that would be a gorgeous area to take a cruise!
I think it might have been! We were on the ferry to the island when I took that pic.
That’s actually another BC Ferry (similar to the one you were on). They go in both directions non-stop throughout the day and at one point in the 1.5 hr journey, you will pass each other. :)
But yes, our ferries that take you from Vancouver (the mainland) to the Island are more like cruise ships. They have cars in the lower decks and then 2-3 decks of seating, restaurants, etc. Nothing fancy but better than most ferries I’ve been on around the world!
Looks lovely! Can I just say that this is my favourite travel post I have ever read? I’m not a big fan of travel recaps when they are long and drawn out. This was a perfect way to do it – the highlight reel :-)
Thanks Sarah!
Omg – the buildngs! So beautiful. I hope to visit B.C. one day, too.
Beautiful photos! Looks like you guys had a really great trip. I love the ghost pictures, haha – you two are adorable :)
Oh my! It looks amazing! I wanna go too :)
It looks beautiful there- I would love to visit it someday.
I moved to Victoria this summer. I’d fallen in love with it for all the reasons you mentioned! :)
I was born and raised in Victoria but left in mid-September to go to the UK, in hopes of finding work (not happening!) and staying for a bit. In doing this, I’ve realized how much I actually love Victoria and now I terribly miss it. Ah, sigh! Thank you for this post, it’s so lovely to see other people’s perspectives on my hometown. Rebar and Mo:Le are amazing!
Beautiful photos! Isn’t the west coast amazing? I sure miss Planet Organic—I think they have another location somewhere in the GTA area though? Brampton maybe?
I definitely find that BC is more health-friendly, animal-friendly, environment friendly in general.. it’s hard not to be when you’re surrounded by such perfect scenery. Glad you enjoyed your trip!
yup we have one in Port Credit :)
Victoria looks beautiful! I had been when I was very young so don’t remember a lot of it, but from the looks of things…i have to go again! :) Glad you had such a great trip!
We lived there for a year and I have to say I felt Rebar a disappointment, but that was more than adequately made up for by many other places around town. Green Cuisine was always a favourite and easy go-to though : )
Gorgeous shots – I love that one of the sunset (sunrise? I can never tell the difference)! I really hope to visit there someday soon.
I am SO putting this on my ‘to visit’ list! Gorgeous pics!
Wow, such gorgeous photos, Angela! :D Did you guys EVER luck out with the weather! xoxo
Gorgeous photos! I love your pictures, they make me want to visit Canada!