Playing Tour Guide in Victoria

My husband commented that I was "doing all the things" in Victoria this past week. My friend Mary came along with me on my most recent trip to Victoria. She was great company.

We left on Tuesday December 5th and came back on Friday December 8th. The Canadian border guard was a bit unusual. There was only one car in front of us and when we got the gate we reached down to get our passports out of our purses. He really didn't like that! He said we could've been reaching for a gun! 

There are less ferries running this time of year. We had to wait almost 2 hours for our ferry from Tsawwassen on Tuesday. We missed the 11 am by about 20 minutes. We visited with my parents for a bit when we arrived into Victoria. I was happy to be able to bring them gifts in person instead of shipping gifts. I gave my mom a robe (among other things) and my Dad always gets a prayer diary from YWAM. I make a photo calendar for them every year. Mary and I stayed one night at the luxurious Oak Bay hotel. We enjoyed their outdoor hot tub which we had to ourselves.

On Wednesday morning we had breakfast in the Oak Bay dining room. After that we had our photo taken (see the top) and checked out. 

tree in the lobby of Oak Bay Hotel

Mary wanted to experience tea at the Fairmont Empress Hotel. We went early in the day in order to spend the afternoon with my parents.

Here is a close up of the china pattern.

I liked this warmer underneath the tea pot. I'm going to look for one. 

The tea experience was lovely. 

There was a man playing the piano in the background.  There was a Christmas tree decorated with golden tea pots. 

Afterwards we explored the gift shop. I bought this little tea tin, shaped like the Empress hotel.

I noticed this light fixture and stained glass window in a room just off the room where the tea is served.

That afternoon Mary explored the shops on Oak Bay avenue while I spent time with my parents. Later I showed Mary the views from Dallas road. 

Later we checked into our 2nd hotel - Marketa's Bed and Breakfast. We had dinner at the Irish Times downtown. This is from the menu. The building has an interesting history.

On Thursday morning we went over to help my mom with various things. Mary and I had lunch at the Village in Estevan village which is close to my parents' apartment. In the afternoon I did more things for my parents. I went over some old photos with my Dad. 

Mary took some photos and we said goodbye.

We had dinner at the Penny Farthing in Oak Bay on two occasions. Shepherd's pie and fish and chips are good choices. Thursday night we went to the Christmas lights at Butchart Gardens. I'll write a separate blog post about that. Friday we had breakfast and then drove to the ferry. At the ferry ticket gate, the lady said we *might* get on the 11 am ferry. We should have made a reservation.

We anxiously watched the ferry loading. We were the 2nd to last car on the ferry. We were very thankful! The next ferry would have left at 12:30 pm seriously delaying our return home.

Our border wait was about 35 minutes. The US border guard asked us what we do for work. Mary said "we're housewives!" We had sunny weather as we drove home.

I'm very thankful for Mary agreeing to come with me. I really appreciated her company and we had a great time. 

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