PVS pt. 2: Victoria

The Parliament Building for British Columbia.


The Sunken Gardens at Butchart Gardens.


More of Butchart Gardens...the term "gardens" makes the place sound a lot smaller than it is.


My sweet hotel room for 3 nights. I wanted to call up all my friends and have a party...but then I remembered I was on an island in Canada.


Sunset at Laurel Point.

While Portland and Seattle are both nice places with a good mix of city life and fresh air, Victoria was the most scenic stop on my vacation. From what I've heard, most of Canada isn't too different from the States...just a little friendlier and having a misguided sense of pronunciation. However, Victoria was like no place I'd been to before. It definitely had a British vibe with cobblestone streets, castle-like hotels, horse-drawn carriages, and street buskers along the harbor. I think you'd run out of activities (and money) after a few days, but it's a really nice place to walk around and relax.

Monday: After getting off the Amtrak train in Seattle, I walked my way from the south side of downtown by Qwest Field all the way to the Space Needle to catch a boat out to Vancouver Island. The boat trip was nice. Not a lot of scenery once you're out on the water, but I'm happy I didn't get sea sick or anything. I got into Victoria that night and took it easy after checking into my hotel and finding out I was given a free upgrade to a king suite with a kitchen.

Tuesday: Being in Canada on the release day of Arcade Fire's new album left me feeling obligated to go out and buy a physical copy as a souvenir. I left my hotel with the intention of walking around until I randomly came across a record store, but then immediately I saw an advert for a new Best Buy on the same street I was walking on and thought I was in luck. 3 miles later...I finally dragged myself into Best Buy only to find they didn't have the album for some reason. On the plus side, I made friends with three Best Buy employees who were partly excited by the news of a new Arcade Fire album and partly by meeting a real Los Angeles resident. They directed me to a record shop a couple blocks from my hotel and my mission was accomplished.

Wednesday: Any website about Victoria and any person who's been to Victoria will tell you the main attraction on the island is the Butchart Gardens. Not being much of a gardener myself, I wasn't too excited about it, but figured I should go anyway. It turned out to be pretty cool, as you can see from the pictures above.

Thursday: Packed up my things and got back on the boat to the Seattle.

While the architecture, gardens, and general atmosphere of Victoria were all really great, I think my most lasting memory will be of the women of Victoria. I don't know if it's because it's a tourist town, or part of British Columbia, or what, but there were attractive girl-next-door types all over the place. Every gift shop, restaurant, supermarket, etc. had at least one good-looking, friendly girl I would like to have talked to longer. Furthermore, I'm pretty sure I saw at least three different local girls who I would have married on the spot. If only I had social skills and a worthwhile life to offer them in the States.