We took the city bus to Victoria from the ferry dock, about 40 minutes. It was a double-decker which was cool but with all our bags we couldn't go upstairs. In fact the bus was so full we barely fit downstairs so I ended up holding the bags in the doorway through each stop and turn. Fun!
Once here we checked in to our hotel. I actually miss the hostel a bit, it was right in the village and there were loads of people around.
Anyway, we went downtown and saw the B.C. parliament which was pretty impressive.
You'd think there'd be loads of postcards with that on them but they were all really crappy for some reason, like the back of a statue or a huge tree in the way.
From there we went to the Art Gallery which was open 'til 9. They had an exhibition on of the work of Kent Monkman called "The Triumph of Miss Chief" or mischief. I loved it to death.
The exhibition catalogue was $60 so we went back to the hotel and I looked it up online, hoping to get it cheaper or be able to buy it later when I had some money. Turns out the book is now out of print and selling for over $1000 online! Yikes! So we went back the next morning and I bought the book.
Also of note, Kent Monkman will be performing as Miss Chief at Nuit Blanche in Toronto so I MUST go see that and get him to sign the book.
From there off to Craigdarroch Castle which Sarah really loved.
It was quite nice.
Off to Chinatown for lunch and shopping, we stumbled upon Three Fan Tan Alley and had an amazing lunch of rice and roast pork.
We came back to the hotel to recharge and I also needed to recharge my camera battery which I forgot to do earlier.
From there back downtown to Miniature World. The displays were fantastic and the detail incredible. Here's a scene from WW2 Germany, you can click to enlarge the photo.
Exquisite detail in this living room.
Walking down the street we found a couple of cats (of course) so I played with them for about 15 minutes. Sarah suggested I should keep cat treats in my bag at all times and that's such a good idea I think I just might. Oh, I also got a new bag from Mountain Equipment Co-op. The old one is looking a bit weathered.
I knew there were a couple of Emily Carr sites in Victoria and while looking for the world's largest totem pole we happened to come across Carr's birthplace. I took a few photos mainly for my mom but when we tried to stop in and look at the giftshop we found the place was shut, it closes at 4 apparently, and we had just missed it.
We did end up finding the world's largest totem pole, it wasn't easy to find. It's hidden in a park and we had to ask a lot of people for directions. Note Sarah on the right at the bottom.
As we were walking back to the Museum we came across a peacock, which I thought was the most unusual thing ever. I stalked in for about 10 minutes while Sarah stood carefully back at a safe distance. As we turned the corner we saw a few more, I guess they live in the park.
Sarah and I both got to give a squirrel a nut from our hands. Neither of us had ever done that before, that was pretty cool.
Outside the museum more totems, I think this was the largest cluster we had seen, they tend to be solitary or at least far more spread out.
After dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory we went back and took some photos of the parliament buildings at night and then off to home and bed!
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