More Victoria

I drove to the Bear Mtn Resort which had the PGA last weekend. This ritzy area has the Westin Inn and Sante Spa where I enjoyed a spa overlooking the golf course and an hour long massage.

 I loved this living, growing wall in the Lounge.

More exploring took us around the harbour, cruise ship berths, fisherman's wharf with floating homes.

Mile 0 of the Trans Canada Highway is located on Douglas Street, at the intersection of Dallas Road, near the beautiful Victoria waterfront. The Mile 0 marker is the start of the over 8,000 km Trans-Canada Highway that spans the entire length of Canada. Mile 0 is also home to a statue of Terry Fox. Fox lost his right leg to cancer when he was 18 years old. He started a cross-Canada run to raise money for cancer research, beginning in Newfoundland on the East coast of Canada, and was to end at the Mile 0 marker in Victoria. Unfortunately, Fox's journey ended tragically near the halfway mark when he fell ill and passed away 8 months from cancer.

We wandered through Beacon Hill Park, not realizing the 2 young Royal children of Kate and William, were at the Petting Zoo at that time.
                       We stopped at St. Ann's Academy.

I graduated from St. Ann's in New Westminster and my aunt was a Sister of St.Ann's.
 St. Ann’s Academy is a testament to the dedication of the Sisters of St. Ann who were integral to the beginnings of education and healthcare in British Columbia. Now a national historic site owned by the Ministry of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services, St. Ann’s remains one of Victoria’s premier landmarks surrounded by heritage gardens and greenspace to provide an oasis in the centre of the Capital city.

 You can still visit the chapel which unfortunately was closed today due to winter hours. We visited here for retreats in high school.

Picturesque 19th Century heritage buildings abound with brick and stone such as the Legislative Buildings overlooking the harbour.

The Royal B.C. Museum was featuring a Woolly Mammoth Exhibit as well as First Nations, Early Pioneers and Climate Change. You could have spent days in there.

First Nations people have resided here for at least 13,200 years.

I had wanted to go to Butchart Gardens but when I saw it was $64 for 2, I decided to enjoy all the amazing flowers on every street and the Empress Hotel.

                    Missed afternoon tea as it was $75 a pop 

 but loved the waterfront, very busy with planes, water taxis, ferries and the old blue bridge down the way.