Victoria

After Adam's "manly" weekend in Alaska, I got to have a "woman" weekend with my mom in Victoria, B.C. We started the day off early, leaving Seattle on the Victoria Clipper. Mom had her morning cup of coffee.

And I had my water bottle full of...well...water.

We had great seats on the Clipper, so we watched the grey day of Seattle...

...melt into a beautiful, sunny day in Victoria!

This being my first time in Victoria, I was amazed at the beauty of the city. The flowers and architecture all around emphasized that we weren't in the U.S. any more--it was more like we were in another time period.


After Mom and I settled into our hotel room...

...we started exploring the city! We started out in Miniature World, a museum filled with displays of miniature scenes. The amount of detail blew my mind! This is a scene of Europe's castles, complete with a moving gondola and train!

Next, we toured the historic Empress Hotel. The grounds were covered in blooms of all kinds, and ivy climbed every wall of the building.

We ate lunch at an "old-fashioned" soda shoppe, which had great food but extremely slow and unorganized service. That was ok though because we weren't in a hurry, and a street vendor dressed as Darth Vader playing his violin kept us entertained.

To enjoy the sun, we walked downtown and visited so many little curiousity shops, including a Christmas store, a joke shop, and this gelato store that made all of the flavors too beautiful to eat!

Having walked most of our visit, Mom and I enjoyed looking out on the harbor and watching the water taxis zipping in and out of the docks. These taxis were so small, fast, and busy compared to other vessels that they always provided entertainment for us to comment on.

Mom and I share a love for aquatic life, so we strolled over to the Undersea Gardens, which is basically a big barge that has been converted to an underwater aquarium. We didn't have too high of expectations, but were we surprised! We ended up sitting in an underwater theater right in front of an octopus...

...and a wolf eel! Typically, these are the creatures at the aquarium where we get to see a head or a tentacle of, but this time, we got the full view! We both left the attraction very happy!

Our last stop was the Royal Wax Museum. I hadn't been to a wax museum in years, so it was fun to see all of the famous "people." I couldn't pass up taking a picture of the namesame of the city, Queen Victoria.

Having been fully entertained by attractions, sights, and each other, we enjoyed a yummy dinner on the waterfront to end our trip.

If you haven't been to Victoria, I highly recommend it--especially if you plan to go with someone as special as my mom. Thanks for the great time, Mom (and Grandma too)!