Day 3 - Wednesday 16 May 2012

VICTORIA, VANCOUVER ISLAND
Weather: repeat of yesterday - gorgeous sunny day.

Fact: I am the youngest in the group. Everyone is 50+.

Had an early morning start today as we had to make our way over to Vancouver Island - breakfast at 6:30am with bus departure at 7:30am.

As there was a mix up at the hotel, we didn't end up leaving until 9am. We were taken for a drive around Vancouver before heading off to catch the ferry for the Island.

As I get sea sick, I was a little worried. It turned out to be smooth sailing.

View from the ferry

As we weren't going to have time for lunch once we landed, we were advised to have lunch on the ferry. So Marilyn and I went straight to the restaurant on the fifth floor and had chicken burgers. I seem to be eating a lot of burgers on this trip!! At least this burger had the Heart Foundation tick!

I did get a little nauseaous inside the ferry so we ended up sitting outside in the fresh air and the warm sun. It was a great ride - after leaving open waters, the ferry passes amongst various small islands before finally arriving at Vancouver Island.



The Empress Hotel



Once we were on the road, we were taken for a drive along the coastal road to the capital of Victoria. We also made a stop at "Mile 0" of the Trans Canadian Highway which is the begining of the highway that goes all around Canada.

In Victoria, there are two very impresive buildings - the Parliament building and The Empress Hotel building - and a spectacular harbour.

The bus dropped us off for about an hour and Marilyn and I quickly realised that, beyond this harbour section of Victoria, there is basically not much to see. There are shops and restaurants galor but nothing much else.

And, for the first time, we were accosted by beggars.

Once the bus dropped us off at the hotel, we had a bit of downtime before our dinner at the Church and State Winery.

The drive out of Victoria and to the winery is nothing to write home about. Although we did drive through an Indian reservation. It was basically a whole bunch of houses grouped together, kind of like a caravan park but with better housing.

When we arrived at the winery, we were welcomed with a drink of their wines. I, of course, had ginger ale as I'm a non-drinker. While hanging around on the winery balcony, a small deer came out of the surrounding trees and started eating some grass. It was a fair distance away and I didn't get a good photo as the sun had started to set.

The dinner was fantastic!! The best steak I'd ever eaten. The mushroom sauce perfect. We also had baked potatoes, some green beans and asparagus. All perfectly cooked and it was just the right amount of food so that you didn't feel like you'd eaten too much - and left room for the delicious desserts available.



Parliament Building at night

 After our dinner, it was time again for the bus and the hotel room. Once we arrived back at our hotel, Marilyn and I went for a walk and took photos of the Parliament Building at night.

Then, it was bed time. Tomorrow, we're off to breakfast at The Butchart Gardens then a free day.