August 5, 2012 ---- My 30th birthday fell during our moving-to-Pennsylvania period. Nathan asked me how I wanted to celebrate my 30th birthday, and, of course, it had to be very special for me. I immediately pinned Canada in my request!
Canada has always been a country of my dreams since I was little. Somehow in my childhood I watched a number of Thai soap operas that were filmed in Canada, and I found the country to be the most beautiful country in the world. I had lived in the US for 6 and a half years and flown all around the world but never went to Canada, which is our neighbor!
Port Angeles
After flying to the Seattle-Tacoma airport and spending time in the city a little, Nathan and I got a motel in Port Angeles because I wanted to catch the first ferry to Victoria, Canada. We stayed at All-View Motel, which offers a very nice, clean, and comfortable room. However, the motel is a little too far from the ferry terminal, so we had to park around the terminal for about $10/day.Blackball Ferry has a ferry schedule to leave Port Angeles about 4 times a day during summer. The earliest one is at 8:15 a.m. and we will get to Victoria a little after 10 a.m. It is a very nice ferry, and if you travel on your birthday, it's free!
First View of Victoria
As the ferry got to the Inner Harbor Ferry Terminal, I was so excited to see Canada for the first time. The city had nice buildings and exceptional architecture. There were a lot of condos and vacation-homes along the shoreline, which each cost at least $400,000.
There were a lot of taxi boats and seaplanes running in the harbor. I could see that the Canadians were up to something special because there was a big platform floating in the harbor and many people had already reserved a space around the harbor. Later I found out that they were celebrating the 150th birthday of Victoria! We'll come back to that later...
As we got out of the ferry, the walkway took us straight to the immigration inspection booth. The officers worked really efficiently, and we had no trouble getting in the country. Luckily I have a US permanent resident card, so I don't have to get a visa to go to Canada.
Once we stepped on Canadian soil, we went straight to the Visitor Center. The street along the harbor was decorated with beautiful, colorful flowers. The people in the Visitor Center were very helpful and worked very fast, and we got help within a few minutes even though there was a long waiting line there. They suggested that we just buy a shuttle package to go to the Butchart Gardens for our convenience. There was public transportation on the island, but it would take too much time and trouble, so we decided to buy a package from CVS that already included the fees to the Butchart Gardens and the Butterfly Gardens.
Victoria Butterfly Gardens
Our first stop was at the Victoria Butterfly Gardens. It was small but nice. We spent about 45 minutes in the gardens learning about butterflies and then took the next CVS shuttle to the Butchart Gardens located next door.
The Butchart Gardens
Dinning Room Restaurant
We got to the Butchart Gardens around lunch time, so we went straight to the restaurant. It was the most beautiful restaurant I have ever been to. There were flowers everywhere. The waiters/waitresses were all nice and friendly. The menu was great and healthy, and the price was shockingly cheap for this type of restaurant. It was such a great place to celebrate my 30th birthday!Nathan ordered a salmon dish, and I got a rib-eye burger. It was the BEST burger I have ever had!!! They also have an English-style afternoon tea which I hope to go back for later if I have a chance to be in Victoria again.
Sunken Garden
It is my most favorite garden of the entire park. The garden looks like a painting!
Totem Poles
Rose Garden
Japanese Garden
Italian Garden
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| Gelatto for the hot day! |
Victoria Downtown
Nathan and I took the CVS shuttle bus back to the downtown area around 4 p.m. There were more people around the harbor then. We decided to wander around to the shopping area, and I got a $10 sweatshirt as a gift. We wanted to go to the the Royal BC Museum, but it closed at 5 p.m., and we wouldn't have enough time to see everything in the museum, so we just wandered around the street and walked to China Town instead.
China Town
It is very SMALL, just a block. We didn't really see anything significant here, so I don't think it was worth the long walk.
Victoria's 150th Birthday
Nathan and I walked back to the harbor area to check out the celebration.Victoria was celebrating its 150th birthday and I was celebrating my 30th birthday. What a coincidence!
We also found a farmers' market right at the harbor, and there was a lot of hand-made stuff there. The harbor was packed with Canadians. They were waiting for the symphony to start. I have never seen that many people celebrating a city's birthday in my life. It must be something very special for them....
At dinner, Nathan and I were joining the celebration and we went to the food truck area. There were many choices of food, but the one that stood out most was the Greek truck. I love Greek food and had it a few times before, but I have to say that this was the best! What a great food to end my birthday!
After dinner we just didn't have much time to wait for the symphony to start because our ferry would leave at 7 p.m., so we just went straight through the immigration and hopped on the ferry. This was my best birthday ever! I love Victoria and Canada! I will definitely come back here again. ^________^
