Vibrant Victoria and the rest!

From the snow and ice of Alaska to the sunshine and colour of Victoria, British Columbia. This capital city sparkles; the harbour with its myriad boats and float planes, magnificent historic buildings and manicured lawns and gardens surrounding stylish hotels and apartments. Our highlights were:

The Royal British Columbia Museum is one of the best we have seen anywhere in the world. We just happened upon a special exhibition on life in ancient Egypt, but just as rewarding were the exhibits on the history of British Columbia where we wandered through streets in days gone by; the languages and culture of the first nations peoples; and natural history which included a life-size replica of a woolly mammoth amongst its vast collection.

 

Life in ancient Egypt exhibition

 

First nations exhibition:

Totems and canoes

Hand weaving - we watched a video of a current-day craftsman weaving this skirt

 

Native hut set beneath the ground

 

 

The history of British Columbia exhibition

Natural History displays:

Life-size woolly mammoth... the brown one!

 

Giant sea lions

 

 

Coastal birds and mammals

 

Inside a submarine

The famous Butchart Gardens are a must-see in Victoria. We spent several hours walking through the 55 acres of gardens which were started by Jennie Butchart who had the idea of beautifying a limestone quarry her husband Robert was using to supply a nearby cement plant. The gardens, which opened in 1904, are a mix of rare and exotic shrubs, trees and flowers displayed in formats including sunken, Japanese, rose, Italian and Mediterranean gardens. Close to a million people visit them annually and we can see why.

Miniature World highlights fact, fiction and fantasy in a vast series of dioramas depicting wars, railways (one of the world's largest model railways), castles, dolls houses, old and modern London, the wild west, Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, and even space in the year 2201. It took us some time to get through the collection as there was so much to see, and so many buttons to push!

 

 

On our last day in Victoria we toured the historic British Columbia Parliament Buildings.

 

 

 

Victoria Harbour with the famous Empress Hotel in the background

 

Back in Vancouver for a few days we took a day trip to the mountain resort of Whistler. The scenery is outstanding and the town is much bigger than we anticipated, reminiscent, however much larger, than Queenstown in New Zealand.

 

 

Stopping on the Sea-to-Sky Highway

 

Magnificent Shannon Falls

 

Once the snow melts, the gondolas are used for trail bikers

Village of Whistler

 

 

We walked the length of old Vancouver - Gastown - which was named for British born Gassy Jack (John Deighton) a bar owner known for his talkativeness and penchant for storytelling.

 

Steam Clock - powered by steam!

Gassy Jack's statue

 

Inside the O.K. Boot Corral

 

After purchasing a bison leather belt, Jim and the owner discussed the differences between his hand made boots and R M Williams', as well as the difference between the Akubra Hat and the Stetson 

 

The Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver is actually 130 acres of gardens set in the geographic centre of the city. At the very top is the Bloedel Floral Conservatory, full of spectacular coloured plants and many different exotic birds.

 

 

Tomorrow is our last day in Canada and then we fly to Hawaii for a few days before returning home!