August 15th – Disembark and onto Victoria BC
Our cruise is over and we are sad, it was such a fabulous relaxing week, filled with great moments of spectacular scenery and fun activities. As it was our first time getting off a ship we really didn’t know what to expect. Our walk off time was scheduled for 7:50am. I thought that meant we would literarily walk off the ship at our designated time. Silly me: Fortunately we left our room early (a result of being with Jeff and Debbie) as we were ready and the 4 of us (Debbie, Dan, Jeff and I) went to ‘our spot’, where we waited for about 20 minutes before being released to walk off. All was going well until Jeff and I realized that Debbie and Dan were not with us after going through customs. We hear Debbie calling to us down the hallway to wait for them which we did for about 10 minutes. Apparently Deborah Johnson is a popular name and her name was flagged through customs, they had to make sure she was not The Mrs Johnson with several warrants out for her arrest. Always a great way to start the day by being questioned …who are you?
I had made arrangements for us to go by bus and ferry to Victoria. We decided that we did not want to sit on the bus for 2 hours before it departed from the ship dock so we took a taxi to the bus depot in time to catch an earlier bus/ferry saving ourselves 2 hours of waiting. The ferry was huge and packed a ton of cars, buses, cyclists and passengers on it. The ride itself was about 1 hour and we spent the time in the lounge reading up on what we wanted to do once in Victoria. Landing on the northern coast of the island in Swartz Bay, we made our way southwards through very pastoral land. I was excited, another part of our adventure unfolding before us. About 20 minutes into the ride I saw it: the first sign for the Butchard Gardens – I know it will sound silly, but really I had those little butterflies starting in my stomach. To know that the next day I would see something so beautiful; that I would go from seeing pictures on the website to actually seeing it, set my stomach tingling. On the outskirts of Victoria you began to get a feel for what the town would look like. On each of the old fashioned, 5 bulbed street lights, hung a flower basket over filled with an array of flowers in bloom. Jeff was thrilled when I kept showing them to him, like he couldn’t see them for himself. The town from our limited view from the bus was startling pretty, romantic, even with the busy traffic on the narrow streets. The bus deposited us down town, close to the harbor and we decided that it would be much smarter for us to make good use of one of the many taxis lined up to get to our Bed and Breakfast 3 miles away. Whenever you book a B&B you never quite know what you will get. (Internet write ups and pictures and be….deceiving at best) Ours was a lucky day indeed. The double, black, wrought iron gates opened up to a white, old style Victorian, multi storied, gabled house, just like the pictures – we had arrived at the Amethyst Inn.. As we exited the taxi we were greeted by a young Asian girl – Jenny, standing at the top of the stairs. Her greeting was enthusiastic, instantly making us feel welcome. We carried our bags up the 10 stairs of the main house to find that our room was in fact in ‘the stable’ outside-ground floor. Carrying the bags back out of the house to the chatty conversation of our young hostess we learned a little of the history the family run B&B and its owners. The area we were in was close to several of the local historical sites that we wanted to see. We settled into our rooms which were next to each other and a little walk down a narrow path to the right side of the main house. They were nice and clean, shaded by tall trees, and charming. Our hostess had given us directions to 2 local sites: Craigdarroch Castle and Government House. We set off along the main street, filled with its businesses and hurried life and quickly took a left turn, which gave way to residential area on undulating hills. It just came to me that it was like walking around Sterling and the Pretty Street. (I love that street, Cathy, remember our delightful roaming a time or so ago when I was home) The lots were huge, the houses dating back the turn of the century, set back from the road and some filled with quite wonderful gardens.
There it was, the 28 acre estate of Craigdarroch Castle- Set on a hill exposing the town below. http://www.craigdarrochcastle.com/craigdarroch-castle-our-story.php
The castle was built by and for the Dunsmuir family. A family who became the towns own local royalty in their day. Without this powerful family, the town of Victoria would not have flourished as it did for so long during both times of prosperity and hardship. The discovery of a rich vein of coal was the beginning of the family’s wealth and many business, and then hard work combined with a quick business mind carried a young man who grew up in poverty to be the wealthiest man in Canada. The story of the family is told through out the self guided tour of the Castle. 20,000 square feet of living space with woodwork and skilled workmanship being see everywhere you looked. We spent several hours just walking around the house, reading the history of the family. The highs of financial rewards, sorrows of so many family tragedies, death, deliberate efforts to belittle and destroy family members. It was a family saga that spanned generations and was so well told it sparked my interest and I was captivated during the whole visit. The cliché ‘money doesn’t buy happiness’ could certainly be applied to the Dunsmuir’s. The castle is being restored to its original grandeur after decades of neglect, being used as a military hospital, school and sitting empty, left to weather natures elements. The grounds were just starting to be restored (really ‘just’ the boxwoods were still in their black plastic containers in rows waiting to be planted) and would take several years to complete. I really enjoy history, family history and find the stories attached fascinating.
The weather was perfect so before we set out to our next destination – Government House, we sat for a few minutes on the stone wall outside the castle, drinking our water and reflecting on the family we had just leant about.
The walk to Government House only took about 10 min on narrow streets lined with trees and houses that required you to stop and take a second look. Mostly of Victorian architecture, gables, muliti storied with porches. During my lifetime I have several Government Houses and the interesting thing is: they all look similar. We were enjoying the garden filled with massive hydrangea plants and mophead blooms that easily could fill your open double palms put together-pink, white and blue. There was a rose garden with arbors, hedges (love hedges) and sitting benches. Unfortunately the roses were not in bloom, but it was still peaceful to walk slowly on the paths and just ponder …things. There were areas of the garden that were quite formal, very English, lush, green and grand; and other parts that were quite ruggard with plantings tucked into rock crevices on steep embankments. Water features surrounded with blooming lavender that begged to have your hand extended to clasp a few of the fragrant stalks between your fingers, pulling gently upwards so that the fresh fragrance is transferred onto your hand. To our surprise 2 bridal parties pulled up in fancy limo’s for pictures on the grounds which was fun to watch. Of course I reflected on our recent brides and thought – nope, my girls were by far the most beautiful I have ever seen.
That evening we dragged a very tired, hungry Jeff to a small restaurant and enjoyed a delightful meal. I had stuffed halibut with spinach and nuts which was then crumbed and fried. It was the second best fish dish I have ever eaten. We walked back to the B&B and went to bed fairly early. On the TV was the Antique Road show so we ended up watching it for an hour or so. I marvel that some of the items lasted so long as they are really ugly, but worth quite a bit, it is a fun show. It was a long, but great day.
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