Victoria, British Columbia
The Sea Bird spent the entire day berthed in the central harbor of Victoria, a beautiful city that still retains much of its 19th century English charm and character. The location is ideal here on the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island, overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca, because it receives the benefit of a rain shadow created by surrounding mountains that insure its mild, equable climate. It was established as a trading post in 1843 by the Hudson's Bay Company and originally called Fort Camosun, but it was later renamed Fort Victoria in honor of Queen Victoria. Sadly, the queen never visited this beautiful city named for her. It was made the capital of the colony of Vancouver Island in 1850, then became the capital of the colony of British Columbia in 1868, and is still the capital now that British Columbia is a province of Canada.
Victoria is appropriately called the City of Gardens, because of its large parks, inviting waterfront and “old town” district, and 1,600 hanging flower baskets on the light poles. This makes sense, because nearby is the famous Butchart Gardens, acknowledged as one of the finest formal gardens in the world. It had its beginnings in the early part of the 20th century as a private garden when it was laid out by Jenny Butchart as an attempt to hide a spent limestone quarry (the Butchart family made its fortune in Portland cement). The gardens have since grown into one of the most important points of interest around Victoria, receiving about one million visitors each year. We spent the morning relishing this amazing place, where the magnificent floral displays seem almost artificial with their brilliant color formations… like the old Technicolor movies (see the accompanying un-retouched photo). The collection of trees scattered around the gardens are every bit as impressive as the flowering plants, in my opinion.
Our afternoon was left free so we could explore the town at their own pace. Everyone had a chance to visit the excellent Royal British Columbia Museum. This is unquestionably one of the best museums in the world, and its fascinating displays of the cultural and natural history of British Columbia proved to be very helpful to us.
The Sea Bird spent the entire day berthed in the central harbor of Victoria, a beautiful city that still retains much of its 19th century English charm and character. The location is ideal here on the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island, overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca, because it receives the benefit of a rain shadow created by surrounding mountains that insure its mild, equable climate. It was established as a trading post in 1843 by the Hudson's Bay Company and originally called Fort Camosun, but it was later renamed Fort Victoria in honor of Queen Victoria. Sadly, the queen never visited this beautiful city named for her. It was made the capital of the colony of Vancouver Island in 1850, then became the capital of the colony of British Columbia in 1868, and is still the capital now that British Columbia is a province of Canada.
Victoria is appropriately called the City of Gardens, because of its large parks, inviting waterfront and “old town” district, and 1,600 hanging flower baskets on the light poles. This makes sense, because nearby is the famous Butchart Gardens, acknowledged as one of the finest formal gardens in the world. It had its beginnings in the early part of the 20th century as a private garden when it was laid out by Jenny Butchart as an attempt to hide a spent limestone quarry (the Butchart family made its fortune in Portland cement). The gardens have since grown into one of the most important points of interest around Victoria, receiving about one million visitors each year. We spent the morning relishing this amazing place, where the magnificent floral displays seem almost artificial with their brilliant color formations… like the old Technicolor movies (see the accompanying un-retouched photo). The collection of trees scattered around the gardens are every bit as impressive as the flowering plants, in my opinion.
Our afternoon was left free so we could explore the town at their own pace. Everyone had a chance to visit the excellent Royal British Columbia Museum. This is unquestionably one of the best museums in the world, and its fascinating displays of the cultural and natural history of British Columbia proved to be very helpful to us.
