Butchart Gardens, Victoria, British Columbia
We crossed the international border early this morning and pulled into the harbor at Victoria on Vancouver Island, Canada. Like gold seekers of yesteryear on their way to the Fraser River strike, tourists now flood into this beautiful coastal city known for its agreeable weather, striking setting and many attractions. We represented the early pulse of spring sightseers arriving in time for the height of the tulip show at world famous Butchart Gardens, where we spent our morning. Every year the Butchart Garden imports 50,000 bulbs from Holland to create multi-hued displays throughout the fifty-acre grounds of the old limestone quarry. Sunshine yellow and carmine red tulips mixed with blue forget-me-nots at the Star Pond are pictured. Blossoming cherry and Pacific dogwood trees, beds of candytuft, narcissus and wallflower (to name just a few of the flowers) as well as sculpted evergreens of every design were on display as we walked the pathways woven through the Sunken Garden and took in the ever-changing Ross Fountain at the far end. The afternoon was free for strolling the waterfront, shopping for chocolates, books and teas, and taking in the British Columbia Museum with its comprehensive displays on Native cultures and natural history. Many guests enjoyed dinner ashore at one of many fine restaurants or strolled the waterfront after dinner aboard. All in all it was a wonderful day and evening in Victoria.
We crossed the international border early this morning and pulled into the harbor at Victoria on Vancouver Island, Canada. Like gold seekers of yesteryear on their way to the Fraser River strike, tourists now flood into this beautiful coastal city known for its agreeable weather, striking setting and many attractions. We represented the early pulse of spring sightseers arriving in time for the height of the tulip show at world famous Butchart Gardens, where we spent our morning. Every year the Butchart Garden imports 50,000 bulbs from Holland to create multi-hued displays throughout the fifty-acre grounds of the old limestone quarry. Sunshine yellow and carmine red tulips mixed with blue forget-me-nots at the Star Pond are pictured. Blossoming cherry and Pacific dogwood trees, beds of candytuft, narcissus and wallflower (to name just a few of the flowers) as well as sculpted evergreens of every design were on display as we walked the pathways woven through the Sunken Garden and took in the ever-changing Ross Fountain at the far end. The afternoon was free for strolling the waterfront, shopping for chocolates, books and teas, and taking in the British Columbia Museum with its comprehensive displays on Native cultures and natural history. Many guests enjoyed dinner ashore at one of many fine restaurants or strolled the waterfront after dinner aboard. All in all it was a wonderful day and evening in Victoria.
