Apologies for the delay. This post is about my wonderful trip to Victoria for the thanksgiving week (Canada.) After a pleasant flight across the gorgeous wilderness we arrived at the wonderful place otherwise known as Vancouver Island. We took a tour of Sidney, (not a Aussie wannabe by the way,) posed at some attractions, and visited the local aquarium where we admired ocean dwellers such as jellyfish, trout, sea cucumber etc. And a anemone tried to devour my finger and dissolve it. Soon after we ate the five and dime restaurant, and headed over to fisherman's wharf (the Canadian one) and watched the seals get free lunch in the harbour. We then arrived at a nice apartment (nicer than where I live but more expensive) and slept cozily through the night. The next day we had a little shopping spree at a farm that was growing pumpkins then headed back to Sidney where my mother happily found sea glass every foot or so, caught eye of some pinnipeds, (Grayson said they were orcas) and I struggled to get a decent photo without me being so squinty. Then we headed over to my Grandpa Bahir's house where we talked, had KFC and my family was happy to receive a few gifts from them.
After we visited with them, we did some sightseeing around town, helping ourselves with chocolates at Roger's chocolates and doing some browsing at Monroe's books. But not before we got a glimpse of the awe-inspiring Maritime Museum. My favourite parts of the museum was seeing the detailed models of the ships and then learning about Canada's own version of the Titanic: The Empress of Ireland. On another day we visited the Royal BC Museum. Some of the main highlights was the exhibits on theVikings, the Natural World and a history of Canada in that region. One of our favourite places was the Victoria Bug Zoo. They had everything including stick insects, cockroaches, spiders, scorpions and a whole colony of ants. It's been there for 15 years and they still can't find the dang queen. When we left, I watched my brother help himself to a packet of deep fried mealworms ( BBQ flavour) . And to think this is a guy who doesn't like tomatoes.
Later we wandered through some other streets and found another bookstore as well as Chinatown. The Chinatown in Victoria is the oldest Chinatown in Canada and the second in age to San Francisco's Chinatown.
The next day we returned to the spectacular Butchart Gardens. We admired the flora and fauna which comes from varying parts of the world including Italy and Japan. After the gardens we had lunch at the SeaHorse Cafe along a dock and the headed to the Butterfly Gardens. Seeing every dazzling species shows that God must have been in a good mood when designing these creatures. There was even a collection of all the cocoons that they emerged out of. There were more than just butterflies, but also tortoises, flamingos, birds of paradise and even poison arrow frogs. We then took a walk on the BC coast then headed back to the apartment for the night The final day we did some sightseeing along one of the channels. There were a number of highlights, from a diving board foundation to jumping fish, and even two seals, or as our guide calls them a 'seal' of approval. Speaking of, we went back to Fisherman's wharf to feed the ones that hung out there. After that we headed to Odgen Point Breakwater, where we walked down the pier and was mercilessly soaked by the waves. The next day we said goodbye to Grandpa Bahir and later Victoria.
