Today is my first full day in Victoria, BC, Canada. The smallest city that I will be visiting on the land portion of this trip. Even with this being the case it seems to be the place I have walked more than any other on this trip. I am not one that dislikes walking, but it does sure see you feeling worn out by the end of the day.
Breakfast With A View
I started the day with a rather decent breakfast at the hotel restaurant. I had attempted to find another option for breakfast that was gluten free. However, those efforts did not succeed as most places offered somewhat limited options that did not include something with gluten.
So I end up with the big breakfast that seemed to include a bit of everything at the hotel. There was pancakes, eggs, bacon, ham, berries, ice cream and fruit. A good way to start the day is with a full stomach.
The restaurant has just about one of the best views in Victoria. Looking out over the city towards where the cruise ships dock. Today in port is the Sea Princess. What do you think about the view?
Legislative Assembly Building
The first stop for me today was a visit to the Legislative Assembly Building, located just opposite the Inner Harbour area. The building was constructed over three years between 1893 and 1896. A significant portion of the building uses exposed natural products to showcase local supplies.
One of the features that very much caught my eye was the extensive use of stained glass. I have included one such window in the image below, as there is far too many to share them all.
Victoria Inner Harbour To Ogden Point
Next for the day was a walk I wanted to do. But this could have been part of the cause for the aforementioned feeling of tiredness after walking so much. With this particular walk from starting from the hotel to the end of the breakwater some 3.5km alone. With this not being all the walking for the day either.
After leaving the Legislative Building, I continued around the waterfront past Fisherman’s Wharf. Before continuing to Ogden Point and a walk out along the breakwater. The breakwater is a great spot to watch the cruise ships when they are coming in or leaving.
There is also a fantastic view here across the Straight of Juan de Fuca. The land on the other side of the straight is in Washington, USA and the Mountain range is the Olympic Mountains.
Mile Zero Monument
I continued the walk along the waterfront with the above view to my right most of the way. The next stop though was at the Mile ‘0’ monument. The monument marks the start of the Trans-Canada Highway or Highway 1.
The main route of the Trans-Canada Highway spans some 4990 miles. With my 1 mile walk back to the hotel it means I only have 4989 miles to go to reach the western side of Canada. Even though the monument designates this as Mile ‘0’ the highway has been posted as kilometres since 1977 when Canada went Metric.
Craigdarroch Castle
Next up was a visit to Vancouver Island’s only castle. Craigdarroch Castle is not, in fact, all that old with construction being completed in 1890. The exterior of the castle is all from a grey stone with the roof a striking red. The interior is finished with a lot of ornate carved timber, both in the staircase and the panelling on the walls. There are also some rather beautiful stained glass windows, and some stunning views from the upper floors.
Couch Surfing
In the evening I had planned to attend a Couch Surfing meeting that was happening nearby tonight. A great little get together with some dozen or so people attending. Most of the attendees were locals, but there were also a couple of other travellers in the mix as well. I enjoyed the conversation and meeting some new people but probably end up staying much later than I planned.
Finally, it was time to get back to the hotel, for a good nights sleep. I walked well more than 15km today, which I am not used to and ready for bed. However, will leave you with one more picture I captured in the wild today.
