Victoria, the best city in Canada?

July 27, 2013

Victoria, the best city in Canada?

One of those ubiquitous best places to live surveys listed Victoria, BC as the best city to live in Canada (if you wait long enough your town will make it on the list too, unless you live in Gary, Indiana (sorry about picking on Gary)). Victoria is a beautiful city (we spend two nights, one day here) with a lovely harbor area, which is a bit over the top touristy, but still wonderful; fantastic walking path around the shoreline that goes on for miles, flowers everywhere, a mediterranean climate, much drier than Vancouver, and the greater Victoria area is around 350,000 people, or about half of the total population for Vancouver Isand. It has many old historic Victorian homes, although a bit hodgepodgy, with modern development next to an old Victorian, but still a very charming city. Our B&B dates to the late 1800's and is wonderful (Ashcroft House), that puts on a four course breakfast that Paulanne is justifiably proud of. It is one block to Beacon Hill Park, and one block to the shoreline path, and about a ten to fifteen minute walk to the inner harbor, so it's a great location.

We walk the shoreline trail, walk all over the inner harbor, and through Beacon Hill Park on our day here.... very relaxing and beautiful, and we feel maybe we are working off our delicious big breakfast. The last morning here, Pip drove down from Cowichan Bay, and we take in the BC museum, where they have a fascinating exhibit about the race to the south Pole between Amundsen and Perry. Fantastic Thai food for our dinners here, for a nice ethnic change of pace.

On our ferry ride to Port Angeles, Washington we see orcas just off the starboard bow swimming in the opposite direction of the boat so I saw them surface three times, but by the time I ran out and got the camera focused, they were gone - you'll have to take my word on this - but it was still great to have seen them.