The day dawned sunny and cool. Yay! We moved at our typical, new, slow pace and drank our coffee and lounged until about 11:00 am. We drove into downtown Victoria, ate a picnic lunch, surrounded by totem poles, and people watched. After lunch we drove to Beacon Hill Park where we fed the ducks and walked the paths alongside gardens overflowing with blooms of all colors.
P- We're going to feed the ducks here? There are only 3 of them.
G- If we feed them, they will come.
The first piece of bread had barely hit the water and flocks of ducks appeared from all directions.
P- Damn! Where were these ducks hiding?! Every duck between Mississippi and Alaska just appeared in 2 seconds!
G- Yeah! And these ducks are great because they're hungry. They mustn't be fed often. The last time I went to Audubon Park to feed the ducks, I could hit those bastards in the side of the head with a loaf of bread and they wouldn't even eat it.
P- Well that didn't last long. We should have brought more.
There was an adorable quasi water park with a large watering can that sprinkled water from its spout and shot water from its top to the delight of many children playing in its downpour.
From the park we walked several blocks, through a neighborhood of craftsman and Tudor style homes, to the Parliament building, only to discover that we were 1 block away from where we had just had lunch. We took an interesting tour of the Parliament building, learned a little about Canada's governmental system and history, and met a cool woman from Seattle (Grace) who went to college at LSU and was married to a guy from Jackson, MS. We chatted with Grace while her young son demonstrated his talent of hopping on one foot. Having lived in the South, Grace was in agreement that the people of the Pacific Northwest who complained about the heat or the terrible rain "storms" needed to be slapped.
After our Parliament tour, we walked along the harbor to the Empress Hotel where we inquired about High Tea.
G- It's $55.00 per person.
P- For tea? Holy shit!!! Are we having tea with Queen Elizabeth or just by ourselves?
G- These people take their tea time very seriously. I think scones or little cakes are included.
P- For $55.00 tea and scones should come with a happy ending.
G - I'm thinking not. Have you seen the Queen? It doesn't look like she's had a happy ending in about 50 years.
After boycotting High Tea, we walked further up the block to discover an oyster bar in the middle of happy hour. Giddy up! Oysters on the half shell from a little island bay just off the coast and a local Canadian beer. We devoured the oysters, dipping them in all 4 of the sauces that were provided, and lamented the loss of so many Louisiana oyster beds. Thanks BP...........assholes! We discussed how much we hoped to be able to get Louisiana oysters when we got back home.
After the oysters, we walked back to our car and took a drive along the shoreline to the Chinese Cemetery. The sun was setting, the wind was picking up, and it was cocktail hour, so after a brief stop to watch some kite surfers, we went in search of a liquor store. We were unhappy to learn that Canadians can only purchase liquor at private or government owned liquor stores, not in groceries. One strike against living in Canada one day.
G- I've looked all over and cannot find Bloody Mary mix. All I see is Clamato.
P- Let's ask that guy. Excuse me, where is your Bloody Mary mix?
After staring at us with a look that indicated he was clueless, Phyl explained a Bloody Mary. Ah! A bell went off and he explained that Canadians don't drink Bloody Marys, they drink Caesars. He went on to explain that he had recently been in Seattle and had ordered a Caesar and the bartender had looked at him like he was crazy.
P- Yes, because in America, Caesar is a salad. Yes, I know that we can buy all of the ingredients at the grocery, but I need something quick and easy. I guess we'll just have to buy beer.
G- Holy shit! Did you see the price of the beer? Stella is $15.99 for a 6 pack and $29.99 for a 12 pack! That's double what we pay in the states. Even the Canadian beer is very expensive!!
P- That's it! Canada is off the list of possible places to live. I can't sell a kidney to pay for a 6 pack of beer!! We drink too often for that and I need both of my kidneys for filtering.
G- Thank goodness we brought 2 cases of wine with us from Cali. I wasn't in a wine kinda mood, but it appears we're having wine at cocktail hour.
P - Wine it is!
