Victoria, BC: Profiled destination

Victoria, BC, is an easy Seattle getaway to see all things English. Since the Summer Olympics in London, our family has been enticed by all things English. We long for high tea, beautiful gardens, and hearing the charming English accent.

Waterfront view of Victoria. Courtesy of www.brentwood.bc.ca

For our New Year’s Eve family getaway, we headed to Victoria, located on Vancouver Island, the capital of Canada’s British Columbia province. From Seattle, our journey took 5 ½ hours by car and ferry. With the climate of Victoria similar to Seattle, our packing consisted of the same clothing we'd wear at home (translation: layers), with the addition of a swimsuit for the hotel swimming pool.

You’ll avoid the airport and all the security hassles, by taking the ferry from Seattle to cross Puget Sound, and driving to Port Angeles to catch another ferry to Victoria. A quicker option is flying on a seaplane. Both options give you a wonderful vantage point to see snow capped mountains over a serene water view.

You can choose to take your car on the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria, or be a walk-on passenger, and lessen your carbon footprint. Victoria is a pedestrian friendly city, with many shops and restaurants near hotels and B&B's, that a car is not necessary.

Upon arriving in Victoria, we headed to the iconic Fairmont Empress Hotel for our high tea. We left our bags with the porter, as our room was not yet ready, as we arrived at 10am. We decided to walk around and discover the treasures of this historical hotel. We saw British royalty, along with Hollywood celebrities, in black and white portraits displayed throughout the hotel. During the holidays, many themed Christmas trees were on display as part of a fundraiser, along with a majestic two-story Christmas tree at the Empress lobby.

The high tea had a kid-friendly option of a “Princess” assortment of tea sandwiches and treats. The girls received a certificate verifying their princess status at the end of our tea session. The adult version was delectable. I especially liked the egg salad croissant sandwich and my all time favorite Earl Grey tea.

To get more "English" in our trip, we visited the tourist attraction of Butchart Gardens. Although many of the foliage were not in bloom, it was nevertheless a beautiful place to visit. When the sun went down, the elaborate display of lights throughout the massive gardens was impressive. In Seattle, we have the Bellevue Botanical Gardens, which is a quarter of the size, but, with comparable light displays. What made Butchart Gardens memorable were the themed Italian gardens and the indoor old-fashioned carousel, which I have not seen elsewhere.

Courtesy of www.royalscot.com

Although we didn’t hear the delightful English accent, we did hear the lovely Canadian accent. And, we sampled the wonderful cuisine that Victoria had to offer. At Il Terrazzo, we had an Italian prix-fixe meal. We were able to get the last seating available for a New Year's Eve dinner, thanks to the great service offered of the President's Club membership at the Fairmont. Not only did the restaurant have a very nice ambience, it scored #3 on Trip Advisor for Victoria's restaurants. We had a choice from 15+ entrees, and a very accommodating staff, who catered to our kids by offering a discounted menu, resulting in big savings for us, as the adult fee was $100 a plate. Our family enjoyed seeing other families dining with us.

We had a nice and carefree vacation before school resumed for the new year, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, and fulfilled of our English attractions. It’s a good thing we have PBS’s Downton Abbey to sustain us until our next trip to Victoria.

Courtesy of www.deadline.com