Victoria Visit

After visiting Shane's mom in Nanaimo, we drove to Victoria to visit his dad and grandma.

I'd hadn't really spent any time in downtown Victoria before, so I was very excited to be staying in a beautiful hotel right in downtown. Both days were sunny, so we spent a lot of time walking all over the city (the city is very walkable, unlike Vancouver!).

We stayed at The Magnolia Hotel, which is a boutique hotel right on Courtney Street, next door to the Victoria Bug Museum. The room was very impressive, with large windows on one side, a flat screen TV, a sitting corner with two comfy armchairs, side table and lamp, and a bar area with a separate sink.

The bathroom was very impressive. It was large, with a granite counter top, separate shower and tub, and Aveda bath products (my favorite and what we use).

I love hotel rooms.

There was even a continental breakfast buffet that came with the room. We were impressed by the self-serve waffle maker. All this, for only $81 per night! I think it was low season, because it's usually not that cheap.

We spent a lot of time visiting Shane's family. I'm pleased to say that Shane's grandma loved the little brown bear. This is Molly, my father-in-law's dog.

Victoria's Chinatown is very small, but quite charming. It is in a better area of town than Vancouver's Chinatown, so it had quite a different feel. There are little alleyways, and lots of murals of prominent Chinese families in Victoria.

It is in Victoria that I discovered Fiestaware! We stumbled upon this kitchen gadget store called Haute Cuisine on Broad Street, and fell in love with the window display of colourful Fiestaware. Of course I'd heard about many people's obsession with old Fiestaware, but I wasn't aware that a new line was on sale. We were looking for a sugar bowl and a butter dish, which we don't have at home, and so bought these on sale. Aren't they cute?