Victoria..the Queen and all that.

Several weeks ago Anna and I had a weekend away in Victoria (after the Queen). Victoria is to Vancouver in BC, as Wellington is to Auckland in NZ. What it lacks in volume, it makes up in beauty. Victoria is the largest city on Vancouver Island with a population of about 330,000. To get there you must either fly or go by boat. It just so happened that Matt and Roxy were also headed there for a wedding, so we could journey with them on the way there. We decided to take bikes with us to give us some mobility and allow us to cruise along the coastal roads. The ferry ride takes about 2 hours, winding its way between islands. It is very reminscient of the Marlborough Sounds section of the interisland ferries in NZ. We caught the 5.00 pm Friday ferry, giving us sweet views and silhouettes as the sun set behind the islands. Once docked, we farewelled Matt and Roxy. The ferry terminal is actually about 40 minutes drive from the city. To our rescue came buses, which in the Vancouver region can carry up to two bikes on their front for free! If only NZ would follow suite. I had managed to get a sweet deal on hotel accomodation with a 3 nights for 2 option plus free breaky (mmmm... bagels with cream cheese and jam). And as if that was not enough, there was a bottle store just next door, showcasing an impressive collection of boutique beers! I settled for a hoppy one called Naughty Hildegard’s Extra Special Bitter and Three Beavers Imperial Red Ale, both very tasty.

Matt and Roxy

Saturday morning began quietly, with us out wandering by 11 am. Saturday was gorgeous; blue skies and warm sunrays. We walked towards the waterfront and serendipitously bumped into the Paralympic Torch relay. It was much more low key than the Olympic one, but there was still a buzz in the air.
It turned out that we had chosen the perfect weekend to visit. Victoria was having a 'be a tourist in your own town' promotion. So for $20, Anna and I could visit many of the sites for free or half price. We began at the Pacific Undersea Garden, which was little more than a lower grade Kelly Tarltons. However, they did have a cool show with a diver feeding the fish and parading before us many of the creatures that live under the waves. From there we crossed the road to the wax museum. Before getting this tourist package we had ruled out wasting our money on such an enterprise. To our surprise it was actually enjoyable and educational. I would say that only about 1/4 looked anything like owners (though Anna rated them a little higher). And oh yeah, NZ represent, with ol' Sir Ed.

The torch                                                      Sir Ed

Our whirlwind visit of the Royal BC Museum was most informative, albeit exhausting. After 1.5 hours of racing around exhibits reading the small little plaques, your brain numbs and little is actually absorbed. The highlights were the natural history sections which had the best set designs I have seen in a museum and the exhibits about the First Nations peoples, the aboriginal peoples of Canada. From my brief exposure to their history it seems to me that there is considerable overlap between their treatment by European settlers and that of the Maori. However, it seems that Canada's oppressive policies toward First Nations peoples went much further than NZ's (more like Australia's) and the process of redressing the wrongs is in a much earlier stage than back home.
The final touristy destination was the Victoria Butterfly Gardens. We decided to put our bikes to use and get some exercise. The butterflies were further away than anticipated, with us arriving after 1.5 hours cycling through the countryside. The butterflies were pretty but fewer in number than expected (there were a lot more in the Dunedin Museum). After spending sometime soaking up the beauty and moisture, we went to catch a bus. We cut it too fine and missed it. So rather than hang around at the bus stop for the next hour, we popped back into the jungle to read our books.

The amazing atlas moth - largest moths in the world with a wingspan of 25-30 cm

On Sunday we selected to worship at the Christ Community Church, a CRCNA church. It was nice to visit a Reformy church for some familiarity and also to see how Reformies do church over here.

The T Rex trees outside of the Empress Hotel

Victoria waterfront by night

On Monday we decided to go for a bike ride around the waterfront. It was a pity that the sunshine of Saturday had been exchanged with cold winds and threats of rain. Along the way we had a quick detour tour of the BC parliament. Canada has both provincial parliaments and a federal one. This grand building was designed by an architect who lied about his age, credentials and experience. He did a good job never-the-less. As BC was a colony of the Crown they required approval from the motherland for their coat of arms. However, poor communication between the colony and the Crown resulted in the proposed coat of arms being incorporated into the building - carved in stone on the face of the parliament, carved in wood behind the speakers chair, made into a large stainglass window, and cast onto hundreds of street lamps surrounding the parliament - only to have that design rejected by the Crown. Of much contention was the prophetic positioning of the Union Jack, which sat below the BC flag - a setting sun - on the shield. Despite finally getting approval for a variant coat of arms about 80 years later, the rejected coat of arms still stands firm, much unlike the British Empire. We finished our experience by watching some MPs battle it out live. There turned out to be only about 6 government and oppositions MPs around debating the reduction of funding for community services in the budget. It seemed a bit farcical, (not least because most of them were flicking through magazines or reading emails) but at least they weren't name calling.

The approved coat of arms

The New Jerusalem? BC parliament by night

After a quick picnic lunch (salad sammies, yoghurt and oranges) we raced back into town to avoid being drenched in rain. We wanted somewhere warm and free to hang out in and the library opened its arms to us. Not only was it warm and free, it also had free internet access! We had been thinking about biking up to the ferry terminal but after a mere half hour in the library it began to snow! The snow shower was brief, but it was enough to put us off cycling. We caught the 5.00 pm ferry to the mainland but lost the race to the bus in the bus terminal. One cyclist made it there first. Another bus would not come for another hour! The driver had mercy on us and when everyone had taken their seat or aisle position, he let us squish in with our bikes in tow.

Picnic

American coast

Rather than sensibly going home, I had the great idea of capping off this weekend with a concert. Midlake was in town and I was keen to see them play. After mishing our way across Vancouver we made it to the venue. I have never, ever seen this sort of security at a gig. There were four balaclavaed bouncers screening everyone, searching every bag and even patting people down! Here we turned up with three bags crammed full of stuff from our weekend trip. One of the bouncers looked through two bags before getting bored and let us through (without the pat down). We had to check our bags in though. The girl suggested we tie the bags together so we only had to pay for one item. I did but when passing it to her, she didn't anticipate its weight and it went crashing down, knocking her Macbook to the ground. I spent the rest of the evening worrying that I had broken it and that she would hold our bags in ransom until we paid up (but it was fine when I picked up bags again).

Why do promoters do it? Why do they advertise concerts with doors open at 8 pm only for you to find out when you arrive that the act you came to see won't be on stage until 10.45 pm?! It is hard to kill the hours in a dimly lit room when you are exhausted from a day's biking around and travel. By the time they began their set, we were well tired and keen for bed. However, I managed to shake out of it a little and enjoy some of their classics from 'The Trials of Van Occupanther': Roscoe, Bandits, Young Bride, We Gathered in Spring and appropriately as we were leaving, Head Home (whilst Anna napped on the couches). We had no time to waste, with 20 minutes to get to the Skytrain station to catch a train back to the bus station to catch the second-to-last bus back to White Rock. Hurrah, we made it and arrived in White Rock at about 1.40 am. We put together a Mickey Mouse lighting set up with Anna up front with a headlamp and me at the back with a flashing red light flimsily clipped onto my bike. The bike ride home was an easy but bitterly cold one. I couldn't put my hands in my pockets as I was holding a bag in one and steering with the other. By the time we were on 172nd street I was nauseous and could hardly bike straight. My hands were frozen to the bone. I don't recall many occasions of intense pain like this. Anna sent me to bed as she put things away. It took ages to slowly thaw and lose the nauseous feeling. Lesson: wear gloves when cycling at 2 am on a frosty morning. And thus endeth our epic adventure.