A gorgeous day full of sunshine, writing, a lot of walking, and many sights seen.
First stop: Munro's, aka The Prettiest Bookstore I've Ever Seen
Next stop: The Empress, to ogle both exterior and interior
There's a pretty waterfront walkway that goes all the way around the harbor past all the fancypants hotels and condos and then out around the point by the Strait, complete with houseboats, sea stars, crabs, and a mini Fisherman's Wharf. I followed it all the way around to the back side of Beacon Hill Park, with great views and bright sun the whole way.
Two divers heading out by the breakwater
Sea star and mast reflection
Next up, Beacon Hill Park, with winding pathways between spreading oaks, and then groomed and flower-filled lawns and ponds with willows weeping and peacocks wandering around. Here I found a bench and rested my legs while journaling for awhile, then heard some live music start up not far away. This turned out to be a free concert of my favorite brand of music: rollicking Celtic/Folk, heavy on the fiddle.
Wandering back into town, I slurped on an ice cream cone while sitting on the lawns of the legislative buildings as I did yesterday afternoon, watching the hubbub of the last Saturday of summer on the waterfront. This weekend has everything going on- boat festival, blues festival, buskers everywhere, and even apparently Taylor Swift is in town tonight. Accordingly, there were absolute throngs of people everywhere.
With a break in the late afternoon back at the hostel and then another after a delicious seafood dinner, I put on an extra layer and headed back out to see what Victoria is like after dark. The answer, at least on a Saturday night at the end of August: hopping. And lots of pretty lights on the buildings and the water. Every shop and restaurant still open, blues music blasting from the waterfront, carriages going up and down the streets, and tourists everywhere.
And, for the record, any city that does this to its legislative building at night wins in my book:
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