Victoria, BC

LUCKY LAGER ROAD TRIP
WESTERN BRITISH COLUMBIA 

September 20-21, 2015 (Days 2 & 3)

Victoria, BC

Victoria - Click Map To Make Larger

Victoria (population 80,000), located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast mainland, is the capital city of British Columbia. Known as the "The Garden City", Victoria is ranked in the top twenty of world cities for quality-of-life. Victoria was a British settlement beginning in 1843. The city has retained a large number of its historic buildings. Two of its most famous landmarks are the British Columbia Parliament Building (1897) and the Empress hotel (1908). The region's Coast Salish First Nations peoples established communities in the area long before non-native settlement—possibly several thousand years earlier. The Spanish and British explored the northwest coast, beginning with the visits of Juan Pérez in 1774 and of James Cook in 1778. In 1841 James Douglas established a trading post for the Hudson Bay Company on the site of present-day Victoria.

The weather in Victoria was on-and-off rain with temperatures in the mid-50s to mid-60s Fahrenheit. Water taxis are a fun way to travel in the harbor area. We also took a tour of the "Gorge" via water taxi (Rating: B+). By far the best food-related discovery was the Origin Bakery which is 100% glutten-free, and is the best bakery we ever tried, including glutten-bakeries (Rating: A+). Their ham and cheese sandwich on a baguette is to die for. (Overall Rating of Victoria: A-)

The Empress Hotel:

The Empress Hotel, facing Victoria's Inner Harbor, symbolizes  the city of Victoria. This Edwardian, château-style hotel opened in 1908 as part of the Canadian Pacific Hotel chain. The terminal for Canadian Pacific's steamship line was just a block away. Designated a National Historic Site of Canada,  the hotel has 477 rooms and four restaurants. The hotel opened for service in 1908. Additional wings were added between 1909 and 1914, and in 1928. On a rainy afternoon, Mary and I had a wonderful lunch at the open-air Veranda restaurant located under the famous "The Empress" sign and watched the harbor activity. 

In 1965, there was much debate on whether to tear down what was becoming a faded, dowdy hotel, to make room for a more modern, functional high-rise hotel. One local newspaper warned that, "Without this splendid relic of the Edwardian era, literally tens of thousands of tourists will never return. This is the Mecca, this is the heart and soul of the city." Eventually, the decision was made to embark on a $4 million campaign of renovation and refurbishment, playfully dubbed Operation Teacup.

Up until 1989, there was what has been described as a tunnel that ran from James Bay into the basement of the Empress. At high tide one was able to visit the basement and see the salt water flood the opening. It is not clear what the purpose was. Some have suggested that it was part of the hotel's waste management system and that at one time the sewage from the hotel was being flushed into James Bay. (Rating: B+)

Craigdarroch Castle:

Craigdarroch Castle is a 4-story Victorian-era, Scottish-Baronial mansion constructed in the late 1800s as a family residence for the wealthy coal baron Robert Dunsmuir. The four-story Craigdarroch Castle still has lavish furnishings from the 1890s, and is known for its stained-glass and intricate woodwork. The Castle is currently owned by the Craigdarroch Castle Historical Museum Society,  and open to the public. Built on a hill overlooking the city of Victoria, the mansion has thirty-nine rooms. and when originally constructed stood in grounds comprising twenty-eight acres of formal gardens. It cost an estimated $500,000 to build the mansion.  

Craigdarroch Castle is reportedly haunted. Volunteers hear whispers close to their ears, and report seeing moving objects. There’s no doubt that Dunsmuir’s wife, Joan, is trapped in her home. (Rating B+) 




Photographs:

Photographs below are the property of Leon Jackson. These photos are protected by copyright laws, and are not to be downloaded or reproduced in any way without the written permission of Leon Jackson. © 2015 Leon Jackson. All Rights Reserved.

- Click On Photo For A Larger Image -

The Empress Hotel 
This Edwardian, château-style hotel opened in 1908 as part of the chain of Canadian Pacific Hotels. 
[Flickr]

Downtown Skyline at Late-Evening Twilight
Inner Harbor in foreground, Empress Hotel in background left and British Columbia Parliament Building in background right.
[Flickr]

Float Planes
Moored float planes lined up in Victoria's Inner Harbor. The harbor is bustling with ferry boats, water taxis, other marine vessels and float planes landing & taking off.
[Flickr]

Clete & Line
Clete and line on a water taxi underway in Victoria Harbor.
[Flickr]

Fishing Boats
Fisherman's Wharf - Victoria's Harbor.
[Flickr]

Mansion

Craigdarroch Castle is a Victorian-era Scottish-Baronial mansion. 
[Flickr]

Red Wedding Dress

Bride pauses to look at the guide book for Craigdarroch Castle. After posing for wedding photos, the wedding party toured the mansion.
[Flickr]

Tile Floor

Floor of the fifth-floor viewing tower inside Craigdarroch Castle. The tiles were imported from England.
[Flickr]