Getting there was half the fun. I treated myself to a seaplane flight on Harbour Air. Driving with the ferry must take a few hours; catching a charter bus is three and a half hours downtown-to-downtown. The seaplane, from harbour to harbour, is just 35 minutes. I don't like flying airlines - there's the security theater, the long queues, and it's pretty much completely unpleasant. This was much nicer: a fast and painless checkin, and a more visceral ride - you get more of the feeling of flying, though I did find myself gripping my seat during takeoff and in occasional turbulence. It was more expensive than the bus of course, but otherwise-unattainable views like this made it worth the cost to me. It was a visual feast, and I was grinning like an idiot the whole flight.
Our approach into Victoria's Inner Harbour was more steep than I'd expected. Look at how much water can be seen over the nose! But of course it was perfectly safe.
I couldn't have asked for better weather. The end of September is like that here: even though the leaves are changing colour, the temperatures are still summery, and the lower sun is more intense. (Days after my return it's all changed; I wore a winter coat to work today.) And Victoria was her lovely self; here's a view of some of the harbour, including the Empress Hotel and the Parliament building.
After an early dinner on Sunday evening I was able to witness the rush of transport to leave the harbour. For a while, this seaplane was racing the Victoria Clipper hydrojet, but the seaplane ultimately had to wait. But there was a third contestant - the cruise ship was slowly backing up as well; it was the last to leave as the others slipped behind it.
I spent my time doing just a few things: touring, enjoying craft beers, and reading. I'll write about the first two a bit.
I spent a few hours at the Royal BC Museum. With its well-executed exhibits, it's always worth a visit. The main exhibit was a travelling collection of artifacts from the British Museum in London, so perhaps some of the artifacts were ones I'd seen previously.
I hopped a bus out to the University of Victoria, strolled around, and got coffee. I saw the Royal London Wax Museum. And I also took time to wander the Parliament building.
But my biggest interest was (re)acquainting myself with Victoria's brewpubs. I think many of the tastiest beers in the province are to be found on Vancouver Island, and craft beer seems more plentiful here than any other BC city I know of.
The first pub I visited, the Bard and Banker, reminded me of one of my favourite London pubs, The Counting House. Both pubs were formerly banks, and this one wouldn't be out of place anywhere in the UK.
I had pints at Canoe, The Sticky Wicket and Spinnakers, the latter with a Slow Food menu and the boasting point of being one of two pubs laying claim to the title of Canada's First Brewpub. (The other is Granville Island in Vancouver.) A pint of cask ale at Spinnakers had a mouth taste that instantly brought me back to England: the warmer temperature, the consistency of the foam, the flavouring, even the pint glass with the bumpy rim were all the same, and I haven't had it quite like that since.
But for sheer flavour, my favourite was Swans. I tried two of their strong beers first, and ended up going back each day to get nothing more. Their double IPA was a knockout, but I especially enjoyed their Scotch ale (not to be confused with the weaker Scottish ale style). Hardly anyone brews them, and it was one of my favourite recipes when I homebrewed. I ended up bringing a bottle of each back; their beers are completely unavailable in Vancouver.
As the sun set on my second evening, I enjoyed another pint, and this is how I'd like to remember Victoria.
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