Weekend in Victoria, British Columbia

Before we left Canada, Marc and I drove down to spend the weekend in Victoria, British Columbia for the weekend. It’s about an hour and a half from his hometown, and we have several friends who live there. We planned on getting some quality time together, relaxing a bit and getting together with our friends, so we booked a hotel on Hotwire for two nights.

We ended up at the Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Hotel. The location was perfect, and the hotel itself was awesome. It was super clean, and the bed was unbelievably comfortable.

After checking in, we did a little sightseeing with friends. Of course, we’ve been to Victoria plenty of times since it’s so close to Nanaimo, but it’s still exciting to go back each time. The city itself has so much character and there’s always something new to see or do. This time it was pretty gloomy and raining a bit, but Victoria still managed to be its pretty self. Pictures just don’t seem to do it justice.

We went for dinner at a restaurant called Spinnakers. It was just around the corner from our hotel, and Marc had read some good reviews so we decided to give it a try.

The reviews didn’t lie. The food was really great. We split some ale-braised pulled pork nachos for an appetizer, and I had a spinach salad with salmon for dinner – complete with goat cheese, beets and hazelnuts. Marc had a smoked salmon pizza that had brie and pickled strawberries. Yes, pickled strawberries. Have you ever had pickled strawberries? Well, let me tell you, they’re fantastic.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and walked around the harbor until sunset.

In the morning we walked over the bridge to Willie’s Bakery for breakfast.

I had banana bread French toast that was actually made with banana bread, and Marc had a delicious omelet that we have since successfully replicated at home. (Recipe coming soon to A Teaspoon of Happiness)

After breakfast we walked around the city, checking out the shops and the pretty buildings.

Seriously, look at this one. How quaint and cute is that?

We even ventured into the small Chinatown district.

After our walk, we went to meet our friends at a pub to watch a World Cup game and grab some lunch. Later we were going to go to a barbecue, but I was totally wiped out so I headed back to the hotel where I watched television in bed for the rest of the day. It was amazing. Maybe not the best way to spend my time on vacation, but it was totally what I needed. I ordered room service for dinner, and Marc went to his friend’s place for the barbecue just liked he’d planned. It was perfect.