Of course I knew our trip to Victoria B.C. last weekend would be awesome because I saw Hunter S. Thompson on the clipper ferry over! Woot Woot! (note: not really HST. He’s dead.)

A mere 2 hour and 45 minute ferry ride over and there we were, on the very clean and beautiful streets of Victoria. My first trip, Joshy’s second.

The first thing we did was catch a bus to the famous Butchart Gardens. Not just any bus, mind you, a TOUR bus, driven by a cute little old man with a British accent that gave the whole thing a touch of class.

Everyone and their mom had recommended that we go to the Butchart Gardens, and they did not disappoint. Get ready for a good old-fashioned photo dump!

So serene. Thank goodness the sun was out on Saturday, because Sunday was totally overcast. We lucked out!

So many beautiful tulips. The Rose Garden, unfortunately, hadn’t bloomed yet, but everything else was stunning.

It takes a couple of hours to tour the entire grounds.

The gardens and flowers were spaced out enough that the pollen didn’t bother Josh and I.

I love topiary animals!

So beautiful.

Josh couldn’t believe I said that I liked the gardens in Kauai better. I guess I’m into tropical flowers!

Love these white tulips with a faint thread of purple.

And the pink against the blue.

Scenic cove.

Bright!

Stunning.

No women past this point!

No men either! What about dogs? Dogs were allowed in the Gardens. I was happy to see that.

We also had gelato in the Gardens. Perfect.

The stunning Japanese Gardens.

Yours truly, taking pictures of totum poles.

Look at that lavender!

It occurred to us at one point that our entire trip was something that elderly people would do–look at flowers, shop, look at miniatures…but that’s okay!

The Japanese Gardens really were spectacular.

I was cold, Josh was hot. This is normal.

This fountain constantly changed water formations. It was really cool.

I loooove the tulips with the feathery edge.

This was the Sunken Garden, built out of an old quarry.

Deep, blood-red tulips.

Worth it!

After the Garden trip, we took a bus back to our hotel room, which happened to be on the top floor.

Nice view!

We relaxed and then went out to sushi later on that evening. Then Joshy surprised and delighted me by FINALLY watching “The Goonies” with me! The entire movie! He’s been maintaining for the last 10 years that he hates that movie.

This is the infamous Empress Hotel, where we had High Tea the next day. I wished that we hadn’t had waffles two hours prior to the High Tea, but what are ya gonna do?

It was a lovely experience.

What a man!

After tea, it was on to “Miniature World”. Child Liz would be VERY stoked. I’ve always been a fan of little things.

“Miniature World” consisted of several intricate dioramas to gawk at. Some of them took years to build. This was the top of “Jack and the Beanstalk”.

This was WWII. I think.

The miniature “window cleaners” KILLED ME.

The displays were all interactive–with a push of a button you could make the cars move, the trains go around the track.

The displays were not all the same scale. My favorite ones were big enough to show the people’s expressions, like this one.

“Gulliver’s Travels”.

Tiny castles.

I loved the carnival one. It took them 4 years to build it.

“Camelot” was fun, too. It took three years to build it.

The first display was outer space, but my camera failed to pick things up. You understand.

We spent the rest of the day before we had to board the 6 pm ferry walking around, doing a little shopping and enjoying the city.

A girl passing by complimented Joshy on his purple hair.

I’m obsessed with Pacific Northwest Indian art, and in a gift shop we both found tee-shirts featuring the art. We bought some maple creme cookies and devoured the box. Josh bought my brother some maple syrup, because he is thoughtful.

No regrets, Victoria! You were fun! I think it’s kind of neat, going into another country just for a weekend. Mexico next? I’ve never been to Mexico.