Postcards from Victoria, BC Canada

An island in the Pacific that is close enough for a weekend get-a-way visit.  Think good food, a busy harbour, world famous gardens and craft beers waiting for you to enjoy.  With the US dollar worth about $1.20 Canadian a visit to Victoria is a real bargain.  Here are a few of my favourite places and activities to visit.

Empress Hotel from the Inner Harbour

There are many opportunities to sightsee

Chinatown beckons at Chinese New Year or anytime

Fan Tan Alley in Chinatown is for the “skinny” and adventuresome visitor

Water taxies crisscross the Inner Harbour taking you to Fisherman’s Wharf and beyond 

Whale and dolphin watching affords close-up views of marine mammals

For something different hop aboard the amphibious bus that travels on both land and water around Victoria

Johnson Street buildings add a colourful touch to the downtown shopping experience

A must see for the green thumb is nearby Butchart Gardens

The gardens are open all year and are a riot of colour during the spring and summer

The Royal BC Museum is a world class venue with exhibits highlighting the BC history and experience

First Nation art from both yesterday and today can be found throughout Victoria

Yellow Wolf intertribal powwow

2013 marks the twentieth year that the Tsartip First Nation has hosted a powwow to commemorate Alice Moody, a Nez Perce from Idaho who moved to BC in 1933 to join her husband a Coast Salish,

The Yellow Wolf powwow follows the Coast Salish tradition of welcoming visitors onto their territory.  It also provides the opportunity to observe some Nez Perce dancing.   Several hundred guests came from Idaho, Washington, Alberta and all over BC to take part in the intertribal powwow.