Day #6: Back to Butchart

The sky was SUNNY and blue this morning! We decided to go back to Butchart and do the B.C. Museum in the afternoon.

As soon as we entered the park we could smell the perfume of the hyacinths blooming everywhere.


We were surprised to see camelia blooms that had fallen and scattered to the ground. My mom said that samurais hated camelias and called it kubi kiri which translates literally as cutting the neck referring to seppuku (ritual suicide where the stomach is slashed and neck cut off). Seeing the beautiful, in tact flower heads fallen to the ground seemingly still in their prime reminded the samurai of heads fallen in defeat.


I'm sorry this post is so long. The day was incredibly beautiful and we have a zillion photos that I just can't help but need to share.


Pasque Flower (pulsatilla)


Art spent a long time watching this beautiful woodpecker.


Mom said willow trees in Japan were often thought to have ghosts beneath them.


OK... Can't help myself....more cherry trees...


Art was explaining to my mom who rarely uses gym shoes how to double tie her shoe laces so they would stay secure.


Azaleas


Another cherry tree


We had to go back to see the sunken garden. A sunnier day made the garden even more striking.


We had a hot dog lunch at the Coffee Shop.


In the Japanese garden Mom was excited to see a Goyo no Matsu (5 leaf pine tree). She said she remembered her mother telling her how valuable this type of pine was.


I was having way too much fun photographing as many flowers as I could. I wish I had an even better macro lens.


Don't know what kind of flower this is but I just liked it.


This is Art's idea.


We had to see the sunken garden one last time before we left.


Mom and I had to have a soft serve to celebrate this gift of a sunny, beautiful day.


We went back to the hotel to get a little rest. Unfortunately, mom and I fell asleep, which didn't leave enough time for the B.C. Museum. I know Art was disappointed. There just isn't enough time in the day. We let mom rest at the hotel while Art and I wandered about the city. We saw this statue of Queen Victoria outside the B.C. Legislative Building.


There were decorated eagles placed around the city which reminded us of the decorated cows we had in Chicago.


We noticed that there were green parking meters for VERY small cars. It cost $1.00 for 1 hour instead of the $1.00 for a half hour for regular sized cars.

We'll be leaving Canada tomorrow and heading back to Seattle to see our friends, Patty and Paul. It's been a glorious visit to our northern neighbors!

Day #5: Butchart Gardens, Victoria

We're in Victoria tonight. It's been quite an incredible day. Art mentioned how we used to love taking the kids on trips because everything was new and wondrous to them and we could enjoy it through their eyes again. Now we're enjoying that experience again, seeing each magnificent thing through my mother's eyes.



We left Vancouver very early to catch the 8:30 AM Tsawwassen Ferry...



...and arrived at the Butchart Gardens by around 11:00.



"I thought Stanley Park was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen," my mother said, "but this place incredibly surpasses it."



We decided to buy the Spring Lunch offer and was glad we did. It was very elegant and delicious. Mom and I loved our potato puree with scallops and water cress soup.



Art enjoyed his mussels.



The grilled salmon atop the cobb salad was scrumptious. OK... I admit it! It was the bacon I loved!



Yes, yes! I did take another million photos of flowers! I just couldn't help myself. When we went to our hotel and downloaded the photos my mom asked several times if I was done because she wanted to see all the flowers again.



The sunken garden was magnificent! Mom kept gasping at the beauty all around her. The contrasting colors of the flowers, the variety of plants and creativity of the landscape architects absolutely astounded her.







When Mom saw the hanging cherry flowers, she remarked that she felt like she was dreaming because it was all too lovely for words.



We had to leave because Mom's legs were bothering her. We promised her that we would come back tomorrow. We made a stop at the Victoria Butterfly Garden where the wonder of having butterflies and birds all around her was another fascinating experience.

Art is such a sweetheart. He actually lifted Mom the other day to see something forgetting that she wasn't really our seven year old daughter of some 25 years ago. I know he nearly threw his back out.





There weren't just butterflies there. This bird really surprised me. It wasn't afraid of me at all but kept staring at me with his/her large eyes framed by orange eyelashes.



We're staying at the Executive House Hotel in Victoria tonight and tomorrow. It's a suite and just gorgeous.



It even has a kitchenette. I'm so excited. We went to the market and bought breakfast for tomorrow and some dinner for tonight.

I'm going to bed late again but I just had to share this day with you all. Tomorrow, we've got the B.C. Museum, a walk through the Empress Hotel which is a block away and back to the Butchart one last time. Although it cost $26.00 per person today, it will be just $3.50 tomorrow. I sure hope it will be a sunnier day. You know I need more photos!

And Mom is excited about seeing it all again! Hopefully with better light. Although it was overcast... it's still better than rain. We've been awfully lucky so far.

Day #4: Stanley Park, Aquarium, Totems, Hana Fubuki

We planned to make today an easier day for Mom because she was rather tired from the past two days. She's also been fighting a bit of a cold.

However, we were still up by 6:00 AM and had our breakfast at 6:30. It was promising to be a beautiful day for our little outing to Stanley Park. "We'll come back by lunchtime," we told Mom.



We arrived at the Stanley Park Aquarium by 9:15. It opens at 9:30. We sat beneath this gorgeous cherry blossom tree and couldn't stop taking photos of it.



"Would you like me to take a photo of all of you," said Terry as he walked by. I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I love Canadians. I manage to always meet teachers on all our trips.



After taking a photo of us we talked about teaching, places we'd been, etc. Terry is a retired teacher after 34 years, does substitute teaching, is working for the Olympic Games, has a brother who is the grounds keeper for Stanley Park, does a lot of jogging, ETC. After a half hour, it seemed like we'd known him forever. He also asked us if we were Obama supporters. When we gave him an emphatic, YES! he began talking politics with us. Canadians often know more about American politics than Americans. Eventually, we had to say goodbye because the Aquarium had long before opened.



We saw a demonstation of a bald eagle flying and eating.



Here's the culprit that caused some trouble for us. Yes, they did say you could be splashed, but we never expected this little beluga to drench us completely! Art is even having to do laundry for us tonight because we have salt water over all of us.



We ate lunch out in the hot sun so that our clothes would have time to dry, not to mention our hair, shoes, socks, jackets, etc. Good grief!



It was now later than we planned to be out but was having too much fun to return to the hotel.



The totems are like our family crests.



On the way out we caught a glimpse of a beautiful garden. Art had to use a roundabout to go back.



Beautiful cherry trees graced the park.



With each gust of wind we were showered with cherry blossom petals.







Mom said she'd always heard about hana fubuki which means blizzard of flowers, but she'd never actually seen it. She stood there mesmerized and then said, "I can die now. I've seen it all." We assured her that there was still much more to see.

  

Back at the hotel around 3:30 (ummm...a tad later than we promised), I was glad we brought our multi pronged outlet because we had to use it to charge our cellphone, our rechargeable batteries and laptop computer.

Art has just about finished our laundry now and we're off to dinner.

Guess what? I might be able to see Chuck after all! They have it in Canada... I hope.