Sunday, September 14, 2008

Day 58, Wednesdy, September 10, 2008...Victoria










We were up very early this morning to catch the early (8:00AM) ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria, British Columbia. It was a fun one hour trip across the strait into Victoria where we headed to the Old Dutch Bakery for a light breakfast.
At the suggestion of my good friend, Laura Artz, we decided to go out of town to visit Butchart Gardens. We grabbed a city bus, picked up a transfer, changed buses and got to Butchart Gardens in about an hour. Those of you who know me well know that I would not exactly be described as a "garden person", but the two hours or so spent at Butchart Gardens were well worth it. I have never seen so many varieties of plants and flowers in one place...and...they had a small restaurant that served wine. I got some really nice photos.
Tired and thirsty from all of that flower viewing, we headed back to Victoria for a late lunch. I was in the mood for "French", but all of the French restaurants opened too late for us because our return ferry left at 6:00PM. So...we decided on Spanish at "The Tapas Bar"...very disappointing. Latin cuisine, particularly Spanish, is somewhat of a specialty of mine, so it was disappointing to see a menu lacking most of the classic Tapas dishes. And those that we had were not particularly well done...so we ate light (very).
Returning to Port Angeles, we decided to relax for awhile before heading out to dinner at "C'est Ci Bon", a local French Bistro where we were rewarded with one of the best meals of the trip. Lamb Medallions and Halibut stuffed with crab meat were flawlessly prepared in authentic French style. The husband and wife owners, originally from the Lyon region of France, ran a Hollywood catering business for many years during which they met a lot of major film stars. They decided to retire from the catering business and open their small Bistro in Port Angeles. A great, great meal.
Tomorrow, we are heading south to camp in the Hoh Rain Forest in the Olympic National Park...that should b rally beautiful.

1 comment:

Laurie A said...

I am so glad that you had time to visit Butchart Gardens. It is considered the most beautiful garden in North America. Did you get an itch to do any landscaping at home? I cannot wait to see your pictures. The ones on the Blog are fabulous. www.butchartgardens.com Laurie