From the Empress to Skid Row
July 17 |
| We arrived on Vancouver Island midway on Sunday. Since we were only staying one night, we had decided to stay at the Empress, the historical showpiece of Victoria's port, a remnant of the days when this was the capital of British Columbia and one critical chink in making sure the sun never set on the British empire. While the hotel is still impressive from the outside, we found our dark green room to be somewhat depressing and what had once been the grand entrance was taken over as an expansion of the tea parlor. Aa new entrance, indistinguishable from that at any typical hotel, now serves for "reception." I can understand their thinking -- they get $46 Canadian ($32 American) for a high tea including sandwiches, scones, and a dessert of raspberries. Tea at the Empress is a favorite of tour groups (hence the need to take over the lobby) but we decided we could do without and headed to a garden, probably the most famous attraction on the entire island.
The Burchart gardens were originally the estate of a family engaged in the cement business. When the limestone quarry closed, the owner's wife decided that the abandonned quarry was an eyesore and turned it into a sunken garden. Now, more than sixty years later, there are other gardens, including a lovely Japanese garden, and some odd fountains, along with the promise of fireworks on Saturday nights. Back in town we had the best seafood dinner of the trip and a genuine Irish coffee in the Bengal Lounge of the Empress Hotel. The lounge did live up to its name with images of the "Jewel in the Crown" and puntah fans (really not needed in this cool climate) hanging from the ceiling. |
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