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My husband and I went to see the Craigdarroch Castle. Yes, there is a castle in Victoria. I had always known about it. I had seen it in so many postcards, but somehow, in all my visits to the island, I had never gone there. I guess it’s because it’s not exactly located in the downtown core. And though it’s only a short drive or a leisurely walk away (around half an hour), somehow, it had never been a part of our usual Victoria itinerary. Craigdarroch Castle was built by coal

Our third day in Victoria was the most exciting for me because we would be doing an activity that I had never done before but had always wanted to do – whale-watching! Victoria is one of the best places for whale-watching. Majestic mammals and marine wildlife abound in the waters surrounding Vancouver Island, including the orca (or killer whale), gray, humpback, and minke whales, as well as sea lions, seals, porpoises, and marine birds. Whales love the Pacific Northwest (and

The Butchart Gardens is inarguably the gem of Vancouver Island. Everyone who goes to Victoria also has Butchart Gardens on the top of the list of “must-sees.” The garden complex is located at Brentwood Bay, not far from Victoria. When I first mentioned it to my husband, he could not understand why I had to take him to this garden. He thought that this tour was more suitable for garden enthusiasts and landscapers, not rock and volcano enthusiasts like himself. He will choose r

We decided to play Gulliver and visit Lilliput…or you could picture us falling down the rabbit hole with Alice. In Victoria, located on the north side of the Empress Hotel, you will find Miniature World, dubbed as “The Greatest Little Show on Earth.” It has over 85 little models, including the world’s smallest operation sawmill, one of the world’s longest miniature railways, and one of the world’s largest dollhouses circa 1880 with rooms beautifully furnished in exquisite d

In the vicinity of the Royal BC Museum are several cultural attractions. Collectively called the Cultural Precinct, it consists of the Thunderbird Park and the historic sites built on it, such as the Wawadit’la (Mungo Martin House), the Helmcken House, St. Anne’s Schoolhouse, and the Netherlands Centennial Carillon. Thunderbird Park, just next to the museum and established in 1940, takes its name from the mythological Thunderbird of Indigenous North American cultures, which

Aside from its permanent galleries, the Royal BC Museum in Victoria also hosts temporary exhibitions, which are always very interesting. On my last visit there, they had the “Dragon Bones: When Dinosaurs Ruled China.” On this visit, they had “ Titanic : The Artifact Exhibition.” I had been fascinated with the story of the Titanic sinking, even before the Leonardo di Caprio-Kate Winslet movie became a blockbuster. I read about it when I was a child and what stayed in my memor

One thing that my husband and I enjoy doing together is visiting museums. While he prefers science exhibits and I prefer cultural and artistic ones, we voluntarily go with each other, no matter what and no matter where, and Victoria was no exception. On our second day in Victoria, we headed to the Royal British Columbia Museum right after breakfast, in time for its opening. We wanted to avoid line-ups and crowds, especially on a holiday weekend. Founded in 1886, the Royal Bri

While I was enthusiastic about the cultural activities in Victoria, my husband was more interested in its culinary offerings. He found out that Victoria had, at that time, an iconic German restaurant, so he wanted to go there for dinner. The restaurant was called Rathskeller Schnitzel House, which had become a Victoria institution after more than half a century of existence. Rathskeller means "a restaurant or beer hall in the basement" in German, which was how this restauran

In Victoria, one could not and should not miss the Victoria Fairmont Empress Hotel. This Beaux-Arts masterpiece designed by Francis Rattenbury (who also designed Victoria’s Parliament Buildings), was built between 1904 and 1908, and soon became one of the world’s most famous hotels. Formidably looking over the harbour, the grand hotel became a byword in Edwardian luxury. Incorporating elements of French Renaissance architecture, the design features an enormous entrance hall a

My husband was initially not interested to go to Victoria’s Royal London Wax Museum, but because it was just a stone’s throw away from the harbour and we had some time to kill before dinner time, we decided to check it out. It was not very big, so we figured, we would spend around 40 minutes inside. Opened in 1961 with just 50 wax figures, this attraction established North America’s first exhibition of Tussaud wax figures from England and became the flagship Madame Tussaud es

Victoria’s Inner Harbour is a bustling walkway that hosts vendors, buskers, musicians, artists, food trucks, and small shops (and we later found out there’s a night market at the main dock every summer). It is where the fashionable part of Government Street begins and where you can find the Royal BC Museum and Tourist Information Centre. It is also where the Harbour Air seaplanes take off and land, and where the Coho Ferry and Victoria Clipper passenger boats arrive and depar

Since Victoria is the capital of the province of British Columbia, the first attraction I showed my husband was the British Columbia Parliament Buildings. This is the seat of power in this province and it houses the BC Legislative Assembly. Standing on five hectares of lush property and with an imposing neo-Baroque architecture, it is one of the most dominant features of the Victoria downtown core. The buildings face north on Belleville Street overlooking the Inner Harbour a

When I was still a resident of Vancouver, it was a common practice for our family to take out-of-town visitors to Victoria, if their time and schedule permitted it. It is a must-see place to visit when in British Columbia. In fact, this was the first place I visited when I came to Vancouver as a tourist. And when I became a resident, I had since played tourist guide to various guests. Victoria is the capital of the province of British Columbia. Most people assume it is Vancou

I had a few key takeaways from this cruise: Cruising can be fun. I used to think that cruising is a boring way to travel and that it’s just for old people. It’s not. In fact, it has something for everyone. There is a wide spectrum of cruise lines at different market segments offering a wide range of options and features that could suit different age groups, budgets, and preferences – from contemporary to luxury, casual to sophisticated, relaxing to active, tranquil to full-bl

We ended our cruise in New York City, but we had less than a day to spend there before we had to fly back home. Since there was not much time, we just booked a bus tour that took us on a loop around the city, from the seaport to the key neighborhoods – Two Bridges, Lower East Side, East Village, Gramercy Park, Kips Bay, Murray Hill, Sutton Place, Lenox Hill, Upper East Side, York Hill, Carnegie Hill, Harlem, Upper West Side, Manhattan, Lincoln Square, Hell’s Kitchen, Midtown

Newport is a city set on Aquidneck Island in the New England state of Rhode Island. It is known for the Gilded Age mansions lining Bellevue Avenue and the annual sailing regatta, America’s Cup, hosted in its yacht-filled harbour. We did a scenic drive that took us along the world-famous Ocean Drive, where we had spectacular views of Newport’s rocky coastline. We continued on Bellevue Avenue, where for a moment, we got immersed in a world of wealth and power that existed at th

From Gloucester, we drove along the rock-strewn coastline dotted with pretty houses and estates enroute to Rockport. Rockport is another English colony coastal town in Cape Ann, and like the former, it was oozing with New England charm. This seaside town, an active fishing community in the 1700s, is now a mecca for artists, craftsmen, photographers, and art enthusiasts. And this was clearly evident as we strolled the Bear Skin Neck Street, Main Street, and Beach Street lined

We docked at Gloucester in Cape Ann, Massachusetts, America's oldest seaport. This gorgeous coastal community boasts of a rich maritime history and hometown spirit, and like the other harbourside places we had visited, its waterfront was very much alive and vibrant. I must admit that prior to this cruise, I used to equate “New England” with Cape Cod, the hook-shaped peninsula in Massachusetts state that is famous for its quaint villages, lighthouses, seafood shacks, bays, and

Crossing over to the American side, our first stop was Bar Harbor in Maine, a picturesque town on Mount Desert Island, along Frenchman Bay. It derives its name from the famous sandbar that connects Bar Island to mainland Maine at low tide. It is also the gateway to Acadia National Park, one of America’s most visited parks. We decided to do the “Best of Both Worlds” tour which encompassed a visit to Cadillac Mountain and Acadia National Park to enjoy the beautiful fall season

Located on a rocky inlet on the Atlantic Ocean, Halifax, Nova Scotia’s provincial capital, is defined by its maritime geography. We were welcomed by a bustling waterfront as we arrived. We were made aware of the fact that this is the same waterfront where steamships once anchored to drop off arriving immigrants from the Old World, many, many years ago. In modern times, it has become a central hub for locals and visitors, always buzzing with energy that is fed by a working por