All things bright and beautiful: (2019) Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada (1) Butchart Gardens, Victoria Chinatown and Legislative Assembly of B.C.

Legislative Buildings of British Columbia, Victoria

During a visit to Vancouver, Canada, in mid-Spring 2019, we took the opportunity to squeeze in a two-day side trip to Vancouver Island. While we mostly travel independently, joining a guided coach tour seemed the more practical option on this occasion given the little time we had.

The tour started with pickup at 7:30am. Following a pleasant ferry ride to the Island, our first stop was for a rather early "lunch", at a time more likely to be a morning coffee break. That might well be the only possible way to fit in a lunch time in the packed itinerary for the day. Even with our limited experiences of guided tours, we had come to expect unconventional meal times.

The early lunch did mean that we were given ample time for the highlight of the day --- a visit to the renowned Butchart Gardens, located to the north of Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia. The Butchart Gardens consist of a group of themed floral gardens. The centrepiece and largest among these is the Sunken Garden. The others include the Japanese Garden and Italian Garden. We might not have visited the Gardens at the best time of the year to see all the display flowers in their prime. Nevertheless, the walk through the grounds was wonderful.

Visitor Centre, Butchart Gardens

Butchart Gardens

Sunken Garden of Butchart Gardens

Butchart Gardens

Ross Fountain, Butchart Gardens

Butchart Gardens

Rose Carousel, Butchart Gardens

Dragon Fountain, Butchart Gardens

Japanese Garden

Star Pond

Italian Garden

The next stop in the tour was Victoria's Chinatown. Apparently it is the oldest Chinatown in Canada, with the early settlers arriving in the mid-19th Century. A fairly recent (in the 1980s) addition to the neighbourhood was the distinctive Gate of Harmonious Interest 同濟門. Some other interesting recent additions include giant murals painted on the face of several buildings, depicting locals in the old days as well as at modern times.

Gate of Harmonious Interest 同濟門, Chinatown, Victoria

Street sign with a Chinese street name, Chinatown, Victoria

Chinatown, Victoria

Mural in Chinatown, Victoria

Chinatown, Victoria

The tour made a final stop in front of the Parliament Buildings, home to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. We were given about 90 minutes of free time to explore this beautiful district in downtown Victoria. We opted for a guided tour inside the Parliament Buildings. We made use of the little time before the start of that tour to look around the area. There was the splendid Fairmont Empress Hotel right beside the Victoria Inner Harbour. Flying boats seemed to be a well utilized mode of local transport, with several of them landing and taking off during the brief spell we walked by the Harbour. Tourists could also take the option of sightseeing on a horse-drawn carriage.

The guided tour of the Parliament Buildings was very enjoyable and informative. The architecture of the Parliament Buildings itself, in Neo-baroque style, was marvelous. The tour began with an introduction under the giant Rotunda of the Parliament Buildings. We walked through the hallways of the historical building, past numerous sculptures, paintings, coats of arms, and stained-glass windows depicting historical symbolisms. An added interesting part of the tour was the presence of an actor dressed in period outfit recounting the life in Canada at Victorian times.