Lorraine has stayed at the Chateau Frontenac and the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa. The only Chateau Trevor has stayed is the Chateau Boudreau together with Lorraine; a seedy motel in the town of Tracadie-Sheila, New Brunswick. Ah well! 'Tis the Chateau Victoria, this time around; a fine establishment in downtown Victoria, half a block away from the Fairmont Empress Hotel. We had thought about staying there but the $569 a night price tag scared us away.The British Columbia Legislature, the Fairmont Empress Hotel and the Royal London Wax Museum are all central structures at the Victoria Harbourfront and we visited them all. We only took a five minute look around the front lobby of the Empress while we did the full tour of the legislature and took in all of the wax museum. All three buildings were designed by architect, Francis Rattenbury when he was in his 20s. At night, the legislature is a dramatic sight as it is lit up with over 3600 lights (all replaced by fluorescent lights one year ago according to the legislature's guide who very closely resembled Stefan Dion).
And how can we describe the Butshart Gardens? Incredible! Awesome! Inspiring! Unbelievable! We endured the Japanese tourists in the morning and went back through the gardens again after lunch and were able to actually take pictures without anyone breathing down our necks. We highly recommend visiting these gardens in the afternoon when the tours have left.
It's off to Alberta tomorrow. We're up early to catch the ferry back to Vancouver to drop off our car and fly off to Calgary. More soon from Alberta!
