Victoria, British Columbia (January 2006)

Chris surprised me with a weekend getaway to Victoria, B.C. for our 1-year anniversary. We took the Victoria Clipper ferry there and back, a 2-hour boat ride that goes by surprisingly fast. As part of our vacation package they gave us a basket of muffins, fresh fruit, and champagne which we nibbled on as we filled out crossword puzzles to pass the time. I had been to Victoria once before, but I was like 10 years old and traveling with my grandparents. Needless to say, this was a slightly different experience.

We checked into the grand Empress hotel, which is stunning both in facade and decor. We dropped off our luggage, bundled up for the chilly weather, and went exploring. Victoria is very pedestrian friendly and we walked all around, checking various boutiques and souvenir shops. I had a lot of shopping success and bought a purse, party top, a black jacket, and a tweed winter coat which were all marked at clearance prices (apparently in Canada sales only come twice a year in July and mid-January) - perfect timing! We stopped into a great tapas restaurant for lunch and dined on blue cheese stuffed figs and bacon wrapped dates...along with some excellent sangria, to gave us a nice buzz for the rest of our afternoon. As we were heading back to the hotel we came across a street musician dressed as Darth Vador playing the violin - pretty weird!

We got dressed up and walked outside our hotel to see the Victoria Parliament buildings silhouetted in beautiful lights - a perfect photo op. Out on the town - we had dinner and drinks at a steakhouse (the name now escapes me...) and hung out at a nearby bar/club for a while until my darling but uncomfortable high heels began to hurt more than I could bear. When we returned to the room I was surprised to find chilled champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries waiting for us-what a sweet surprise! We spent the rest of the weekend doing much of the same; sleeping in, checking out the Victoria food scene, and exploring new corners of the city. It was a fantastic weekend getaway!