Beautiful Victoria

Victoria is my kind of place.  British Columbia's capital city is quite large, which was somewhat of a surprise for me considering it's on an island, but the historical area near the water is very quaint and village-like.  We took the ferry from Vancouver to Swartz Bay and then a bus to Victoria.  I haven't taken all that many ferries in my life, but I'll tell you what, I was so impressed with the experience.  The whole process from our Vancouver hotel to the harbor to the ferry to the Victoria Hotel and then back again, to the airport, was like a well oiled machine.  I'm sure they have their glitches every now and then, but their promptness and efficiency puts the airline industry to shame.
Anyhow, Victoria is very pretty.  The fires continued to take its toll on the air quality and the sky color.  Thankfully, it wasn't yellow there, but still very hazy.

Parliament Building

Salish Totem

Victoria is one of the oldest cities in British Columbia, and a lot of its buildings in this area are original structures.  There are also colorful structures sprinkled in, which added to the prettiness of it. 

Market Square Main Gate Fountain - early 1900s tri-leveled fountain, one level for people, one for their horses, and one for their dogs.

For dinner one night, we headed into Chinatown.  It is the oldest Chinatown in Canada.

Fan Tan Alley is the narrowest street in Canada.

 There are small shops and galleries on this street.  We ended up having dinner at FanTan Cafe, and it was delicious!

Victoria is small enough that it's ok to get "lost" by just walking up and down the streets.  My favorite part of traveling is the exploring and stumbling upon some interesting sights.

A Summer Salad

While looking for an easy salad to bring to a bbq a few years back, I stumbled upon a version of this one.  Since then, it's the potluck item I get the most requests for when attending a summer party.  And the best part about it...it's the easiest salad I've ever made, the base recipe consisting of only four ingredients.

Watermelon Feta Salad

Ingredients

1/2 seedless watermelon - cut into bite sized pieces

3 ounces feta cheese (1/2 container)

4 ounces arugula (1/2 bag)

balsamic glaze or balsamic vinaigrette - to taste

Directions

Spread arugula on a platter (or a bowl can be used).  Lay watermelon pieces over the top.  Sprinkle the cheese over the watermelon.  Dress using the glaze or vinaigrette.  Additional dressing can be left on the side for anyone who wants more.  I don't like overdressed salads, so I use it sparingly when serving.  

The only downside to this salad is it can't all be put together ahead of time due to the watermelon.  It would be a watery mess if made before leaving home.  However, the watermelon can be cut/stored ahead of time, and everything else is very portable.  Putting it all together right before eating takes a matter of seconds.  

Since this is just a base recipe, other ingredients can be easily added.  I've added slices of red onion and kalamata olives to it as well.
Another plus to this salad is because the recipe uses only half of all the ingredients, it can be made another time at home.  I made it Wednesday night for a bbq, then had a single serving of it for breakfast yesterday and for lunch today.  It's a very light, refreshing dish; great for a hot summer day.

Vancouver, Part 2

Day 2 in Vancouver was hot, but the skies were still fairly blue.  A few of the fires had started by this point, but the smoke hadn't made its way into the city.  We spent most of the day in Stanley Park.  The 1,000 acre park covers the entire peninsula northwest of Downtown.  It is huge.  Most of the park is dense forest made up of cedar and fir trees with numerous hiking trails running through the middle of it.  We concentrated on the outer edge of the park though - the 5 mile Stanley Park Seawall loop.

Vancouver Harbor

While standing on the Seawall taking pictures of the harbor, I looked down to step back off the wall and by chance noticed these little guys just below the edge.

Canada Geese - A whole family of them!

There were two adult geese and three babies.  I'm assuming mom and dad as one was quite a bit larger than the other.  Mom watched us very carefully, and dad followed the babies everywhere they went.  We photographed them until they headed back towards the water.

A short walk along the harbor, and we also saw a raccoon.  It was quite far away without my larger lens.  I tried cropping it a bit, but it was just too far away.  Though he's easier to see if the photos are enlarged.

Nine First Nation totem poles are displayed in Stanley Park.  These are from various Coast Salish areas in the region.

Lion's Gate Bridge from the lighthouse

Brockton Point Lighthouse

Lions Gate Bridge from the Seawall

After the park visit, we swung by the Vancouver Public Library.

Robson Square is a civic center and public plaza that leads into the art gallery. 

The art gallery hosted a Thai Festival that set up around this beautiful fountain.  

It is fairly noticeable in the photos that as the day progressed, the wildfires got worse, and by early evening the sky was white.  By the next day it was grey and the smell set in.  The next day was also the Women's World Cup Finals, and Vancouver was a zoo...full of Americans.  Our hotel was only a few blocks from BC Center Stadium, and while coming back from having lunch nearby chanting and cheering could be heard.  Game time was still a couple of hours away, so we walked in its direction to see what was going on.
Gobs of Americans (or those cheering for the US Team anyhow) paraded in droves down Robson Street, which leads right to the stadium.  We probably watched them for about 5 minutes and they just kept coming.

 Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) we didn't have tickets to the game, so we went to a bar and watched it instead.  By the time the game was over and we left the bar the sky was yellow, so I put the camera away until we got to Victoria.

Vancouver, Part 1

As mentioned in the last post, the first morning after arriving in Vancouver we had an overview tour of Downtown.  I didn't know what to expect upon the visit, but I wasn't expecting how incredibly modern it is.  Historic architecture is smattered about, but so many of the buildings are tall, fancy and glassy.

H.R. MacMillan Space Center

One of the places most recommended to me was Granville Island.  Granville Island is located on a peninsula across from Downtown.  It has a huge public market, bars, restaurants, shopping, theater companies, art galleries, and the Emily Carr University of Art and Design.  Tons of photo op spots, but also tons of people.  

The flowers on this trip were INCREDIBLE.  The Granville Island and its Public Market was just the start.

Oh, the Hydrangeas!  

Standing at the public market looking towards the Burrard Bridge over False Creek

Brazilian artists "Osgemeos" painted these silos at the Ocean Concrete Granville Island site.  The artists are internationally known for their public space art.  

My favorite neighborhood in the city was Gastown.  It is Vancouver's oldest neighborhood - probably why I liked it - founded by "Gassy Jack" John Deighton.

The Gastown Steam Clock was built to cover a steam vent in the 70s.  

Dinner at the Lamplighter might have been the most delicious meal of the trip.  

The Europe - Hotel built in 1909, designed after the Flatiron building in NYC

It's important to notice how gorgeous the sky was in these photos.  As the wild fires flared up, the sky went from blue to gray, and then to yellow by the time we left for Victoria.  There were 185 forest fires burning when we left on the ferry.  A good sky makes for a good picture as far as I'm concerned.  The remaining posts will show the sky get progressively worse, along with my photos.