Afternoon Tea

One of the most impressive buildings in Victoria (along with the Parliament Building) is The Empress.  This hotel was built and 1908.  It's a must to visit The Empress for Afternoon Tea when coming to Victoria.  So that's what we did...

 A view of the hotel from the Parliament Building 

 The grounds of The Empress are simply stunning.  There are flowers everywhere.  Bushes after bushes of hydrangeas are a sight to see.

We arrived a few minutes before our 4:00 tea time, but were seated right away.

Hand cut glass dome

The Queen Mary portrait has been on the wall at the Empress since 1908.

 Fresh blueberries were served to start.

 Hot tea was entirely inappropriate after spending the day at Butchart Gardens in the extremely rare 90 degree heat, so we drank a bucket of ice water as well.

 Those scones were to die for!

 The tea sweets were just darling.  However, after the scones and the chocolate treat, we were too full to eat the rest.  The waiter packaged them up for us.  Unfortunately, a few hours later they all fell into themselves and ended up getting tossed.  They were sure pretty though.

 Tea at The Empress was a nice experience.  I would say it is definitely a must do, at least once.
And this concludes the Summer Vacation 2015 posts!  ;)

The Happiest Place on Earth

About a half an hour from Victoria is The Butchart Gardens.  The story of the gardens can be found here.  The amazing thing about this place was that it started out as a family home garden.  And now, over 100 years later, it is an incredible amusement park of flowers.  I probably took 300 pictures at this place (thank goodness for digital) because every direction I looked was gorgeous.  

The Butchart's home has been turned into a restaurant and outdoor patio area.  

 The begonias were mind blowing!

 When the limestone quarry next to the house was exhausted, it was turned into what is now the Sunken Garden.

The Butchart Gardens was hands down the best part of this trip - a breathtaking place.

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.