I don't think I have ever seen as glorious a sunrise as I the one I saw this morning. Granted, I am not someone who yearns to be up before the dawn - I am much more of a night owl than an early bird. Regardless, I felt such a sense of joy as I watched and waited for the sun to come up over the water as I stood on the deck of our lovely B&B in Nanaimo. Pinks, oranges and yellows filled the east...and only became brighter as the sun appeared. Paired with that were the various shades of blue of the water and the mountains. It was magical!
It was a day of colour as we headed south to Butchart Gardens, a place I have heard about since I was a little girl. It is open every day of the year, but Dave and I were a bit skeptical regarding what we would see on this first day of October. I must share with you that we were blown away by the brilliant flowers and formidable plants that surrounded us. There are so many different gardens, fountains, and paths - it takes a good while to get around to everything one needs to see at Butchart Gardens! While the blooming season for the roses is over, everything else that we saw looked exquisite! All I kept thinking to myself was how much my mom would LOVE this place - she has such an interest in gardening, and I think she would be overwhelmed by all the vibrant colours of the bountiful flowers and the meticulous and aesthetically perfect gardens. I now feel like I have NO excuses for any weeds in my tiny little plot on York Street!
If you get the chance, you must go to Butchart Gardens!
And finally, we ended our time on Vancouver Island by making one of Dave's dreams come true - most likely every man's dream, in fact. What could it be: a Nascar race, a rodeo, or maybe a grand opening of a Home Depot? Not even close!
So, you ask, what did we do?
We spent the afternoon partaking in high tea at the Fairmont Empress!
And it was delightful.
Here's the thing: Dave was not particularly impressed with going to high tea. In fact, he asked me to see if I could befriend a sweet elderly lady on the streets of Victoria, and then ask her if she would join me for this quintessentially Victoria experience. That didn't go over so well.
So, it was with some guilt (on my part) that Dave joined me at the Empress. And, I have to say, we really had a lot of fun. The tea (21 varieties of loose-leaf to choose from) and food were delicious, the setting was divine, and the service was excellent! And, what I think sealed the deal for Dave was when the pianist started playing the theme song to "Downton Abbey" - BOTH of us love that show! Dave started talking to me as if he was Carson and I was Lady Mary and we got the giggles. It was a hoot. Well, a quiet hoot, as we were in a highly respectable setting!
Back then, they couldn't have eaten all that food in the afternoon - scones with jam and clotted cream, finger sandwiches and little desserts - and then had a formal supper, could they? We were stuffed!
And with that, we returned to our car and headed for the ferry, back to Vancouver and back to Roberto. How I wish Carson had been here to clean up the rv...
Hope you had a good rest, Roberto, as we're back on the road again tomorrow.
Until then,
your Roving Redhead xoxo
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