As I didn't have to work on Good Friday and Easter Monday I decided to spent the Easter weekend in Victoria, the provincial capital of BC. I got up relatively early on Friday, had some coffee at Starbucks (that really got a habit over here ;)) and headed to Tsawwassen, where the ferry terminal is. That took me almost 2 Hours to get there and I just made it in time to catch ferry at 11am. The ferry cruise was magnificient as the weather was superb and the atmosphere on the open sea is something I've always enjoyed. A group of seagulls accompanied us all the way to Swartz Bay, the ferry terminal on Vancouver Island. There we (i.e. me and the major part of the app. 400 passengers) were stuck as there were only two (!) busses to get us down to Victoria which is an hour's drive. So we had to wait almost two hours before one of the busses finally came back to pick us up. The drive itself was very enjoyable as the landscape on Vancouver Island is particularly beautiful on the one hand and I generally enjoy everything that's new to me on the other hand. I just had to call the owner of the b&b where I planned to stay and tell him I wouldn't make it in time.
The owner of the b&b, Jim, is a nice. elderly man who warmly welcomed me in his b&b-house. The accommodation itself was incredibly nice. It was a house probably built in the late 19th century, completely jammed with all kinds of pictures (painted by the owners daughter), dolls and all that stuff. My room was tiny but perfectly clean. Honestly, the bathroom was as clean as I've never before seen a bathroom to be. Not even in the four-star hotel in Vancouver it was half as clean.
I spent most of the weekend strolling around in downtown Victoria, had a look at the shops, spent some time in Munro's book store, a book store of the old kind with wooden shelfs and calm classic music played in the background. If the weather had not been that beautiful, I would have spent all day in there. Instead I just bought a book, went down to the Inner Harbour, sat down on the stairs, read the book, listened to the street musicians, talked to a few of them and enjoyed my time to the fullest. I felt so completely relaxed and at ease.
I could endlessly go on like this but to put it in anutshell I had a wonderful holiday and a great time. And one thing is sure: for me Victoria once more! (in May/June with my brother)
