Victoria

Emily Carr's painting of what to me looks like the beach right down the road from her house

Queen Victoria has a lot to answer for. I grew up in Victoria Estate, Carrickfergus; I attended Victoria Primary School; I currently live in Melbourne, in the State of Victoria, Australia and for the last couple of days I've been in the pleasant and very picturesque town of Victoria, British Columbia. All these Victorias have their own charms but I think Victoria, Canada is perhaps the loveliest and certainly the gentlest. A beautiful harbour, stunning central buildings around this harbour, quaint neighbourhoods that you can stroll around in a day and a great clifftop walk out along Dallas Road. I've uploaded a couple of photographs I took with my battered 4th gen Ipod and to the right is a painting by Emily Carr the artist whose home I visited and saw fine examples of her work (which reminded me a little of Caspar David Friedrich). 
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I travelled up to Victoria on the fast (30 knots) catamaran service from Seattle and a very pleasant journey it was too. Because you go through international waters you could actually have the journey pay for itself if you bought two or three cartons of duty free cigarettes and a couple of bottles of whisky. Alas on the way up I didn't see any orcas but if you stand out the back with the smokers and the loners contemplating suicide you can see spectacular scenery all the way...

Emily Carr's house on Government Street

the Empress Hotel famed for its high teas (not a selling point in my book). I did like the Mansard roof though

The Dallas Road clifftop trail. To the left is the Juan de Fuca Strait and the Olympic Mountains in
Washington. It wouldnt photograph on my ipod but the beach looks just like the Emily Carr painting above