September 1, 2025

Kamloops > Victoria, British Columbia

Good morning. This is going to be another long travel day. 444 km, plus a ferry ride from Tsawwassen on the mainland to Swartz Bay on Victoria Island. The morning started by walking to the the Starbucks at Lansdowne and 3rd streets. I managed to get there just before they opened at 05:30. I got us each and sandwich and coffee and/or tea.

Bus departure is at 07:30 with bag loading at 07:00. I got back to the hotel well before 07:00, gave Mary her coffee and got the bags down to the bus by the 07:00 deadline. The bus pulled away from the hotel before it had gone 07:30.

We got to the ferry terminal just as the clock had gone noon, which fortunately was the exact same time as opened the lanes for the 13:00 ferry. Fortunately there is a large waiting area at the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal. It has a Starbucks and several other places to get food. We had our own food, being people who prepare for the possibility that something may not be available or potentially nothing we want.

We started boarding the ferry about 12:30. We all had to be on the bus for them in order to load the bus on the ferry. Once on the ferry we had to leave the bus and go to the passengers lounge. We say one which has a fairly large one but ti was full of people and long lines to get something to eat.

However at the other end of the boat we found a lounge which costs CA$6. The CA$6 covers all the tea, coffee and soft drinks you wanted. There was alcohol available but you had to buy food to be entitled to buy alcohol. Mary wanted a glass of wine, so we bought cheese and meat tray. She got here glass of wine.

This was a very nice lounge and there was a large table for playing cards, which is exactly what we did. The ferry ride is about ninety minutes once the ferry gets going. It was enough time to play a whole canasta game.

The ferry docked at Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island just about 14:30. There is one optional excursion today, a trip to Butchart Gardens. We have been to Butchart Gardens several times and really enjoy the floral display of the gardens. We got there about 15:00 and were told we would have two hours to enjoy the garden, although we know you really need a little more time than that to see the whole garden. It should be pointed out that the gardens area a Canadian National Historic Site.  

The history of the gardens revolves around Robert and Jennie Butchart. Robert began manufacturing Portland cement in 1888. He eventually came to Vancouver Island and opened a limestone quarry near Brentwood Bay.

In 1904 Robert and Jennie built a home near his quarry on Tod Inlet at the base of the Saanich Peninsula about 20 km from Victoria. Jennie commissioned Isaburo Kishida, a sixty-five-year-old garden designer from Yokohama, Japan to build Japanese style gardens for their estates including Butchart Gardens.

By 1909 the limestone quarry near Brentwood Bay was exhausted. Jennie set about truing the old limestone quarry into what is now known as the Sunken Garden. The Sunken Garden was completed in 1921. They named their home “Benvenuto” (welcome in Italian), and began to received visitors to their home and garden.

Sunken Garden

In 1909, when the limestone quarry was exhausted, Jennie set about turning it into the Sunken Garden, which was completed in 1921. They named their home "Benvenuto" ("welcome" in Italian), and began to receive visitors to their gardens. In 1926, they replaced their tennis courts with an Italian garden and in 1929 they replaced their kitchen vegetable garden with a large rose garden to the design of Butler Sturtevant of Seattle. Samuel Maclure, who was consultant to the Butchart Gardens, reflected the aesthetic of the Renaissance Era and the English Arts and Crafts Movement.

In 1939, the Butcharts gave the Gardens to their grandson Ian Ross (1918–1997) on his 21st birthday. Ross was involved in the operation and promotion of the gardens until his death 58 years later.

In 1953, miles of underground wiring were laid to provide night illumination, to mark the 50th anniversary of The Gardens. In 1964, the ever-changing Ross Fountain was installed in the lower reservoir to celebrate the 60th anniversary.  It is said that the gardens were used as the inspiration for the gardens at the Canadian pavilion at Epcot Centre in Orlando. In 1994, the Canadian Heraldic Authority granted a coat of arms to the Butchart Gardens. In 2004, two 30-foot (9.1 m) totem poles were installed to mark the 100th anniversary, and The Gardens were designated as a national historic site of Canada.

Ownership of The Gardens remains within the Butchart family; the owner and managing director since 2001 is the Butcharts' great-granddaughter Robin-Lee Clarke.  

We walked through the gardens, stopped for an ice cream at a gelato stand in the Italian Garden, then walked though the gift shop. Then we walked out to the bus staging area, loaded the bus and headed into Victoria. Along the way we drove though Victoria’s Chinatown.

Victoria’s Chinatown is the oldest Chinatown in Canada and the second oldest in North America, after San Francisco. It began roughly in 1858 with a mass influx of miners from California. It is still inhabited by many of their descendants. There are a number of ornate Chinese design buildings, a pair of stone lions and an entrance gate which is more elaborate than San Francisco Chinatown’s gate.

We then drove along the Wharf Street, and then down government street past the Empress Hotel and Government House. We drove all the way down Governement Street until we got to Dallas Road, where we turned and drove along the waterfront. Finally ending up at our hotel on Quebec Street. Tonight, and tomorrow night, we are staying at the Royal Scot Hotel and Suites. They had a man dressed in a kilt in front of the hotel when we arrive playing the bagpipes. Although as anyone know, it takes and Irishman to play the pipes.

We got settled in the room and decided to head to the supermarket and get a few things for dinner. Just down Menzies Street there is a Red Door market which has a good select of items at reasonable price. We got a few things and headed back to the hotel. We ate dinner and chilled out for a while before going to bed.

Buonanotte e Ciao,

Enrico e Maria