Canadian Rockies, part 2

Alright, enough procrastinating. I just have to go through the pictures and decide which of the many that I took that I want to show. So as not to bore you, I'll do several each day.

We started our trip by flying direct to Vancouver, BC and then took a connecting flight to Victoria.

We stayed at this elegant hotel, well known for its grandeur and fabulous high tea, of which we partook.  It was the first of several Fairmont Hotels, this one called The Empress.

Another view of the hotel.  See that blue, blue sky?  It was that way for our whole trip, gorgeous crystal clear weather with cool mornings, warm afternoons and not a drop of rain.  We were so lucky!

The hotel was right across the street from the harbor.



One of the things that you must do while in Victoria is visit the Butchart Gardens.  It was amazing!  Below are just a sampling of the umpteen pictures I took.

I took a lot of pictures of unusual color combinations, like this orange and purple that looked so good together.

This is a close-up of the Monkey Puzzle Tree below.

This fountain changed shaped and sometimes looked like a butterfly or angel.

The Sunken Garden was originally a stone quarry.  

A glen filled with shade loving plants.

Not only were there amazing displays in the Gardens, but there were flower beds all around the city. This one was just on a street corner near our hotel and it garnered a lot of attention. The fish were all made of plant material.

Tomorrow I'll try to post about Vancouver.  I have a busy day and a dinner party here, but I'll try to squeeze it in.