Happy Friday! We made it through another week. I am so happy to be back home and in my normal routine. It has felt so good to eat healthy and work out on a normal schedule this week.
A couple of weeks ago, we spent a long weekend in up in the Pacific Northwest. We spent a little bit of time in Seattle and then ventured up to Victoria, BC. It was the perfect time of the year to visit both of these cities. The weather was 70 degrees and sunny the entire time! If only Houston could be like that every day…..
We flew into Seattle Friday morning so that we could have some time to explore in the afternoon. We walked around the Pike Place Market for a couple of hours and tried some of the famous Beecher’s cheese. The market was absolutely nuts on a Friday afternoon! I couldn’t believe all the people. It probably didn’t help that it was a beautiful day and there was a Seahawks game about to start down the street.
I didn’t think the Beecher’s Mac and Cheese was anything special, but then again, I am not a big mac and cheese fan to begin with. It was really crowded in Beecher’s, so add in a few minutes of cushion if you plan to visit!
After walking around the market, we walked along the pier and took some pictures. Then we walked all the way to the Edgewater Hotel for a cocktail. It was so nice to enjoy the beautiful weather and take in the scenery.
For dinner, we went to Salty’s on Alki Beach. This restaurant the best view of the city and some amazing seafood. I ordered scallops and Alex ordered this delicious tuna.
On Saturday morning, we woke up and took a sea plane to Victoria, BC. The sea plane only takes about 45 minutes, so it was a super quick ride. I thought I was going to be a little nervous, but I felt completely comfortable and the ride was really smooth.
I will do a separate post to talk more about the sea plane adventure, but I would definitely recommend giving it a try if you aren’t afraid of flying. The views you get to see on the plane are worth it!
Once we got to Victoria, we walked over to our hotel to check in. We chose to stay at the Victoria Marriott Inner Harbour since I had Marriott points to use. Another great thing about this hotel is that we were able to walk everywhere. We never once had to take a cab or Uber!
We didn’t have any scheduled plans until the afternoon, so we decided to get a coffee and walk around. We did so much walking on Saturday, but I loved it! We walked over to the Parliament to see it and take a picture even thought it isn’t open the weekends. Isn’t this building amazing?
After visiting the Parliament, we walked over to Fisherman’s Wharf. Fisherman’s Wharf is really neat because it has tons of float houses that are very colorful and bright.
After walking around all morning, we decided to stop and get lunch at Red Fish Blue Fish. This place was highly rated, so we thought we needed to give it a try. It is basically an outdoor food shack that serves fish and chips.
When we got there around 11:30, the line was already really long. We ended up waiting about 30-40 minutes, but the time went by fast since it was nice outside. What I love about this place is that you can sit down and watch the sea planes land in the harbor. It’s the perfect place for a casual lunch outside.
After lunch, we still had some time to kill, so we walked to the other side of Victoria where Chinatown is located. It was a really neat area with tons of authentic shops and restaurants. Another cool thing to see over there is Fan Tan Alley – it is the narrowest street in all of Canada! There are also shops and ice cream parlors located within the alley.
After walking around Chinatown for a bit, we made our way to the Fairmont Empress Hotel for afternoon tea. When I was researching and planning our trip to Victoria, everyone mentioned that you had to have tea at The Empress.
This hotel is both beautiful and historic. They have been serving English tea for over a century, so it is amazing that they are still keeping the tradition alive today.
I was blown away by the beauty and character of the tea room. I felt like I was in London having tea in an authentic English setting.
Right after we sat down, we got to choose what type of tea we wanted. I picked the tea that Princess Diana used to drink. It was delicious! The tea is served alongside a beautiful tray of sandwiches, scones and desserts. There was so much food – we could have shared with 10 people!
As you can see from the photo, we also had an option to add champagne to our afternoon tea. There was no way we were passing this up! It fit right in with the tea and treats.
The tea was definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip. If you go to Victoria, this a must do!
After we finished up tea time, we walked around a bit more so we could burn off some of those treats. Eventually, it came time for dinner and we stumbled across the 10 Acres Commons. We noticed this place while walking around – it looked like it had a great vibe and some prime outdoor seating for people watching. Also, the menu was right up our alley for food choices – they had a great variety.
We ended up getting some fish tacos and a couple of sushi rolls to share. It was all great! We ended up staying at this restaurant later into the evening. Eventually, they started handing out blankets since it got cold at night, so I was definitely in my happy place. I thought they were going to have to kick me out!
After leaving the restaurant, we walked back over to the Parliament building because we wanted to see it lit up at night. It was absolutely breathtaking.
The next morning, we woke up and walked to brunch at this cute place called Nourish. I liked this place because the menu was centered around healthy, gluten-free and vegan choices. Everything we had tasted so fresh. It was the perfect spot for us to sit and relax on a Sunday morning.
After brunch, we started making our way to the harbor for our whale watching excursion. We booked a tour through the Prince of Whales. I saw that they had a package where you could do whale watching and the Butchart Gardens. We thought this would be perfect for us since we wanted to do both activities!
The views we experienced on the boat ride were absolutely breathtaking. I couldn’t believe how beautiful the scenery was.
We ended up seeing 3-4 humpback whales on the excursion and it was really neat. I can’t believe how big these animals are. Alex got a really good shot of the whale in this photo below. It was so hard to time it because we never knew when they were going to come back up for air!
Overall, we had a great time on the boat ride. It was a little chilly on the water, but we wore the right clothes! Definitely be sure to pack a jacket if you plan on doing this.
Towards the end of the excursion, the boat dropped us off at the Butchart Gardens. This was another one of those must see items in Victoria. I couldn’t believe how big the gardens were and how everything looked so perfect.
It was incredible. We didn’t take many pictures because we were too busy taking it all in. Just trust me when I say you have to see it!
Once we made it back to our hotel, we decided to freshen up and get some dinner. We walked over to the Canoe Brewpub for dinner. They were located right along the waterfront and had some amazing beer selections. It’s always fun to try the local craft brews when you go to a new city.
We were starving by the time we got there, so we ordered some messy fries as a starter. They were SO GOOD. I mean, let’s be honest, who doesn’t like fries?
After a fun dinner at the brewery, we made our way back to the 10 Acres Commons for one more drink before calling it a night. We seriously liked that place so much that we had to go back one more time! They remembered us from the night before and they were happy we came back! I love how even though we were tourists, they still remembered us like we were locals.
The next morning, we took the sea plane back to Seattle. We were on a bigger sea plane on the way back and it was still just as fun!
Alex got this really cool shot as we were making our final approach into Seattle. I thought it was a really neat photo since you can see the entire Seattle skyline.
We had a little bit of time to kill before heading to the airport, so we decide to check out the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room. I had never heard of this place, but Alex, being the coffee snob that he is, said that he wanted to check it out. I had no idea what to expect, but I was actually pretty impressed with this place!
The place had a really great atmosphere and you could order some really fancy coffee drinks that you can’t find at a normal Starbucks. Our favorite was the Americano Con Crema (pictured on the left). It was delicious and 10 times better than a pumpkin spice latte.
After grabbing a quick bite for lunch, we headed to the airport and went to Minneapolis to visit Alex’s family (since we couldn’t get home due to Hurricane Harvey).
Overall, the trip was fantastic, and I would go back to Victoria in a heartbeat. It is such a charming little city, the people were nice and the weather was even better!
Have you ever been to Victoria? What did you think of the city? Let me know your recommendations in the comments below!
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