So … you don’t want to eat breakfast at your Victoria hotel, and you want an authentic experience but, you’ve slept in a bit to enjoy the 11 AM checkout, and you realize (now that you have checked out of the hotel) that you are hungry. After a few internet searches, you decide to narrow our choices to these only because they are within driving distance of downtown and are not brand name places and had a website. Jam Cafe www.jamcafevictoria.com 542 Herald Street Shine Cafe www.shinecafe.ca 1548 Fort Street Blue Fox Cafe www.thebluefoxcafe.com 919 Fort Street John’s Place www.johnsplace.ca […]

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Hotel choices in Victoria can be a dilemma because to be downtown can lead you to tired hotels or the wildly overpriced. I’m a fan of the more boutique hotel option. As a result of a pleasant intersection of personal connection and chance my family had the opportunity to stay at the Oswego, which is a 1.5 block walk from Bellville Street, which leads you easily to the Inner Harbour and the BC Parliament buildings. We stayed on the top floor with stunning views, even on a grey day (see the photos) it’s a lovely view. You could really just […]

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The official name of the difficult to photograph Christmas Train in Stanley Park is called “Bright Nights Christmas Train in Stanley Park“. It’s great. You’d think it’s just a kids’ thing with all the tons of lights and Santa and elves and a train through the woods, but I recommend it for adults who want to sneak in a moment of feeling like a kid. There’s everything you need. Lights, popcorn, pretzels and donations to the burn BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund. The whole layout is far bigger and grander than you’d expect. Of course by now you have […]

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It’s a near tradition for our family to buy our discounted new calendars at Russell Books on Victoria‘s Fort Street shortly after New Year’s Day. Russell Books is unusual – it has every type of self-help book (Mindfulness for Dummies got me laughing) plus fiction and so forth. There are three floors, which are all only accessible from the outside. But there’s always a decent set of well-priced books. Fort St., running from Government to Cook streets, has an usual collection of shops. Antique Row is the 700 block where you can find treasures. However ‎right beside Russell’s is a […]

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At the 2014 Halloween Train, I happened to learn about squirrels. There was a booth operated by the Stanley Park Ecology Society. It was there that I learned that in the park are northern flying squirrels. I was shocked because I’d never heard of these before. And, there’s a reason. You are as likely to see one of these as you are a magical pixie. This is because they are nocturnal and live only in the high canopy. But of course it’s sad there are no moose in the park because then you could have more Rocky and Bullwinkle jokes. […]

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I’ve enjoyed The Stanley Park Halloween Ghost Train in past years, but there was something special this year. Maybe it was the teeming rain. Seriously, it was teeming rain and we were in the middle of an urban rain forest. Strangely the dark woods seemed to protect us, even though we were going to see something scary. Perhaps the side effect of the rain was a smaller crowd. About 15 of us convened and there simply wasn’t a crowd. It was 6 PM, which is prime family time. Most 6-year-olds are mush by 8 PM. Doing something scary after 8 […]

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Summer may be over, but the fall season of music has just begun. Check out these fantastic October music performances to keep the winter blues at bay. The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra has a number of performances lined up for their Fall Season. Music from the War Era: Great British Classics will be performed at the Orpheum Theatre on October.4th at 8 pm, October.5th at 2 pm, and October.6th at 8 pm. Principal Cello Ariel Barnes will be making his VSO concerto debut with a performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto. Location: Orpheum Theatre, 601 Smithe St, Vancouver, BC, V6B 3L4 VSO Chamber […]

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This past weekend saw my kid brother fly in from Edmonton with his girlfriend in an attempt to wine and dine Vancouver into her heart in a bid to persuade her to move ‘out west’. Arriving Thursday evening, I met them at the Yaletown Roundhouse Canada Line stop at 7:55pm, and immediately ventured (bags in tow) a block further into Yaletown for an 8:00 PM reservation at Minami , one of Vancouver’s more innovative Japanese restaurants. An extended fine dining experience ensued until the one hour time change served notice and it was time to retire, our bellies full and […]

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With the exception of banks, pharmacies and gas stations, Qualicum Beach is fairly brand free. This does not mean that there’s no shopping. There’s a lot of knick-knack, clothing stores, independent coffee shops like Bailey’s and perhaps the last video store in existence called Catacombs Video. A partial list is here: www.qualicumbeachdowntown.ca/p/shop.html We did find an antique store that had everything. Good quality antique glassware (it may be a rustic shop, but he knows his stuff) along with old LPs, some comic books and memorabilia from the 50s and 60s. There’s enough stuff to fill a man cave / basement […]

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Qualicum Beach is an unusual town in that its town centre is inland from its amazing seascape, which is right on Highway 19A, suitably called the Oceanside Route. (In fact the tourism board for the area was called Oceanside Tourism, but changed to Parksville Qualicum Beach Tourism. Oceanside is a bit generic, so I see why they made the change, but the romance is lost for me.) Along Highway 19A there is a series of accommodations that are perched on the water. One we stayed at was Buena Vista by the Sea, which has x oceanfront suites. Because of the […]

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