Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Victoria is our last port of call.  I am sure that the following comments are not the only reason that our cruise ship ported here.  But there is a Federal law that says a "foreign" ship cannot go just from one U.S. port to other U.S. ports - somewhere along the route they have to stop at another country.  It was thought back then, that this would favor U.S. flagged ships.  But Victoria is also quite beautiful.  I have been here before, but I enjoyed seeing it through other's eyes. 

There were so many beautiful gardens, I had to take some photos.

We walked the 1 1/2 miles from the ship to the downtown.  The area has a lot of Victorian era homes.

Coming across this reminded me of the Netherlands and stories I have heard about being on one.

The Empress Hotel and downtown from across the water.

The Parliament Buildings.  Stephanie and I did the tour.

Just across the way from the Parliament is the tallest Bell Tower in Canada.

Inside the Empress.  There is a Tea Room in the lobby, as well as a restaurant and 464 rooms you could stay in.  In one room is the famous stained glass window. 

Next to the Empress Hotel is this landscape.

Ice cream is a favorite with this group.  We stopped at a place called Chocolats Favoris on Government street.

Time to head back to the ship.

Fishermen's Wharf from a distance.  We did not have time to explore it.

Going back to the ship - we will be heading back to San Francisco and then I will be flying home.  We were so lucky on this cruise.  We had extremely calm water the whole time.  Other than the first few days of cold and lots of wind, we ended up with beautiful weather most of the time.  I'll be heading back to New Mexico where the temperatures are close to 100 degrees!