Vancouver Trip - Day 9

TIMELINE

• 10:30 a.m. Breakfast - Jonathan's Restaurant
• 11:00 a.m. Royal British Columbia Museum
• Noon IMAX 4K Laser film - The Search for Life in Space
• 1:45 p.m. Lunch - Puerto Vallarta Amigos Food Truck (Behind museum)
• 5:00 p.m. Dinner - Fairmont Empress Hotel (High Tea)
• 6:00 p.m. Royal BC Museum
• 9:30 p.m. Leave museum
• 9:45 p.m. Hotel

NOTES

• Decided not to go to Butchart Gardens due to 5:00 p.m. tea time and rain
• Royal British Columbia Museum
• High quality exhibits, both natural history and modern history
• Our Living Languages and First Peoples exhibits/galleries outstanding
• Exhibitions:
• Terry Fox: Running to the Heart of Canada
• Our Living Languages: First Peoples' Voices in BC
• Natural History Galleries
• First Peoples Galleries
• Modern History Galleries
• Food
• Jonathan's Restaurant
• Oatmeal, side of potatoes
• Stuffed French toast with strawberries and brie
• Puerto Vallarta Amigos Food Truck
• Bean and cheese burrito
• Chicken burrito, root beer
• Fairmont Empress High Tea
• Savory
• Smoked Salmon On Blini - Classically presented with avocado cream cheese and pickled red onion garnish
• Hand Peeled Local Shrimp - Ginger lemon mascarpone, seaweed cone
• English Cucumber On Rye - Heirloom cucumbers from sunwing farms, fennel pollen, dill cream cheese
• Coronation Chicken On Brioche - Chicken breast, red pepper, red onion, almonds, pineapple; originally served for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and still a favourite at Buckingham Palace
• Signature Empress Warm Raisin Scones - House made clotted cream with strawberry lavender preserve
• Sweet
• Rooibos Provence & Hazelnut Delice - Rooibos tea infused provence served on a soft, local hazelnut delice
• Lemon Poppy Shortbread - A favourite of Lady Sarah Armstrong Jones, Princess Margaret's daughter
• Etenia Passion Fruit Cremeux Tart - Empress signature etenia chocolate with a balanced passionfruit cream centre
• Okanagan Apple & Crown Royal Spice Cake - Local blackberry butter frosting tops this classic royal spice cake
• Berry Pistachio Daisy - White chocolate cup filled with pistachio cream topped with fresh berries
• Tea
• Rose Congou Emperor - Five times layered with rose petals. A favorite of Princess Diana.
• Joie de Provence - An organic herbal rooibus tea. Fruity ripe berry notes balanced with mild lavender.

Vancouver Trip - Day 8

TIMELINE

• 9:55 a.m. Tim Horton's #2467 - Breakfast
• 10:15 a.m. Rexall drug store - anti-dizziness pills
• 11:00 a.m. Lucky Osaka Sushi at Pacific Central Station - Lunch
• 11:45 a.m. Depart on BCF Connector bus
• 12:45 p.m. Arrive at Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, board ferry
• 1:25 p.m. BC Ferries Spirit of Vancouver Cafeteria - Lunch
• 2:35 p.m. Arrive Swarz Bay, depart ferry on bus
• 3:20 p.m. Arrive Victoria, depart bus, walk to hotel
• 3:30 p.m. Check-in at Royal Scot Hotel & Suites
• 4:00 p.m. Beacon Hill Park walk
• 6:45 p.m. Swan's Brew Pub - Dinner
• 7:35 p.m. Rocky Mountain Chocolate - Dessert
• 8:00 p.m. Hotel
• 10:00 p.m. Asleep

NOTES

• Took Fairmont Hotel Vancouver elevator to top floor, giving us a view of several gargoyles, a grand piano which Dawn briefly played, and a closed-off roof restaurant, but not much else
• Rose 31 perfuming body lotion a Dawn favorite
• Someone discarded their IROS 2017 tote bag on a fire hydrant outside the hotel
• Beacon Hill Park has flowers, ponds, fountains, ducks & geese, an overlook of the bay, a cricket pitch, and the world's largest totem pole
• Neither guidebook seems to say much about Victoria, so sort of winged it; used the Lonely Planet app to help narrow down what to see, but not much
• British Columbia Parliament Buildings and front fountain illuminated at night
• Horse-drawn carriages make clip-clopping noises through our windows
• Watched the Johnson Street Bridge open to allow a ship to pass
• Went to The Drake first, but found food selection not to our taste
• Munro's Books - Phoebe and Her Unicorn series has a new book which caught our eye, as did a new Sarah's Scribbles book, but we decided we didn't need more books to lug around...might buy when we get back
• Passed Bastion Square arch
• Almost all stores closed by 5:00 p.m. ... that was our running joke
• Pacific Central Station has columns in front and vestigial technology like empty phone booths inside; architecture of a different era (I liked it)
• Accosted by vendor wanting to show us the "eighth wonder of the world", which irritated Dawn further when he said, "How can you dismiss it like that?"
• Food:
• Tim Horton's - oatmeal (maple, berry), side of hasbrowns, pumpkin spice latte
• Lucky Osaka Sushi at Pacific Central Station - Veggie roll
• Central Station Cappuccino Bar - espresso shot, banana 
• BC Ferries Spirit of Vancouver Cafeteria - Veggie burger, fries, root beer
• Swan's Brew Pub - bacon mac & cheese, veggie panini & fries
• Rocky Mountain Chocolate - Chocolate covered brownie on a stick with M&M topping