Yes, I enjoy a bit of wordplay. (Yeah, I’m a nerd. 🤓) Vivifying means refreshing and enlivening and my recent trip to Victoria, BC certainly fits that description.

Prior to this past August, I had only been in Victoria British Columbia for a grand total of six hours, including two hours at Butchart Gardens, in 2013. That was just enough time to visit the gardens briefly, go to the Royal BC Museum, and have an ice cream cone downtown. After I got there in 2013, I realized that six hours was not nearly enough time to spend in Victoria. In fact, the readers of the popular travel publication Condé Nast Traveler voted Victoria “The Best City in the World” in 2023. Victoria made three other top ten lists in the same reader survey, including the number 3 city for the friendliest people. That’s high praise! I knew in 2013 I had visited a very special place and knew I had to go back to spend more time there. See the link below for more details about the 2023 results of the Condé Nast Traveler reader survey.

https://www.tourismvictoria.com/conde

I made my way to Victoria via a fast ferry boat called the Victoria Clipper from Seattle. The ferry goes to and from Seattle and Victoria several times per day, weather allowing. The trip takes about 3 hours one way, but it’s a pleasant ride. There are different seating categories with restrooms on board and food and drinks available for purchase. Large windows allow for scenic views most of the time. My trip from Seattle to Victoria, however, contained various views of fog, sometimes heavier or lighter. A few photos for reference below.

Luckily, we arrived at the dock in Victoria on time and well rested. I was able to check into The Doubletree hotel in Victoria and received a room with a balcony on the 15th floor. While I wasn’t able to see the harbor from my room, the views of the city were enchanting.

I had arranged for a pedicab tour shortly after I arrived in Victoria. My goal was to see the city and get my bearings on the first day. It turned out to be the perfect plan! My pedicab driver, Kieran, at the Victoria Pedicab company was super and picked me up at my downtown hotel.

Kieran took me all over Victoria in a pedicab (transport consisting of a covered cart with an electric bike attached, although he did have to peddle sometimes!). He took me all over downtown Victoria, Chinatown, and the harbor area, all while providing lively and fun commentary and conversation. He was fun to chat with and we both discovered we enjoy reading books, particularly of the fantasy genre. This was not an ordinary tour. We discussed politics, history, economics, both of our educational backgrounds and aspirations and more.

In fact, I enjoyed the tour so much I booked another tour with him for the last afternoon I was in Victoria. During that tour he pedaled me around historical neighborhoods including Beacon Hill Park, the Craigdarroch Castle, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Emily Carr House, the Beacon Hill Totem Pole, and much more. He brought me to Confederation Garden Court and quizzed me on the names and locations of Canadian provinces and I was able to come up with all but one. He helped a little, but said I did much better than most folks not from Canada. I was pleased the geography classes I’ve taken in my life came in handy! 😉⬇️

Along the way we saw numerous deer, fairy houses, historic homes, little free libraries, churches, and landmarks, government buildings, parks, and beautiful walkways and beaches along the coast. We even saw some totem poles and a tree full of tea cups along the way!

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Monkeypod tree branches. Razor sharp! ⬆️🥴

He also took me to two great shops in downtown Victoria. The first was Roger’s Chocolates, the oldest chocolate shop in British Columbia, Canada. The shop has a unique, historic interior, as well as FABULOUS chocolates! The shop was opened in 1903 and is still doing a great business today. It is still privately owned by Canadian families. Click on the link below for more info, plus I’ve included a few photos. Of course I bought chocolates!

https://www.rogerschocolates.com/

The second shop Kieran took me to was a super cool independent bookstore called Munro’s Books in downtown Victoria on National Book Lover’s Day. I bought his favorite fantasy book to read for myself. The bookstore was awesome and even included a Lego replica of the store. A staff member pointed it out. So fun!

https://www.munrobooks.com/

I enjoyed the intelligent conversation and entertaining tours immensely! I wish Kieran great success in his future endeavors. Plus I’m looking forward to reading the book he recommended! 📖

Victoria is indeed a lovely and friendly city. I would go back in a heartbeat. While I was there for three days, there is still so much I would like to explore. Condé Nast Traveler readers got it right! More photos below… ⬇️ I can’t help myself!

And if ever get to Victoria, British Columbia you MUST DO two things. Go for a whole day (if possible) to Butchart Gardens and take a tour with Kieran or one of his colleagues at the Victoria Pedicab Company!