We were a huge group and we all stayed at the Inn at Laurel point which is located on the inner harbour of the island. Our hotel was within walking distance to many attractions and eating joints.The whole place was decorated with magnificent X'mas lights, bringing about so much joy and happiness to the Yuletide.
Since we were all there in the cold month of December it was ridiculous to expect any scenic sights of nature. The winter had chilled the whole island along with mother nature and thank heavens we did not get snowed out! Inspite of being sufficiently clothed we at times found it difficult to weather the cold. What happens when it snows is anyone's guess. We had a night of -1degree C. I know, I know, for someone on the east coast of the US or anywhere other than California, this temp is really nothing. But we managed to keep warm and toasty most of the times by just chatting and how can I forget EATING! It is funny how we Indians think of food ever so often, and that is exactly what we were doing too. Yes, we have to eat too right? An Indian restaurant was our very first pick! We were surprised to see one in of all the places Victoria. Guess we Indians have really reached far and wide, for good or bad reasons depends on your perspective.
For me the best part of all was the horse ride. Good heavens, one look at the horses and you wonder what they are fed! Two adjectives that come to mind are : handsome and mammoth. I was excited like a child on seeing the horse driven carriages and could not contain my excitement when we all decided to go for a ride. Small things in life but they give me immense joy. And guess what, just so you don't feel overwhelmed by the bone chilling breeze that hits you when you are on the carriage, we were given really huge warm blankets to cover ourselves up with! These blankets belonged to the owners of the carriages I think but who cares really. Maybe the drivers ( all women by the way) hoped that travelers would come back for more and not have an excuse of feeling too cold when aboard the carriage. The sound of the horse shoe reminded of all our Bollywood evergreen classics- songs by OP Nayyar for instance which are famous for that horse shoe beat.
Words are not enough to describe what I felt that night on board that carriage. Wonderful, simply wonderful!
Our visit to Butchart Gardens was disappointing. Now before you jump to conclusions,let me tell you that we did not don our thinking hats when deciding to visiting this place ( I guess the cold was beginning to take its toll on our minds!!) The garden is at its best during fall and summer when the flowers are in full bloom and is absolutely breathtaking to behold. One reaching there the first thing we did was, er, go to the Cafe! With our stomachs full and bladders empty we were ready to be greeted with gorgeous flowers but lo! We walked and walked and walked only to see wild bushes and plants. There were very very few highly insignificant flowers which did catch our attention. How? you may ask, if they were insignificant. That is because I think they knew how utterly disappointed we all were and hence were trying to stretch themselves out from the amidst the bushes, to lift our dampened spirits. Thank you my petaled friends. Better luck next time eh!
One the whole the trip was fantastic. For all ye further inquiries you can visit :
http://www.vancouverisland.com/regions/towns/?townID=1
