At 11am I was still wandering around in my nightgown , yawning and wondering just what I wanted to do. There were on and off rain showers so it seemed easy to just stay put.
Just as noon arrived I decided I needed to move so throwing on some clothes, grabbing the umbrellas we did a quick shop at the drug store and at the grocery.
Late lunch and then a walk to the library. Very light rain on the trip there but it was heavier on the way home.
Supper and now a lazy evening planned. Paul reading through his many magazines ( he loves the supply and variety at the library here) me either reading or flipping the TV once I'm done here.
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Just for fun I took some photos to show how well we've dug ourselves in here at Emily's place.
My computer, note book and day calendar on her computer desk 
Laundry hanging to dry in her bathroom. I think she owns even more plastic hangers than I do.
Her drying rack set up for the towels that now don't fit in the bathroom plus the extras I have from the kitchen, and hidden in there the bras I just hand washed in the kitchen sink.
The corner of her dresser that holds all the odds and ends I've bought or collected bagged for transport home and all our spare glasses. ...................................
Some observations:
Victoria seems to have well laid out and busy bus routes.
Victoria has a great variety of small restaurants, bakeries and of course coffee shops on almost every corner where people like to gather on patios.
Victoria doesn't have many tacky souvenir shops in the main tourist area, and I so wanted a tacky piggy bank to match my others picked up on travels.
Victoria has homeless sleeping under trees in parks and a lot of garbage pickers. They go through the bins on the street and they go into the bins behind apartment buildings looking for and collecting an astonishing number of cans and bottles ( deposits are charged on a number of items including the tetra packed orange juice I buy.)
No one in Victoria was born here. Well not the people I've talked to.... Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Ottawa and even South Africa.
Victoria stores like to use the word organic and locally grown. Most of the bakeries sell healthy stuff although you can find lots of decedent desserts.
Victoria sells less seafood than I had expected although all I've seen has been lovely and fresh.
Victoria has crosswalks everywhere and the car drivers recognize them and are quick to stop.
Victoria has lots of people out walking, lots of people on bikes and lots of people running pushing baby buggies. Not a lot of over weight people.
We've been here long enough to appreciate the areas around the apartment, we've discovered short routes to the places we visit most often, we've found some really good grocery stores and several decent wine shops, but we aren't ready to move here.
It can be seductive with the great weather we've been having, with the flowers and the festivals, with the friendly people we've met but you'd want to spend a winter, figure out how you could sell at home and afford to buy with the high prices here and you'd have to get used to paying just that little bit more than you're used to for just about everything.
3 comments:
Hiya,
We're looking to move to Victoria in Sept., but we are having some difficulty finding a place to stay...hmmm... Can we crash with you? ;)
Would you know what areas are good around downtown? I'll be working on Douglas St. Could you drop us a line if you see any available vacancies downtown (or the James Bay/Cook St. Village area)? :D
Any suggestions or words of wisdom about Victoria that we should be aware of?
konul...do you cook and clean? *grin*
Housing prices are high and rentals seem to be in short supply.
Gas prices are higher and traffic tie ups awful if you commute into Victoria.
Winter rain still beats southern Ontario winters
Good luck with your search. People who move here love it for the early springs, great colours, outdoor lifestyle, laid back living and and and.....
Elizabeth, that sounds like my sort of holiday day - one where you don't have to be anywhere, do anything and you can just enjoy being in a foreign (well, relatively) place.
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