Elizabeth and Catherine in Victoria June 2011 part 2

C and Emily

 Wednesday June 15 -  Our day to visit the Royal BC Museum to see The Other Emily . Catherine is a real fan of Canadian painter Emily Carr and was not overly impressed with the exhibit but I learned more then I knew before, probably because C. was so will versed  and filled me in.

We considered wandering into other galleries but we seemed to have picked school trip day and the place was full of noisy children.    We went to lunch instead at Sam's Deli sharing a sandwich and salad headed to  -

 Murchie's again, this time for tea (C) and hot chocolate (me). 

We made our obligatory stop at Munro's "Canada's Most Magnificent Bookstore", then once more wander the shops on our walk home.  

do click to see the detail larger

 On Fort St. we passed a dressmaking store with this dress in the window.  Every time we went by we'd pause and admire the elegant simplicity of it's  design.  Catherine decided it would make a perfect wedding dress.

I did have the name of the shop and the designer but I lost it so I can't credit the maker.  She was a young woman who said the dress was inspired by the material.  Pure romance.

We arrived home at 3:30 having left at 10:30  and having been on our feet for most of the time took the opportunity to rest  until Emily joined us after work for coffee on the porch of the Moka House giving B-A a chance to ease her headache and Dom the chance to make our dinner.   Italian Eggs with Spinach Marinara over Polenta.    I should have taken a picture. But I did get the recipe.  



Recipe: Italian Eggs with Spinach Marinara over Polenta  with Dom's changes in red
My favorite way to make eggs is to poach them because of all the creamy egg yolk. If you don’t
like your eggs soft, all you need to do is cook it twice as long. Another option, after cooking the
eggs softly, place the entire mixture over the pan of polenta and back into the oven for 3 minutes

– sprinkle the cheese at the last minute.

Recipe Adapted From: Cooking Light.com Yield: 4 Servings Time: Total 15 minutes
Ingredients:

1 (16-ounce) tube of polenta, cut into 12 slices (About 1.5 cm ea)

2 cups tomato-basil pasta sauce (I used roasted garlic sauce, it mixes well with the taste)

1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach

4 large eggs 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Asiago cheese (I use old white cheddar)
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1. Preheat broiler.

2. Arrange polenta slices on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat tops of polenta with
cooking spray. Broil 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. (I cook the polenta for at least two to
three time as long as above (6 to 9 min), it makes it crispy.)

3. While polenta heats, bring sauce to a simmer in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
Stir in spinach; cover and cook for 1 minute or until spinach wilts. Stir to combine. Make 4
indentations in top of spinach mixture using the back of a wooden spoon. Break 1 egg into each
indentation. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until eggs are desired degree of
doneness. Sprinkle with cheese.

4. Place 3 polenta slices on each of 4 plates; top each serving with one-fourth of spinach mixture
and 1 egg.

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 Thursday June 16 -  Slow day.  I went out for groceries and had a wander through some of the shops on Cook St.    One new addition since my visit in 2008 is a  fresh seafood and butcher store.  The alleyway fruit and vegetable man is still there and seems to have added more flowers to his stock  and there have been some changes in the fast food vendors.     We spent time sat out on the balcony  reading.

The girls picked us up after work and we drove  to Capital Iron and then we walked to lululemon to exchange a shirt Cath. had picked up earlier in the visit for her husband.    Drove to  Fisherman's Wharf where Dom joined us for dinner by the water. Interesting fact: Cath. is the only one of us who has never seen a seal when visiting the wharf.      It was almost cold by the time we had finished eating our fish and chips so we we headed back to B-A and D's for some decadent hot chocolate.  It had lavender in it so I was told.  I did appreciate the real whipped cream and chocolate shavings on top!

a real treat

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Friday June 18 -   In a historic house behind the legislature is the Queen's Printer. A shop filled with maps, nature books and locally made crafts.   Certainly worth the visit.  From there we walked to the harbour front with the idea of doing something really touristy...visit The Undersea Gardens.  We arrived at the ticket booth only to discover we would have a 15 minute wait and there were no toilets in the building.   It was suggested we head to the ferry terminal and then return.   We headed to the Information Centre instead and after walking by a restaurant decided lunch was a much better idea.
We went to the Rebar for lunch in Bastion Square  and did a little shopping at the outdoor street market.

Movie night at Emily's.  We got subs and settled in to watch Narnia, Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

No photos today.  Sometimes the doing is more important than pulling out the camera.

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Saturday July 18 -  The girls had arranged a treat for us in advance ordering tickets for the theatre in Chemainus.

Emily, Beth-Anne, Catherine

View from the main st

Salads- including a seaweed one

Salmon main course

Little fang with dessert

After the buffet lunch served in the restuarant right in the theatre we went in to see Fiddler On The Roof.  The theatre is small so every seat is close to the stage.   I knew the songs but had never seen the show before.  The show was very professional with a multi-talented cast.  Most played more than one instrument and all had excellent singing voices.    Chemainus Theatre Festival

As was typical on our trip we headed off to the nearest coffee shop after wandering some of the shops.  We all bought something at the candy store stop.

Unfortunately Catherine developed a tooth problem yesterday that while slowing her down today  didn't stop her.   By the time we returned home she was ready to take another pain killer and crawl into bed.      I joined the others for a spaghetti dinner that Dom had ready for us.  

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Sunday June 19 -  Late morning wander downtown to do some

shopping with the kids.    Beth-Anne and Dom waited patiently outside one of the souvenir shops while C. Em and I browsed.

We ate lunch at the Irish Times Pub.   I had the Seafood club:Bacon, lettuce, tomato, smoked garlic aioli, apple chutney, grilled salmon on panini with prawn garnish that came with a side bowl of clam chowder.  Tried a Lime Shandy, beer and lime juice.  I'd order the meal again but not bother with the drink.

Cath. likes to read local news

After visiting and buying at the Sunday Market at Centennial Square  we ended up at the coffee shop the girls frequent  after yoga classes.  Is there a shop in town these kids have missed?  Wild was totally different with it's rustic furniture.  The arms of the chairs were the perfect size for holding cups and saucers.  Good coffee.

Playing with some settings on my camera ...

...so I could find the self-timer

Cath. and I left the others at a grocery store buying supplies for dinner and after getting a little lost ( first time for everything ) headed home.

Light salad meal for dinner, cantaloupe and prosciutto ham served with fresh bread, once again put together for us by the young ones.  It really was nice being so well looked after.  No meal planning, no cooking, no cleaning up.

Our girls holiday easily opened up to include Dom.   Didn't take me long after Emily arrived to start calling us- The Four Hers and a Him. 

Monday June 20 -  Thanks to an online search by the girls Catherine saw a dentist this morning. His office was just around the corner from the apartment and after he checked her, took some X rays and wrote her a prescription for an antibiotic we sat in yet another coffee shop waiting for her pills.    It all went smoothly and cost far less then we had expecting.

Tucked C. into bed to rest, grabbed my phone, my water bottle and my camera and headed to Beacon Hill Park.   This poppy had caught my eye every time I walked by the house next door.   I bought some seeds at the Moss Street Market and hopefully I'll have some growing in my garden next year.

A block away from home and into the park

One of the larger water areas. 

Pretty flowers always catch my attention,

as do cute baby ducks

There are quite a number of peacocks in the park and they are tame enough to get quite close.

This doesn't begin to show the brilliant colours.  

The park borders Dallas Rd where we sat earlier on our holiday.  This time I took a long walk along the paved path stopping often to admire the views.

Clouds over the Olympus Mountains across the water in Washington State

Looking down the cliff to the shoreline

do click to enlarge for a better view

Whale watching boats passing.   Lucky shot with the sailboats also in the frame.

Filling our faces.

Walked the park again later in the day with the others.  Time for dinner at the Beacon Drive Inn.  The medication seems to be working for Cath. already.  Burgers weren't the best but the company couldn't have been better!

 

Sisters on holiday.

As impressive as the front view

More peacocks.  This one gave us quite a show. What we discovered as we got closer were the ducks trying to steal it's dinner.

After much fluttering and advancing on the peacocks part, the ducks retreated.

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 Tuesday June 21 -  Our last full day.   Catherine never misses a trip to Craigdarroch Castle when visiting her girls.   She is quick to notice changes and additions.  I was wowed again by the wood work in the hall and staircase.  Do visit the link for pictures better than I could have taken.

Now this was worth a shot.  I wouldn't mind a toilet roll holder like this

We picked up a soft drink  and a Rogers Chocolate treat each in the gift shop and found  a bench in the shade in the Government House gardens that are open to the public before our walk home. 

Neither one of us wants to leave yet but holidays can't last forever.   The girls were surprised at how few tourist attractions we visited but both of us have been in the city before and this trip was about spending time together doing different things.     We tried on hats at one store, C. tried on glass frames in a funky little retro shop and after rejecting ones that were more suited to Elton John bought an attractive pair that she will use with her next prescription. We laughed, we talked, we walked...oh how we walked.    We shopped.   We ate out, we spent time with the girls.   I spent more time in coffee shops than ever before and still didn't learn the proper ordering language.     We discovered that even after all these years we can live together easily.

Emily came over to help us sort and pack all the things we bought.  Some for ourselves and some for family waiting our return.    We managed without having to borrow any extra cases.    Beth-Anne made us a curried Chicken dish for our final dinner.

 Catherine and her girls were a delight and I'll happily repeat this kind of holiday given half a chance.

 

           

                                             

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  Wednesday June 22 -  After breakfast we pulled our suitcase to the front hall then headed out for a last walk around the neighbourhood.   We had become quite comfortable, loving the ability to walk everywhere and the pleasant weather.    Picking up a last frappaccino  we sat on the balcony of Em's place and waited for Dom to come pick us up for our flight home.   

It went quickly as all holidays do but thinking back there is nothing I missed doing or a place I wished we had visited.    It wasn't the kind of holiday I would have had with Paul but that was the point.   I am so glad we went together and that Catherine's girls were so welcoming.  You too Dom.

Catherine has been to her own dentist and all is now well.