Victoria’s newest offering in the realm of tea is Terroir Tea Merchant on Fort Street. In one of a row of my favourite retail spaces in Victoria, Terroir has created a calm retreat of tea experience. Their passion for their product is immediately evident. We enjoyed Black Ruby from Taiwan, and Ceylon Chai blended in house with spices and tea leaves from Sri Lanka, both infused with their interesting method. A wonderful addition to the increasingly fabulous 800 block of Fort Street.
Tea is big in Victoria again. We’ve never lacked places to purchase high-quality tea – Special Teas, Silk Road, Murchies. But now, there are increasing options for sitting down for a fine cuppa. Recently, a friend and I stopped at one of our favourite Oak Bay haunts, Just Matcha. They will be opening a new location in our neighbourhood soon. My latte was very pretty, as well as delicious. Like so much of Victoria’s food culture, tea inspires a passionate dedication to quality and preparation.
Before I am fully involved in seeking out new venues for my seasonal hot chocolate obsession, I will be visiting some of the fine tea purveyors in the city.
Just a shot of the lovely harbour on a sunny November day…
A new and amazing experience yesterday. A friend and I flew from Victoria’s Inner Harbour to Coal Harbour in Vancouver on Harbour Air. I have moderate flying anxiety and never thought I would be able to travel to Vancouver this way, but it was so easy and such a beautiful flight. We arrived in Vancouver before 9 am, so took our time wandering up to Robson Street. After a browse at the new Nordstrom Department Store (including a delicious visit to Sugarfina), we headed to Roche Bobois on West Hastings. It was fabric and furniture heaven going through all the possibilities. Then a nice walk through Gastown, filled with tourists and locals eating in cafes and enjoying the summer-like autumn day. We finished the day at one of my favourite Vancouver places, Mink Chocolate Cafe, for refreshment before boarding the float plane back to Victoria. A very late lunch at Victoria’s Red Fish Blue Fish completed a perfect day. Big thanks to J for bringing me along; a day I’ll not soon forget!
Victoria BC: Inner Harbour, downtown and Beacon Hill Park.
Victoria Airport in Sidney.
BC Ferries vessel sailing into Swartz Bay.
Gulf Islands.
Morning mists over Delta.
Beautiful English Bay and False Creek with the Granville Street and Burrard Street bridges, Vanier Park at the top left, and the West End at the top right. A perfect view of Vancouver.
Beautiful Coal Harbour at the Harbour Air terminal.
Early morning view of the Vancouver Convention Centre.
An interesting curtain of lights at Nordstrom.
Heading east along Alexander Street with views of the working harbour.
Delicious hot chocolate and treats at Mink.
Looking back up the Burrard Inlet toward where we had been earlier.
Last view of the Coal Harbour walkway as we head to our plane back to Victoria.
What promise this month brings! Crisp cool air, foggy mornings, rich warm colours, cozy sweaters, lovely bicycle rides through the falling leaves, hot chocolate, pumpkin pie, thankful hearts…
The first signs of autumn were visible as I walked through downtown and into Beacon Hill Park. A few trees are turning colour and even shedding their leaves already; and, the air is cool and almost foggy. My favourite time of year!
Our hot, dry summer has been replaced with a lovely mix of rainy days, stormy days and mild sunny days, in nice proportion. Here’s a recent early morning sky looking towards downtown from Dockside Green. Happy Labour Day everyone!
Our friend Annie is embarking on a whole new life. We spent part of the day yesterday celebrating in the sun: watching a Flamenco performance at the Victoria Flamenco Festival, fabric shopping at Gala Fabrics, and enjoying iced Maple Maccha Lattes at JagaSilk. The daifuku was delicious and my favourite latte was even better iced.
For our walk last week, we were treated to a lovely stormy day. In spite of all the clouds, the day remained quite dry – it was wonderful weather for walking, and very dramatic.
At this early stage of our walk, we were wondering if we would be able to stay warm and dry.
A window of blue above the Empress Hotel.
Float plane landing on the harbour.
More blue sky peeking through.
On Dallas Road looking toward Metchosin.
Someone added some art to this sign on Dallas Road, near Ogden Point.
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