Canuckian · Travels

I don't know where to start with the first entry so I guess I'll just start from our departure from Scotland! Lots to cover. :)

The flight to Canada was long and uncomfortable. I think I managed only half an hour of sleep. I can't sleep on planes, it's next to impossible! The flight itself was uneventful. We left Glasgow late, left Manchester late and still managed to get to Vancouver on time. The feeling I got when we flew over Alberta, Steve was asking me what the names of all the lakes were LOL. Then the plane flew over the Rockies and oh, that was amazing. I tried to take pictures but they didn't turn out decent. We were sitting right over the wing so it wasn't a clear view at all. We circled Vancouver and came in for the landing. Got off, went through customs.

Vancouver Airport is stunning. The glass roof, the haida totem poles and the artwork...just stunning. I adore the aboriginal artwork of the west coast, but more on that in a bit lol.

Baggage claim was a bit of a annoynance. One of our suitcases was 2 kilos over the weight limit, but they hadn't said anything about it going in oversized baggage. So when our suitcase didn't come onto the carousel, we started panicking a bit. I was panicking because I didn't want to miss our connecting flight to Victoria, and Steve was panicking because it was our suitcase. Leave it to me to not be concerned about our luggage, that's how bad I wanted to get to Vic! Steve found it in the oversized baggage claim, and by this point we had an hour to get from the main terminal, to the south terminal which is all the way on the other side of the airport grounds. We hailed a cab and made it to the south terminal, checked in, and at 16:45 promptly, we flew over the San Juan de Fuca Strait to Vancouver Island.

Our friend Jenny met us at the airport (thanks again Jenny :)), we got our luggage and headed in to the city.

I don't mean to be dramatic or anything, but everytime I come to Victoria, I really feel like I'm coming home. And I certainly did Sunday night. The sun was shining, it was warm (about 25 degrees C when we landed), the ocean was shimmering, and Victoria spread out below us as we came down the Trans Canada Highway.

We did a pit stop at Tim Hortons, I delved in to my maple glaze and honey dip doughnuts. SO GOOD. :)

Got to the Abbeymoore (http://www.abbeymoore.com) checked in, freshened up, and off we went to Milestones to meet my friends.

I was in for a bit of a surprise, as my best friend Leah had previously told me she wasn't able to make it. So we get in to the Inner Harbour and are walking down the steps to the restaurant. I see Mary and Cheryl and head straight to them, hugging them and saying hello when I hear this 'HEY' lol. Turned around and there was Leah!! So it was a great surprise and it was so nice to see you all! Cheryl and Mary, I hope you had a great time, I certainly did, even though I was quite exhausted. :)

Afterwards, Steve and I were tired, so Jenny dropped us off and we crashed around 10:15pm. Yesterday morning I woke up at 6 am, and sat outside on the balcony of our room, watching the sun come up. I was feeling quite emotional all day yesterday, now that I'm back, I don't want to leave. (I know, everyone at work is going to be like 'I told you so!' lol. Steve woke up at 7 and we went down to breakfast at 8. SO GOOD. WE started off with a fruit salad bowl, with homemade granola and ISLAND FARMS yoghurt. (Seriously, best yogurt in the world). Then we had the true homecoming breakfast, blueberry pancakes with maple syrup and sausages. Yum.

After breakfast, we set out. 9 am. I took Steve down to Ross Bay Cemetary at the foot of Fairfield, and we walked along the coast towards downtown. Lovely morning. Warm and sunny. We did SO much walking around yesterday. And shopping lol. We each got Haida rings. Steve got the Thunderbird, and I got my trademark Orca. We went to ROOTS where I bought some clothes. We took loads of pictures, had lunch at Milestones again, went to the Museum gift shop (we'll go back to the Museum itself today), walked around some more. Then at 5pm Leah came to pick us up, and she took us up to Mt Tolmie. A first time experience for me. What a view! A 360 panorma of Victoria and the surrounding area. Wow. Stunning. :) Then we went back to Leah's and hung out there last night. Got back to the b & b around 9:30 and crashed.

So here I am, day 2 of Victoria. It's 7:30 in the morning, I've had my shower, waiting for Steve to get up. I don't know what we'll do today, but you know what, I don't care.

I'm here. And it's great. :)

Where am I?:	Computer desk at the Abbeymoore.
Feeling:	ecstatic