VICTORIA BC CANADA

Victoria B.C., Canada's "Garden City" is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. The city has something to offer for everybody. Unlike its larger, more metropolitan cousin Vancouver, this was never an industry town, where whiskey ruled and retired loggers came to soak away their days. Owing to a substantial Colonial naval influence (still present with a Canadian naval base in nearby Esquimalt), and being the European centre of the Pacific Northwest last century, Victoria has retained a more refined appearance, evident in its plentiful gardens and tea houses. When the city was made capital of the newly formed Province of British Columbia in 1866, all primary government buildings were constructed there. Many of these remarkable slices of the middle and late Victorian period still dominate the skyline today. The Parliament Buildings, completed in 1898 by Francis Rattenbury are the most obvious example. The old Customs House on Wharf Street where gold seekers and immigrants came by the thousands to a rich, promised land still stands as a reminder of the old boom days. Chinese railway labourers and immigrants helped to create the city's colourful Chinatown with a magnificent gateway entrance and some narrow, seedy alleys. Known as "The Garden City" for it's year-round growing season, a brief introduction does not do the city justice. From boating, to cricket, high tea to ancient Indian history, Victoria is, for obvious reasons, a popular destination for tourists, and for those looking to enjoy peaceful life to its fullest.
Thanks to my grandson-Keith D Freeman for this introduction.