I had not planned on going to Canada on this trip, but Adrian surprised me with a weekend in Victoria, only a three hour boat trip away from Seattle. The capital of British Columbia was delightful, the whole town decorated with hanging baskets of flowers. The harbour is full of sailing boats as well as charming little houseboats that hire tugboats if they get tired of the view. Overlooking the harbour are beautifully designed 1900′s Chateau-style buildings, covered with vines and topped with patina-clad domes.

It was Canada Day, and it seemed like all of Victoria was out in red and white, waving flags and wearing endearingly silly hats. Saturday was spent eating, napping, and shopping. We admired the Parliament Buildings outlined by thousands of fairy lights and night, and watched the very bright fireworks with a huge crowd of locals. Often spontaneous renditions of “Oh, Canada” would spring from the gathering.

Sunday started with a whale watching trip, admiring the pods of orcas gently gliding though the water, and we even saw a new calf, J41, who we christened Juliet. Later on in the day we bought a baguette that I waved around to emphasise important points, ate mini melts that were twice as cold as regular ice-cream, and went to the museum learnt all about the dangers of global warming from a wise yet comical animated sheep.