Victoria, British Columbia offers that mix of Western Canadian history and urban charm itself. This is why we enjoy our summertime visits there so much.
These photos represent all the things we look forward to when visiting Victoria: browsing and buying books at Munro’s books, always a highlight of our visits; sampling delicious chocolates at Roger’s Chocolates, and generally taking in all the small town charm of British Columbia’s capital city. Each visit, I re-read the history of the early explorers on the statues around the inner harbour; quite often there is a seagull perched on Captain James Cook’s head.
On our most recent visit in June we discovered a restaurant new to us: 10 Acre Kitchen, one of three 10 Acre restaurants in downtown Victoria. This enterprise offers local farm to table imaginative cuisine and serves interesting wine. A definite recommendation for future visits.
We enjoyed beet salads and Dungeness crab cakes – light and delicious with a Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blend white wine from Lock and Worth Winery in Penticton, British Columbia; also new to us!
I particularly enjoy this Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blend. To me, this is the classic Bordeaux White wine blend that I am familiar with in SW France. It’s another opportunity to think about the wine related connections between SW France and Western Canada! What I enjoy about this blend and find very drinkable is that the Semillon gives depth and gravitas to the acidity of the Sauvignon blanc. At Lock and Worth, the winemakers produce wine that is un-fined and un-filtered so the wine is slightly cloudy. The winemakers say they make wines without pretense and this approach is behind their plain label bottles I will definitely plan to visit this winery on a future visit to the Okanagan Valley and taste more of their wines.
It’s always fun to discover new restaurants and wines and incorporate those experiences into familiar venues. I am looking forward to a return visit already!
References: 10Acres.ca Group of restaurants, Victoria BC
lockandworth.com. Lock and Worth Winery, Penticton BC
Thank you Liz, how timely, as I am leaving for Victoria shortly. Great article and good suggestions. 10 Acre Kitchen sounds tempting and I will try to visit.
Have fun in Victoria! Look forward to hearing how your visit goes.
Impressive, we are in Kiev very very interesting
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How interesting about being in Kiev. Will write separately. xx
It is appropriate that you post a shot of Captain James Cook in 1778, even without a gull on his head. In fact 2018 is the 250th anniversary of Cook’s first, on the three masted barque HMS Endeavour, of three voyages to the Pacific. It was on his third voyage that he reached Vancouver when on HMS Resolution.
As an aside I was visiting the Holburne Museum, Bath at the weekend and admiring their special exhibition of Dutch masters. An elegant lady took my attention Elizabeth (1626) later, Duchess of Lauderdale a Scottish noblewoman, in her own right she was the Countess of Dysart. Famous for the political influence she held, which was unusual for women of the period, and for her support for Charles II during his exile, as a member of the secret organisation known as the Sealed Knot. The attractive portrait was by Peter Lely a painter to the Court. If I knew how to post a picture here I would do so.
I really enjoyed reading this commentary and seeing the photo of the paint8ng you subsequently sent. Thanks so much.
Please validate my comment. Ta. S.
Thanks so much for your comments – always appreciated.