Thursday, September 26, 2013

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada 9-25

We took the ferry from Port Angeles, Washington, to Vancouver Island, in order to visit the provincial capital, Victoria.

Our sun-drenched seven-hour walk through downtown Victoria was a relaxing stroll through a beautiful city with charming people.  We even met a Scottish bagpiper who got his BA from the U of Illinois in Chicago.





Fan Tan Alley in Victoria's Chinatown.  The narrowest parts of the alley are four feet wide.


A kitty who spends her day in a shop window in Chinatown, watching the tourists stroll past.


Near the British Columbia Royal Art Museum is a small park packed with totem poles soaring higher than the surrounding trees.




Bastion Square is picturesque today, but had a different "charm" in its early years when it contained a gallows where criminals were executed.  Unlike modern gallows, the prisoner was hoisted slowly by the neck, and death could take 20-25 minutes.  Meanwhile, the good citizens of Victoria wagered how long it would take for the prisoner to die.  If the prisoner took too long, the spectators threw rotten vegetables at him/her.


An exhibit at the British Columbia Royal Maritime Museum shows an effective discipline for pirates.


Travel Tip:  Always know where to exit gracefully.



 
 
 


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