You remember how I fancy myself a Victorian and all? There's really no 'all' component to it. Just mainly the Victorian. And the closed closet door is long since blasted wide open. For a part of our Salt Spring Island experience, we meandered our way over to Victoria, BC so as to assuage the fervent inactivity-induced desperation that my JoyBoy felt overtaking him, bit by bit, day by desperate day. The ferry ride took only 35 minutes.
We spent a long time shopping along Government street, which was a home-run for me and my girls, if only for the fact that we recognize the name from Monopoly. I love history. I love documentation. I love ancient streets tracking their long-familiarness via their age-old appearance on the Monopoly board. Of course, it goes without saying that we insist upon the Canadian version.
Each of the six of us really and thoroughly enjoys shopping (so long as it's not clothes shopping, I hasten to add. Trying on clothes makes me feel exhausted and grouchy almost immediately.). The all-important catch is that we separate into gender teams. The boys' shopping pace makes the girls feel disoriented and cranky. The girls' shopping speed - or lack thereof - makes the boys impatient, frustrated and longing for Hot Wheels. When we meet up to compare notes, the girls will have slowly picked their way through one store to every three that the boys have dashed in and out of.
We then made our way to an important historical landmark that JoyBoy and I have been to at least two other times - Craigdarroch Castle. It's the only time that the kids have seen it while being fully sentient and not stroller dependent for personal transport. I love it there so much. The local historical society is restoring the Dunsmuir family home to it's former glory, and is largely done, though there are still a few rooms left to go. It's utterly spectacular and I can't recommend highly enough that you make a point to go see it the next time you find yourself in Victoria, BC. To feast your eyes on the woodwork alone, you owe it to yourself.
When I surround myself with historica, I feel a reverenced sense of the rootedness of humanity. I imagine the previous lives that were lived on these spots. I appreciate the solomn, ancient beauty of the structures around me and note the differences of our building habits of today. I love that people of yesterday didn't hesitate to undertake building projects that they may well not see to completion in their lifetimes. We don't have much in this line in Canada and so for this and many other reasons I love Victoria.
We spent a long time shopping along Government street, which was a home-run for me and my girls, if only for the fact that we recognize the name from Monopoly. I love history. I love documentation. I love ancient streets tracking their long-familiarness via their age-old appearance on the Monopoly board. Of course, it goes without saying that we insist upon the Canadian version.
Each of the six of us really and thoroughly enjoys shopping (so long as it's not clothes shopping, I hasten to add. Trying on clothes makes me feel exhausted and grouchy almost immediately.). The all-important catch is that we separate into gender teams. The boys' shopping pace makes the girls feel disoriented and cranky. The girls' shopping speed - or lack thereof - makes the boys impatient, frustrated and longing for Hot Wheels. When we meet up to compare notes, the girls will have slowly picked their way through one store to every three that the boys have dashed in and out of.
We then made our way to an important historical landmark that JoyBoy and I have been to at least two other times - Craigdarroch Castle. It's the only time that the kids have seen it while being fully sentient and not stroller dependent for personal transport. I love it there so much. The local historical society is restoring the Dunsmuir family home to it's former glory, and is largely done, though there are still a few rooms left to go. It's utterly spectacular and I can't recommend highly enough that you make a point to go see it the next time you find yourself in Victoria, BC. To feast your eyes on the woodwork alone, you owe it to yourself.
When I surround myself with historica, I feel a reverenced sense of the rootedness of humanity. I imagine the previous lives that were lived on these spots. I appreciate the solomn, ancient beauty of the structures around me and note the differences of our building habits of today. I love that people of yesterday didn't hesitate to undertake building projects that they may well not see to completion in their lifetimes. We don't have much in this line in Canada and so for this and many other reasons I love Victoria.
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