Photo Diary: Best of Vancouver

Vancouver Aquarium

"Hello, my friends."

A world class aquarium, located in a beautiful  park in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. What more could you ask for?

Jelly fish, starfish, sea horses, sea urchins. They've got it all. 

We budgeted only one hour and a half for the Vancouver  Aquarium and gosh that was a mistake. 

With dolphin shows every hour, penguin and sea otter habitats, and endless tanks of fish, you want at least two hours to cover everything. 

One of the things I loved most about this aquarium was the spacious outdoor-indoor layout. Although we went on a Sunday and it was busy, I never felt overwhelmed with crowds, like I did in Osaka. The facilities were very well maintained and not all the exhibits were geared towards children. 

I wish I had taken more photographs of the building and facilities, but  I was so excited about the sea animals that I couldn't stop photographing them! 

Now, the only downside to the whole experience is that driving in and out of Stanley Park is a huge pain, but seeing as how I live only six hours away, I will definitely go again!

starfish colony

jellyfish from all over the world

this bird was super loud

Victoria Instagram Diary

Snapshot from Vancouver

Playing in the autumn leaves, Vancouver, Canada

Snapshort from Vancouver

Hanging from a tree, Vancouver, Canada

Snapshot from Vancouver

Hiding in between soy sauce and vinegar, Chef Hung's, Vancouver, Canada

Afternoon Tea in Victoria

Time for another high tea! This time we're in Victoria, British Columbia. The default place to go to for tea in this city is the Fairmont Empress, which looks very impressive, but at $60 per person, I just couldn't justify the cost. I instead opted to try a homey, family-run tea house known as the White Heather, which was located just outside downtown. It was a thirty minute walk from the hotel through the sunlit streets of a quiet, suburban neighborhood.

outside the teahouse

Me in my tea attire

This was a really wonderful experience. Not only did we get to try something "off the map" but we saw an entire part of town we would not have seen otherwise. As for the meal itself, it was quite nice. For starters, it ended up costing less than half of what the Fairmont Empress charges, and for the amount of food we received, it was really a bargain.  For tea, I ordered the Mad Hatter, with which I was quite pleased.  For our food, we ordered "The Big Muckle" which came on the traditional 3-Tier tray an consisted of way more than two people could possible consume in one sitting. Here I am, dwarfed in the presence of the Big Muckle.

Cream, Lemon curd, and strawberry jam for the scones

hiding behind the Big Muckle

Bottom Tier: Scones and savories

Middle Tier: the savories, fish and cucumber sandwhiches 

Top Tier: the sweets (and my sweet boyfriend hiding in the background)

The aftermath.

Japanese Cemetery in Victoria

Part of the cemetery I explored in Victoria was built to honor the Japanese Canadians who died during the early part of the twentieth century. Many of the tombstones looked new, although the deceased had been dead for almost a century. So I think the graves were made long after their deaths, in effort to right some previous wrong.

Many of the tombs were for children or infants. I have never seen so many infant graves. Their tombstones were engraved with the image of a cherry blossom, and in a poetic gesture of symbolism, actual cherry blossom petals had fallen on their graves.