Victoria Recap - Part 1

Greetings and happy Wednesday!  I am back from Victoria and settling back into real life.  It's always such a tough adjustment when you come back from a vacation!

As I mentioned in my race recap, Victoria was a magnificent city to explore.  I would return there in a heartbeat.  It would be a great honeymoon destination as the city was charming and there were lots of things to see and do!

Without further ado, here are some photos from the trip, taken by Lauren and Amber (I have a crappy point-and-shoot, so I am using their lovely DSLR photos!).

Standing by Green Lake in Seattle on Friday morning.  Lauren and I walked in this area before embarking on our road trip to the Vancouver area.  And yes, I am rocking out 2 striped pieces - a shirt & a purse!



We hit up a Lulu Lemon outlet before hopping on the ferry.  We all spend a lot of hours each week training so we felt we owed it to ourselves to buy some high quality workout gear!!




The view on the ferry ride to Vancouver Island.  The views were amazing!!




After settling into our hotel in Victoria, we headed out for some food - luckily we found a Thai restaurant that had an extensive GF menu.  Mmmm...  my pad thai was SO good!



After dinner, we headed to the famous Empress Hotel.  This place was amazing and beautiful.  It was like stepping back in time.  If I went to Victoria on a honeymoon, I would try to spend a night or 2 in this hotel!

The Bengal Room of the Empress Hotel was our next destination.  We were seeking dessert - and they had a GF creme brulee which was TO DIE FOR.  Ahem, that green thing on the dessert?  It's not edible.  How do I know this?  I tried to eat it as I was SO SURE it was edible.  Turns out it was wax.  Whoopsies.  This restaurant was so swanky, we were all wishing we were in a dress & heels instead of jeans & running shoes!

After dessert, we walked home, and walked past the beautiful Parliament.  Isn't it stunning all lit up?

The next day, we went to a brunch place that was recommended by Lauren's friends.  It was a great recommendation and once again - it had a great gluten free menu and my breakfast actually came with a great gluten free roll.  Be still my heart!  I never get to eat bread in a restaurant - and it tasted so good!

After brunch, we wandered down to the water and go our one and only shot of the 4 of us together!

I think that is enough photos for today!  As you can see, we had a wonderful time.  The weather was beautiful.  The city was amazing.  The company was fabulous.  What more could a girl ask for?  I feel so blessed to have met these amazing women!  We traveled so well together, I would go on another trip with all 3 of them in a heartbeat.  So far, I have felt this way about all of the women I have met through the blogging community!

If you want a recap from another perspective, check out these posts:
Amber - Day 1
Amber - Day 2
Lauren's Trip Recap

Have you ever been to Victoria or to any area of British Columbia?  I am head-over-heels in love with this part of North America.  This was my 2nd trip to BC and I will be back there next summer for Amber's wedding *insert squeal of excitement*!!