Victoria, 11th June. (Pt 1)

When you talk about Vancouver, it can get a little confusing. There's the big city, called Vancouver obviously), and all the little edge cities like Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, New Westminster etc., which most non-Canadians consider to be 'all there is'. But actually, there's a whole island which belongs to Vancouver too - unsurprisingly called Vancouver Island. It's actually got the provincial capital of British Columbia on it - Victoria, situated to the South of the island on the coast. It's quite a long way to go to get to it - the ferry itself is like 2 hours long (longer than the English Channel ferry but half as boring - and half as expensive) and the drive either end is about the same amount of time. But when you get there, it's more than worth it.

So our day started in the little coastal port of Tsawassen with a ferry - a BC Ferry, which smelt like new paint and disinfectant. I don't know why, but here's a funnel shot...

I actually fell asleep just after we left the dock and was woken up. "You might want to get photos of what's outside..."

The islands were beautiful. They've all got communities on them who basically live by the ferry service from mainland Vancouver.

Annnnnd 2 and a half hours later we're here! In very hot, sunny Victoria. The Empress is a 5* hotel in the capital - and the only hotel the Queen uses when she visits Vancouver. The guy in the bottom left of the image, on the bike, offers lifts around the city for like, $8, like a pedal rickshaw. Legs of steel, man.

Victoria, 11th June. (Pt 2)

The harbour is really busy, and floatplanes take off every 20 minutes or so, which is a sight. We even saw a seal! (Video to follow, I got all excited since no one else saw it)

This is the State Legislature, where the Premier of the Province governs from. (Or so Alex tells me). And I never went in it :( Oops...

Here's a Government of Canada building and a really weird tree - in Canada, there's lots of both.

This is the main street running through Victoria, with lots of pretty expensive* shops and restaurants. It's also got lots of panhandlers, like the one in the bottom left. She was cool though, she juggled and everything...

Victoria, 11th June. (Pt 3)

Time to head back, and there's some lovely other little islands, along with 'Murickans on the deck talking on cellphones and insisting their scenery is better (I'm not joking).

I can't express how much I'd actually kill for one of these houses as a summer home when I'm older...

Finally, this is an undersea mountain according to Lonely Planet, which pokes above the water. Apparently it also looks like a pregnant woman laying down on her back!