Travel Reading Log: What I Read While I Was in Victoria, BC

Hey, remember January? So fresh, so new, so full of hope? It feels like just yesterday... but it certainly wasn't, based on the alarming rate at which April is approaching. Where did the time go? 

Probably lost on yet another one of the vacations I keep tagging along on with my parents. 

Yes, it's been a month since my last installment here on the blog, and it somehow comes in the wake of yet another travel excursion with my family unit.

Lest anyone accuse me of serial-hopping on my parents' tickets, you should know I was specifically invited this time: as much as my college senior brother loves both of them, he wasn't as into the idea of a weekend spent in a foreign country without at least one more buddy with whom to travel. And it just happened to work out. Well, for me, at least... he was the one who got stuck on the pull-out bed in the hotel room. I got one of the two queen beds all to myself. 

So, the four of us sailed away to Canada in order to seek a different shade of grey skies, in the midst of a gloomy PNW March. Don't think I was venturing off without some reading material stuffed into my backpack: after all, Victoria is home to plenty of bookstores. I wasn't all that interested in getting caught in a vulnerable state of mind, thanks to this year's self-imposed book ban! 

The goals of the trip were thusly laid out: Don't leave my brother behind in Canada, and definitely try to finish at least one book. 

Where We Went: Victoria, BC

Victoria, in the Canadian province of British Columbia, makes for an easy weekend jaunt over the border, for those of us who hail from Washington state. In fact, it's less than a three-hour boat ride on one of the Victoria Clipper vessels, a comfortable and leisurely sailing from Pier 69 in Seattle. For those willing to make the drive out to Port Angeles, it's only a ninety-minute ride on the Coho Ferry, which means you can even take your car with you when you go. 

Not that you really need to: one of the best parts of the city is how completely walkable it is, with a waterfront, downtown area, and plenty of fascinating places to explore, all within an accessible distance, and with plenty of options for lodging! Numerous forms of transportation provide the filler for any gaps in your travel needs, like CVS Tours' regular daily stops at Butchart Gardens, or their Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus. There's a series of small pickle boats you can take around the Harbor, courtesy of Harbor Ferry, who will putter you around to where you need to go. Pretty much every hotel you stay at will either have or be able to point you towards a bike rental service, and the roads are specifically equipped to handle bikers. That's not even mentioning Victoria's own public transport systems, either!

Because it's such an easy trip from stateside, you might forget you're in another country at all, save for two defining factors: one, you will almost never have wifi, unless you're willing to park yourself in the lobby of your hotel for an honor of social media scrolling, and two, the proliferation of large bear, beaver, and maple leaf iconography everywhere tells you you're definitely in Canada. 

Thanks to everything from architecture, to local eateries, to tourist souvenirs, Victoria is also fairly reminiscent of Europe, thanks to its British heritage. Expect lots of references to the monarchy, both historical and kitschy, as well as plenty of shops boasting treats from abroad: full English breakfasts and British candies, tea collections created in honor of the late queen, and more. Traditional Scottish wool sweaters, and lots of statues will remind you that British Columbia was originally a British colony, before joining the Canadian Federation in 1871, nearly 100 years after the first American colonies had declared independence. 

My trip to Victoria in 2018 made for my first-ever excursion out of the country, and my second-ever off of American mainland soil. This trip would be the second time I had ever set foot in Canada, which was the same for my brother, only with slightly different baggage: the first time he had ever ventured out of the country was during a soaking-wet, miserable week-and-a-half trip through the Bowron Lakes Circuit, also in British Columbia, with other Boy Scouts. Beset by mosquitos, occasionally orbited by wildlife, and constantly weighing the fear that he and my Dad were never going to make it home, BC hadn't exactly made a sterling impression on him during that particular trip. 

He liked Victoria a lot better. 

Embarking on the Clipper on the port out of Seattle; the views from Ogden Point Breakwater, one of my favorite morning walks of the trip; some of the themed city signage in Chinatown, near Fan Tan Alley

What I Packed

I honestly wasn't expecting to read so much this trip: based on my previous experiences in Victoria, I kind of anticipated more wearing myself out than anything. Besides, the hotel had a pool! 

Still, it wouldn't make any sense to come unprepared. And as it turns out, it was totally necessary! 

The one I hadn't finished since last vacation: Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, K. J. Parker

The easy novella, from a series my brother and I read together: Across the Green Grass Fields (Wayward Children #6), Seanan McGuire 

The bonus: My Kindle... on which I still have quite a few Romance novels waiting to be read! 

What I Actually Ended Up Reading

After several weeks of avoiding the challenge of tackling this frustrating read - one that I had originally started on our last vacation, on Whidbey -  I finally finished Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City! Unfortunately, all of the issues I had with the book in the first place, continued to play just as much a part in the second half; however, with the commitment I just wanted to get through it so I could review it properly, I was able to consistently read over the first day or so of our vacation, finishing up the morning of Day Two. 

Am I stoked about the fact that I had to essentially force myself to read this book? No, not exactly pleased. The problem is, it was a very good book, that made such bizarre authors choices and carried such questionable themes that the further I got into the story just made me angrier... at least if it had been bad, I could have put the whole thing to the side. Instead, I'm planning on writing a full review on just this one book, something I haven't done in years! 

In my post-Sixteen Ways upset, I felt like I practically soared through Across the Green Grass Fields. It barely took me any time at all, maybe a cumulative two hours of reading, because it was both a novella and not exactly difficult, which made me feel incredibly accomplished being able to pass it on to my younger brother on the trip back home on Day Three. A good thing, too, because it's an installment in a series that both he and I read, but based on the fact that I'm such a mood reader, something he's stuck, stagnant, in line to read until after I've finished each title first. 

(Listen: as a conservative estimate, I purchase or recommend this kid a minimum of eight-to-ten books a year. It's just that he had the misfortune to join this particular series after I had called a fair-and-square dibs, plus I was the one to lend him the first three installments. He can have a little patience about it.) 

He was relieved to get the title from me, and had finished it as well, before Spring Break was over and he had to go back to school. 

Being that I had somehow managed to finish two books before the three-hours-without-wifi boat ride had even begun chugging its way back home, I wasn't exactly willing to let go of my momentum yet. Thank goodness I had ended up packing that Kindle! I ended up deciding to finish Bromance Book Club, which I had already managed to get 10% of the way into during my "Speed Dating my Kindle Romances" back in February, last month. 

Isn't it nice when a book kind of meets your expectations? I was very nearly done by the time we had docked back in Washington, and had it not been such an exhausting weekend, I probably would have had the whole thing wrapped up with a bow on it before my head hit a pillow. As it stood, I ended up finishing the final stretch of it before 9am the next morning, which I'm calling as having counted. 

So, on the vacation I hadn't really envisioned reading on, I ended up closing out three titles, in about three days.

What Else We Did

Not that I hadn't kept myself incredibly busy, of course! It truly was just the luck of having downtime. After all, you have to have something to do when your screaming feet are trying to monopolize your attention. 

There's really just so much to take your attention in Victoria. 

For starters, I toured a whole lot of bookstores, for someone who truly has no good reason for doing so (Curse you, Book Buying Ban of 2023.)

Bastion Books, so named for its proximity to Bastion Square downtown, is a sweet, small bookstore that couldn't be more than two rooms wide, filled with secondhand, predominantly vintage books. My brother, the musician, managed to zero in on some old-school reference books that he recognized from his use in his own scholarly pursuits, while my Dad was interested in looking at the pieces of art that occupied various corners of the store, clearly created by those who loved books as well. It reminded me of a pocket-sized version of a hometown favorite, Kings Books, in which there is always something old to be made new again. 

Munro's Books, a picturesque, Instagram-friendly, and well-lit bookstore - built out of what used to be a bank - truly ranks among the more beautiful bookstores I've ever visited, though it seems that's a pretty general consensus: the place is typically packed with other interested book lovers, which can make some of its less linearly-organized shelves a bit of a practice in politeness, while contending with the crowd around you. It carries both plenty of bestsellers and new releases, mixed up with genre selections you've never heard of before, as well as gorgeous notebooks and knickknacks to add to your collection. It reminds me a lot of Elliot Bay Bookstore in Seattle, with its ample windows bringing in natural light, and well-curated shelves. While there's no coffee shop here, though, you can easily maneuver your purchases over to Murchie's Tea next door for a cuppa. 

Russell Books - a bit of a longer walk away from Government Street than your other options - was hands-down the family fave. And I know it's an incomplete comparison, but personally, it reminded me of Powell's City of Books in Portland, on two counts: for starters, it's completely unassuming on the outside, only to reveal a behemoth (two stories! with an escalator!) on the inside, and second of all, it had really, truly wonderful prices. This was the bookstore that very nearly broke me! I have pictures saved on my phone of at least seven different titles that I'm still planning of looking up later, closer to my Bloggoversary, once I get my purchasing power back. For both cheap prices and a great selection, Russell Books is an unskippable star. Do yourself an absolute favor, and schedule both Russell Books and the very nearby Cactus Club Cafe into one afternoon.

Because of course, while visiting what has become one of my personal favorite vacation destinations, we weren't just there to read and browse bookstores... we came to eat.  

Cactus Club Cafe won my sibling and I over on our last trip, thanks to its banging guacamole and the promise of frozen rose... frose, to use the appropriate parlance. Unfortunately for us, both items had vacated the menu by the time I managed to go back. Thankfully, though, damn near everything else my brother, parents, and I ordered off the menu was absolutely delicious! The drinks were gorgeous, the appetizers were absolute stunners - the chicken lettuce wraps and the beef carpaccio being crowd favorites - and my Dad and my brother both adored the mashed potatoes that came with their steaks. If it weren't for the dead-set plan on picking up some Beavertails before we headed back to our hotels, we probably would have stayed even longer... the mood lighting, club music, and friendly waitstaff make for a very fun nighttime locations. They also have some of my favorite bathrooms I've ever used, but that's beside the point. 

We also made the triumphant return to another favorite from our last trip: The Fish Store, located out on the docks of Fisherman's Wharf. Not only is it cool to tour some of the nearby houseboats, but the various food retailers on this floating network of docks are absolutely worth the walk to get there. While prices might have gone up a little bit since the last time we visited, my Dad and I are still enthusiastic supporters of The Fish Store's from-the-sea-fresh selection of oysters, which you can purchase at $36 Canadian dollars for a full dozen, with 25% off between the hours of 4 and 5pm. Eventually I will actually try something non-oyster-related on their menu... but then again, why deny yourself the joy of fresh oysters? 

Other absolute can't-miss attractions: Butchart Gardens, accessible via a short, 35-minute-hither-and-thither bus ride, which boasts a number of gorgeously-appointed gardens, as well as a gelato stand, coffee shop, and restaurant; and Beacon Hill Park, a sprawling, green public park oasis that contains numerous walking trails, ponds, and more ducks-per-square-foot than anywhere else I've ever visited... and even a petting zoo that allows you to get up front and personal with goats for only a $6 donation!

On one hand, I feel like I could have stayed there another week without getting bored. There were plenty of things we didn't really get to do there this trip that I absolutely loved last time - like spending more time at the Royal BC Museum, which was under serious construction, or taking high tea somewhere like the Fairmont Empress - and of course I had another hundred or so restaurants lined up that would have made for some good eating. On the other, there's only so much time you can spend in a hotel room with both parents and a college-aged brother without feeling at least a little stir-crazy, so I was pretty happy to venture back to Washington when we did. 

The good news is, this pretty much guarantees a return trip sometime in my future! After all, I still haven't gotten to see any of the nearby castles you can tour, nor have we made it over to Victoria West. It's nice to know that there's more waiting for me, the next time we go back. 

Though honestly, I'd do it just for the oysters. 

Have you ever been to Victoria, BC? Does it sound like the kind of place you'd like to visit? Which bookstore would you choose to shop at? Let me know, in the comments below!