One Way Trip to Canada, Eh? FINAL THOUGHTS 08/10

[MAGICFOR2]

My Kingdom for a Hat!
This morning starts with the tale of a cute little prince who attended a very important feast – in the hopes that his royal subjects would present him with a very special, very famous hat. Alas, these knaves seemed to be sadly lacking in the skills of making said hat….how will this poor prince complete his quest?

Monday, May 2
Today was our last day of the cruise, but we had lots of excitement ahead. First our character breakfast, then on to explore the port of Victoria, BC.!

On our first DCL cruise, we chose not to attend the character breakfast. The first reason was that our assigned time was 7:15 a.m. Tammie is not usually willing to be anywhere at that hour, let alone dressed with makeup on and enduring lots of noise. Second, her mornings must be quiet and uneventful until sufficient amounts of coffee have been consumed.

This time, our breakfast was at 8:30 am, and our whole table agreed to be present and accounted for at the fabulous Island Breakfast in Parrot Cay!

As soon as we were seated, young prince Brandon, son of Brian and Michelle, (Trimix) noticed that various other royalty around the room were getting crowned with napkin hats and bows. He smiled sweetly at our servers, who moved about in their capable and professional way. He even attempted to fold his own hat, and asked if we knew how to do it.

Here's an example of some of the handiwork around

We ordered a delicious breakfast – I had Mickey waffles with strawberries with ham, sausage, eggs and grilled pineapple (I almost forgot to take a pic again)

Pluto came by

and then Minnie

We felt so bad that young prince Brandon didn’t have his hat that Jim got up and asked one of the servers from another table to help us with this dilemma. He graciously came over and crowned the prince and also princess Erica with her bow.

Now there were smiles all around from the royalty at our table, and we could properly greet the rest of our visitors:

NEXT: DRIVING IN CIRCLES

 

[Charleston Princess]

Yeay for Jim asking a server to help Brandon and Erica with hats and bows! They look very happy!

I could go for some Mickey waffles with strawberries right now!

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

i have that cover up in blue.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

opps wrong person who got the cover up for her trip.

 

[mom3sonstt]

I'm glad to see the Royalty at your table were suitably acknowledged! The waitstaff must have been too intimidated to approach them without knowing the proper protocol

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Yeah for Jim asking a server to help Brandon and Erica with hats and bows! They look very happy!

I could go for some Mickey waffles with strawberries right now!

Yes, funny thing - Brandon spent more time wishing for his hat and trying to make his own than actually wearing it once he got it. He almost immediately took it off and opened it.

Mickey waffles would be a nice trip!

i have that cover up in blue.

opps wrong person who got the cover up for her trip.

I was wondering if you saw a pool in my pics

I'm glad to see the Royalty at your table were suitably acknowledged! The waitstaff must have been too intimidated to approach them without knowing the proper protocol

Yes, I believe they weren't trained in the proper decorum for "hatting" a prince or princess!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Sorry I'm MIA - I've been exhausted from teaching VBS - 5-7 yr olds, and doing parties and meetings in the evenings - a funeral today - I will try to get an update done tomorrow - thanks for your patience!

 

[dizneeat]

Sorry I'm MIA - I've been exhausted from teaching VBS - 5-7 yr olds, and doing parties and meetings in the evenings - a funeral today - I will try to get an update done tomorrow - thanks for your patience!

I so understand, Tammie! I have been on vacation for a week and still playing catch up with all my threads!
5 - 7 year olds sounds exhausting!!!!

I am caught up with your thread! I love the hat and bow! Only at Disney ........
We, now make that ...I, LOVE Disney Dreams too! What a cute show! Such a tear quencher. Would you believe that in all the days we spent on board we never made it to the Cadillac lounge? Guess that is something we will need to tackle this summer.
Thanks for giving me more ideas!

Have a magical rest of your weekend!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

I so understand, Tammie! I have been on vacation for a week and still playing catch up with all my threads!
5 - 7 year olds sounds exhausting!!!!

I am caught up with your thread! I love the hat and bow! Only at Disney ........
We, now make that ...I, LOVE Disney Dreams too! What a cute show! Such a tear quencher. Would you believe that in all the days we spent on board we never made it to the Cadillac lounge? Guess that is something we will need to tackle this summer.
Thanks for giving me more ideas!

Have a magical rest of your weekend!

Thanks for understanding, Karin!
Yes, you will have to try the Cadillac Lounge! It is very classy and comfortable. I'm sure they have better music on other days!

The next update is ready, and it is day where you are, so you may get to be first to read it!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Having helped our little prince in his quest for a proper breakfast hat, we headed up to our cabin to get ready for the day.
Today was sadly our last cruise day, but we were happy to be visiting Victoria, BC!
We put our tip envelopes together and got most of the packing done.

We weren’t due to arrive in port until 11 am, so I grabbed my Nook, and we headed up to the Overlook Coffee Bar to watch us arrive. I ordered an Irish Coffee and settled in:

It was nice to just relax and read in the comfy chairs and watch our arrival. As we got closer, more people came in to stand around the windows, so you couldn’t see much, so we went out on deck to get some pictures:

We were soon able to debark. These friendly Canadian natives were here to greet us – no tip jar or anything, just there to say, "WELCOME TO CANADA, EH?"

As we left the security fence, there was a gift shop where we could get some Canadian cash.

The nice ladies there informed us that we might want to exchange our money there, as U.S. money would be accepted out in town, but change would be given to us in Canadian. Of course, because they were so nice, I decided we should buy something to get our cash back. I bought some postcards and then I saw a beautiful pair of dragonfly earrings that I kept coming back to.

Finally Jim said I should buy them if I liked them – you didn’t have to tell me twice! I had them on the counter with my U.S. money thrown down like a gauntlet – they were mine! (I am sheepish to admit I have only worn them once since we got back)

We decided not to book any excursions, but to rent a car and see Craigdarroch Castle and Buchart Gardens. When I reserved with Enterprise, I was told I needed to call the office when we arrived and a driver would pick us up. So not being sure if my cell phone service covered Canada, my plan was to use the pay phone at the port. I stepped outside the gift shop and dialed the (0) to make a credit card call. I just couldn’t make this work, the prompts kept taking me back to the same place. So I dialed the operator and got someone in India, who kept insisting I was needing to make a collect call. Never Mind. I hung up and used my cell,
(which, BTW did not result in extra charges) We were instructed to head across the parking lot to the restaurant near the fishing dock and they would be there within 10 minutes. Looking back at the ship:

Our friendly driver was there right on time and on the way he pointed out the famous Empress Hotel and the beautiful government buildings. Victoria is very historic and beautiful, and very Pacific Northwest! It was raining lightly with grey skies, and lots of green everywhere, including the moss on the roofs. We were given a map and a special tip to go to a “great lookout” spot in a certain park overlooking the bay.


We headed up to Craigdarroch Castle. I love history and exploring old spaces, so I thoroughly enjoyed this tour. The homes in the neighborhoos were historical, too. Not seeing the parking lot, which was behind the castle, we parked in front of this house:

CONT NEXT POST:



The staff were very friendly and helpful.

 

[dizneeat]

The next update is ready, and it is day where you are, so you may get to be first to read it!

Can't wait!!!

 

[dizneeat]

We must have posted at the same time!

Okay, looks like you had a leisurely time before arriving in Canada and how cute are those Canadians welcoming you!

I would have freaked having to call someone to get to my car! Something I still don't like is making phone calls to companies (other than Disney ) in a foreign language.
Thank god, your cell phone worked!

Can't wait to read more about your day in Canada!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

The staff were very friendly and helpful.

This is the neighbor in the back

We were greeted at the door and told to look up:

Then shown the route to take through the house:

I think this would have been the Parlor:

After the family left this home, it had been a barracks for a time, and a school and a music school. The walls and ceiling had been painted with layers of paint - the last being white. They have taken years to restore this ceiling - real gold inlay. I don't know how they could take the white off and keep this:

One of the dining rooms:

This was a built-in hutch

There was a lot of strange artwork:

Drawing Room?

View from an upstairs bedroom suite

Doesn't this look comfy?

Turret from inside

Remember the look up? Well this is the look down in the same place:

This was in an upstairs party room or dance studio

Look! There's our ship! View from another window

CONT:

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Okay - THIS was where they held dances

This was the servant's side of the house - separated by a staircase in the middle of the house

What a great idea! Toilet and Tub combo!

Crossing back to the family side - one of the sisters slept here

The Dunsmuir family history is a sad story. They suffered from mental illness and tragedy. I think some of it was spiritual problems because of all the gargoyle type stuff they imported from Europe, and some was consequences for poor choices. Mr. Dunsmuir was an indentured servant from Ireland working for a coal importer in another city. He and the Mrs. lived in a one room shack. They managed to save enough to buy a coal mine and soon amassed a fortune, and soon spread out across the West in railroad and lumber ventures. They had the castle built and had a reputation for not being easy to work for or deal with. After Mr. Dunsmuir died, the boys took the home away from Mrs. and the entire place as well as the other businesses were gone within the 2nd generation. Most of the pieces on display are actually period pieces from donations and are not necessarily those of the family.

Once we left the castle, we were hungry for lunch, so after getting our bearings to Buchart,

we found a little plaza that looked promising. Our plan was to eat at Adriana’s, which promised “the whole enchilada.” It looked fresh and healthy – when I opened the door, there was no seating.

Not wanting to eat in the car, we stepped down to the deli – again no seating. We ended up at the Subway, where there were about 3 two person tables. Apparently they do not sit down to eat in Canada. No exotic Canadian food for us today! The menu was pretty much the same, only there were no $5 Footlongs! Our money was worth about $.96 US to $1.00 Canadian. When planning about 6 months earlier, our money was $1.46 U.S. to the Canadian $1.00.

We eased on down the road, windshield wipers clunking back and forth. We felt like we were lost for a little while, because you drive out in what looks like farm country, go up a small road through the trees, and viola! There you are:

The entrance was a drive up ticket booth. We paid $63 with tax to get in for two of us, and the parking was free. The attendant was a little vague about where we should park, but we found it – right up front! We were extremely disappointed, but we did get some nice pics. You will see there are a lot of bare areas and sparse flowers in some areas:

I love this one:

They were charging Spring rates, which would have been good had they actually had a Spring. With Winter hanging on as long as it did, almost nothing was blooming yet. We saw pretty much tulips and daffodils.

[FONT]

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Japanese Garden:

. Maybe it was just that Buchart Gardens had been built up so much by everyone we told about our plans as a “must do.” I know they can’t help the weather – I just think they should have made adjustments for that. On a positive note - isn’t this the most picturesque Canadian Bay you could every imagine? This was out a back path at the Gardens.

Okay, now for the circles! We had about 2 hrs left before we needed to be back on board, so we decided to look for the lookout that was recommended by our driver. We carefully followed the map, and drove right, then left, then left again, then right – WHAT? We were back where we started. A lot of the main roads were one way. We went around in circles about three times without finding the entrance road that would take us up the hill to the park. We finally cut our losses and found our way back to the street that would take us back to Enterprise.

We returned the car and were dropped off quickly at the ship. Some sights on the way back:

We really enjoyed the sights in Victoria, and it was a very nice day over all – even the Buchart Rip-Off!

NEXT: SAD FAREWELLS

 

[MAGICFOR2]

We must have posted at the same time!

Okay, looks like you had a leisurely time before arriving in Canada and how cute are those Canadians welcoming you!

I would have freaked having to call someone to get to my car! Something I still don't like is making phone calls to companies (other than Disney ) in a foreign language.
Thank god, your cell phone worked!

Can't wait to read more about your day in Canada!

It was a very nice arrival morning, and a nice welcome!

Just for the record, they speak the same language in Western Canada as in Disney! I believe they speak French more on the Eastern side.

I know English is still foreign for you, but I'm sure you would do fine - we chose Enterprise because they pick you up, and our insurance agent recommends them. The excursions off the ship were so expensive - just the castle tour was $129 each for a bus ride and 2 hr tour. (if I remember right) We rented the car for $50 and the castle tour was $10 or $12 each. So with the Gardens, castle, car, lunch and gas in the car we spent $110 total for two of us. Of course, it was easy for us to feel comfortable in Canada, because it is pretty much just like America - in fact it is in North America!

 

[nenner1]

Playing catch-up again.

LOL!

I had to stop a few posts back so here go my random thoughts!

The semi-formal pic of you and Jim is awesome!!!

Tip envelopes?!?!? Already??? Say it ain't so!

Character breakfast..love it! SO much fun! Strange to have it on a port day though...our first one ended up getting changed to CC day so we had to rush. Come to think of it I had to rush and leave early on the next one too. Well the third time shall be the charm! LOL!

Welcome to Canada- how nice! If I can ever get Ron out of the Caribbean I would love to visit up there!

The grey skies and rain make it look quite chilly. Was it cold?

The castle is gorgeous- especially that ceiling! Like you said I have no idea how they were able to uncover that gorgeous artwork. Amazing!

Toilet/tub combo....hahah! Looks like a tiny tub though! or was it just a big toilet?

Lunch..that is very odd that nowhere had seating. If the weather had been less damp you could have made a picnic of it!

The gardens...yeah I can see how that is kind of a rip. They still seem pretty though...especially the fountain one...wow, stunning. AND!

BUDDHA!

(lol that's an inside joke between me and Ron, we yell that whenever we see a Buddha. I think it may have started when he stole a Buddha poster off one of his teacher's walls in high school and gave it to me as a gift....like 20 yrs ago. I'm pretty sure I still have it! ) LOL But I digress!

Circles...lol i'm sorry you never found your little overlook! Reminds me of the movie European VAcation where they keep going around and around that roundabout. Look kids! Big Ben! Parlaiment! hehehe!

So sad it's your last night onboard. You know what they say about all good things....

Jen

 

[Charleston Princess]

The current exchange rate blows me away!

I love historic homes, but you are right -- what a sad story! Note to self: do not decorate with gargoyles.

$63 for the gardens!!! Holy moly!!! They are pretty, though, even without much blooming. Dare I say they remind me of the Canada pavilion gardens?

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

enjoyed the updates, but my favorite pictures was that water shooting foutain in what looks like the middle of a canyon.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Playing catch-up again.

LOL!

I had to stop a few posts back so here go my random thoughts!

The semi-formal pic of you and Jim is awesome!!!

Tip envelopes?!?!? Already??? Say it ain't so!

Character breakfast..love it! SO much fun! Strange to have it on a port day though...our first one ended up getting changed to CC day so we had to rush. Come to think of it I had to rush and leave early on the next one too. Well the third time shall be the charm! LOL!

Welcome to Canada- how nice! If I can ever get Ron out of the Caribbean I would love to visit up there!

The grey skies and rain make it look quite chilly. Was it cold?

The castle is gorgeous- especially that ceiling! Like you said I have no idea how they were able to uncover that gorgeous artwork. Amazing!

Toilet/tub combo....hahah! Looks like a tiny tub though! or was it just a big toilet?

Lunch..that is very odd that nowhere had seating. If the weather had been less damp you could have made a picnic of it!

The gardens...yeah I can see how that is kind of a rip. They still seem pretty though...especially the fountain one...wow, stunning. AND!

BUDDHA!

(lol that's an inside joke between me and Ron, we yell that whenever we see a Buddha. I think it may have started when he stole a Buddha poster off one of his teacher's walls in high school and gave it to me as a gift....like 20 yrs ago. I'm pretty sure I still have it! ) LOL But I digress!

Circles...lol i'm sorry you never found your little overlook! Reminds me of the movie European VAcation where they keep going around and around that roundabout. Look kids! Big Ben! Parlaiment! hehehe!

So sad it's your last night onboard. You know what they say about all good things....

Jen

I love random - it's so much fun! Thanks for the compliment.

Yes, being from Tampa, you would find it cold. We had lt. jackets on and it was fine. You have to remember it was still snowing at home, so it felt a little warmish to us.

I love the BUDDAH story!

I LOVE the Vacation movies!

How was your vacation? You went to WDW, right? I need to catch up too!

The current exchange rate blows me away!

I love historic homes, but you are right -- what a sad story! Note to self: do not decorate with gargoyles.

$63 for the gardens!!! Holy moly!!! They are pretty, though, even without much blooming. Dare I say they remind me of the Canada pavilion gardens?

I know - our money is about worthless everywhere. Those trade agreements really were the start of all of our troubles.

Gargoyles = bad, okay?

I know - after I got all finished posting, those pictures look like I had nothing to complain about - it was still pretty, just not much variety - and the "rose garden" had no roses!

I can see the resemblance to the Canada pavillion maybe they got their inspiration from Buchart!

enjoyed the updates, but my favorite pictures was that water shooting foutain in what looks like the middle of a canyon.

Glad you enjoyed it! That fountain was impressive!

Thanks for following along everyone, even if I am slow to finish this report!