Stop #1: Crust Bakery (Highlight)
Crust Bakery is a fabulous boutique artisan bakery in serving amazing baked goods and tasty lunch items. We tried the raspberry white chocolate muffin, cronut (very decadent and sweet), bacon, egg and rosemary danish, and bought the raspberry, lychee, rosewater and pistachio danish, foccacia and sourdough bread to try at home. I was really impressed by the affordable prices and portion sizes.
Stop #2: Butchart Gardens (Highlight)
We couldn’t leave Victoria without going to the renowned Butchart Gardens. We bought tickets online beforehand and waited for around 30 minutes to enter the parking lot. They ensured that guests observed social distancing measures strictly, which bodes well for everyone’s health.
There was a one way path through the various themed gardens, which was a good idea for crowd control and to maintain capacity. I would allocate around 2-3 hours to spend time leisurely in the gardens. We meandered through the stunning and most photographed Sunken Gardens, posing at the staircase for a bird’s eye view of the panoramic and photogenic landscape. Iridescent flowers bloomed everywhere, perfuming the summer air.
In the Rose Garden, a walkway of arches enchanted us with multicolored roses. Indeed, it was romantic and whimsical, with an impressive collection of over 280 varieties of roses.
Next up was the Japanese Garden where tranquil waters and stepping stones were abound. We observed maple and beech trees, bamboo plants and rhododendrons and azaleas.
We ended our visit with the Italian Garden. Originally the Butchart family’s tennis court, the Italian Garden is ornamented with a bronze-cast statue and elaborately arranged flowers.
I really enjoyed my visit here, and would recommend it to people visiting the area, for its historical and aesthetic value.