Afternoon Tea at The Empress Hotel, Victoria, B.C.

"So Bob, would you like to have afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel.  It's quite expensive, but well worth it.  The treat is on Harry and me....you'll just love it, coming from New England and all", said my friend Mary Thiebes. 

"I'm really not dressed for high tea...but afternoon tea...that sounds like a plan" said I. 

 Harry and Bob...

We had taken the ferry over earlier that morning from Bellingham, Washington for a two day stay in this very British city.  Harry and Thiebes were fellow Jesuit volunteers I had lived with thirty- eight years before in a remote Inuit Village.  Victoria was a far cry from St. Mary's Mission on the lower Yukon!  Both Thiebes and Harry reside on Chuckanut Drive within a mile of each other.  Over the years I have traveled there and they have come East and our friendship today is as strong as it was then...quite amazing I would say!  Though we talk about the past...we also like to go on adventures and create new memories...all three of us are high energy people. 

Bob, Thiebes and Harry strolling the walkway from the ferry.  In the backround you can see the Victorian-era Parliament Buildings. At night, this dramatic structure ignites the city center with thousands of twinkling lights.

 As we walk along Wharf Street, we see lamp posts adorn with hanging baskets.  The placement of these baskets every June has signaled the start of summer in Victoria for more then sixty years.  They were first introduced to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Victoria's incorporation in 1937.  They are now a trademark of the City.

On the streets, two decker red buses pass us by....I'm excited...this will be my first time to actually ride on one....but I will have to wait for later in the day.

In Old Town Victoria, we stop at the Maritime Musuem of British Columbia.  This is housed in the historic 1889 Provincial Law Courts Building situated in Bastion Square. The Building is absolutely beautiful...with its vaulted ceilings and elegant cornices.  As you enter the galleries your eye will catch  the lacy ornamental grill work of the caged elevator.  It is considered the oldest operating elevator in the country.  

After an hour, I tell the girls I need to get outside.  I need to walk the streets of Old Town and see the many examples of Victorian architecture.  That's my way of knowing a city....probably because I was brought up close to a "walking city", Boston.  By now, Thiebes is hungry so we stop at a small cafe for bagels and coffee...we don't want much...just enough to tide us over because we have reservations at the Empress Hotel for afternoon tea at 3 o'clock.

After our small brunch, we head over to look at some gardens before going in the Royal BC Museum. 

  I really love museums...and this is one of the best....for three hours we travel back into the past of Victoria...unbelievable exhibits on Native Americans hold attention as we walk through Long Houses and see  handcarved totem poles.

From inside the museum I take this picture of the Inner Harbor. 

 And then it's time for afternoon tea...I can hardly wait...and of course, we will have it at the Fairmont Empress Hotel.  The Empress has been serving tea since 1908 (in the beginning, tea was $1 and a room with a harbour view was $7...I will not tell you what it is today...I don't know...it was a gift from Harry and Thiebes to me...and so I did not ask.)  As we entered the dining room,  I had butterflies in my  stomach....oh, so elegant...will I be comfortable here?  Most of the ladies were dressed in very formal  attire  and beautiful hats adorned their salon hairdos....you see from the pictures what we three clowns had on....mmmm.  But as the maitre de brought us to our table she commented to Thiebes, "It's so nice to have you back Mrs. Dean...a thirty-eighth reunion with your friend from the East...how nice."  I looked at Thiebes questioningly and she smiled as she said, "Dean's Law Offices does all their legal work".  With a sigh of relief I took my seat.  In the backround, the sounds of Chopin's "Waltz in A Minor" was playing.  Tea began with some fresh raspberries, blueberries and strawberries in a fruit cup followed by an offering of delicate watercress sandwiches and plump scones with home-made strawberry preserves and thick cream.  We asked for seconds (all three of us are big eaters!) as we sipped their delicious Empress blend tea ( a mixture of China black, Ceylon and Darjeeling teas).  The most delicate pastries followed....so light and fluffy....and oh so good!  I have to conclude, the British have it right...the ritual of taking tea in the afternoon is one of life's finer pleasures!

After our afternoon delight, we boarded a Double Decker for a tour of the city...saving the Garden Tour for the morrow.  Once back at the Hotel, we strolled around Old Town once more, bought a bottle of wine and went down by the Bay and sat under a lamp post and told stories of the past.... it was a most complete day!