My friends Sarah and Dan invited me to spend Easter weekend on Vancouver Island with them and it was awesome! We left on the friday afternoon around 3pm and drove over in their car, taking the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo. The ferry ride was fun and a great way to see some amazing views of the mainland and the Island, we also packed a little picnic for the journey which kept us happy!
Once we arrived in Nanaimo we drove up to Mount Washington where we had rented an apartment for 2 nights in the Ski resort. It was about a 2 hour drive from Nanaimo and the views and wildlife along the way kept us entertained. We arrived at the resort around 9pm and battled with the walk through the deep snow to our apartment, lugging our bags and equipment along with us! The resort was very small and almost seemed like we had taken a step back in time, with one convenience/liquor store and the ski lodge seeming to be the only amenities! It was quirky and fun though, and just what we needed for a relaxing weekend away! There was an immense amount of snow (about 7m) and we had to climb down a makeshift snow tunnel to the front door of our block of apartments which was great fun! We settled in for the evening and ate a lovely dinner from the Easter hamper I made at Granvile market.
In the morning we headed to the slopes for a day of skiing and we were so lucky with the weather! The sun was out and the sky was clear so the views from the mountain were incredible and you could see right over to the mainland and even Mount Baker in the US! There were numerous amounts of ski runs so we spent the day exploring, even hitting an unpisted black diamond, which after not skiing for 8 years was pretty scary! We stopped mid morning for a snack and i tried my first ever Beaver Tail with chocolate and banana topping...Amazing!! At lunch time we climbed under a no ski zone and climbed slightly higher up the mountain to find a spot to eat our yummy picnic. We sat down in the deep powder snow high up in the mountain and looked out over the epic views as we munched on our sandwiches and refuelled for the afternoon.
After an afternoon of more skiing we headed back to the apartment for tea, biscuits and warm showers before heading to the lodge to watch the sun set with drink in hand on the balcony. We had a few drinks and a bite to eat before heading back to our apartment for more drinks and a jigsaw puzzle (which kept us equally entertained and frustrated for hours!)
On Sunday morning we had a lazy easter breakfast of homemade hot cross buns, soft boiled eggs with soldiers and of course a cadburys cream egg! We packed up slowly whilst still trying to finish off the jigsaw puzzle, which we eventually had to give up on! We headed off around 1pm and drove back to Nanaimo where we stopped off for a lunch break in a lovely little cafe. We had a stroll along the waterfront and took in the beautiful views and gorgeous sunshine. (Photo above.)
We then headed on to Victoria and arrived early evening, checking into our hotel The Queen Victoria, where we had a lovely big suite between the 3 of us. We had been advised to try the fish and chips from the fisherman's wharf area so we went for a walk along the waterfront and headed down to Barb's Fish & Chips which is right on the waters edge. The fish was so fresh, the chips were delicious and the portions were huge. We sat down on a little picnic bench in the evening sun and looked out at the beautiful and very colourful little house boats which line the waters edge.
After we were all full to the brim we walked back and headed into the downtown area, passing the beautifully lit parliament buildings along the way. We headed into the town to find a little bar called Tapa Bar, which was another recommendation. We found the bar down a lovely little alley and sat at the bar drinking jugs of sangria (which happened to be on offer on Sundays!) Once we had finished up, we took a stroll further into town to find the China town area as we had heard of a quirky little area called Fan Tan Alley. We wondered around China Town and found the alley which was already closed for the night so we decided to call it a night and head back to the hotel.
The next morning we headed down to the pool and hot tub in the hotel and relaxed for an hour before packing up and checking out. We then walked back into town to a breakfast diner called 'Johns Place' which again had been recommended to us! There was a line up and a wait for around 20-30 minutes for a table, but we were happy to wait as the menu looked so amazing. We finally got a table and settled down to what was going to be an enormous breakfast. We each chose our breakfasts, myself and Sarah ordering 2 different kinds of eggs benedict (there are about 12 different varieties on the menu!) and Dan ordered a big breakfast burger. We also ordered the French Toast Erotica between the 3 of us as we just had to try it! It came out first and it was even better than I had imagined, with 2 thick pieces of french toast filled with chocolate spread and banana and accompanied by a cream cheese syrup (which sounds strange but was incredible and like nothing I have tried before!) The eggs benedict was also yummy and Dan enjoyed his burger. As you can imagine we were completely full to the brim by the time we had devoured our gigantic breakfast and we headed out for a walk around the town. (The restaurant also had a really nice story behind it and some of the staff have been working there since it opened in 1984!)
Victoria is a beautiful city and had a very English feel to it. There are lots of lovely shops and boutiques and the walk along the waters edge is lovely. We also made our way back to Fan Tan Alley which is a tiny squeeze of an alleyway full of quirky shops, galleries and apparently amazing noodles, although we were too full to try them! I would definitely recommend a visit to Vancouver Island and I just wish I had more time to explore as I have heard great things about the west coast near Tofino!
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