I'll start off with Victoria's Chinatown. It is a beautiful and historic looking place with a mix of Victorian and Chinese style.
And here's the famous Fan Tan Alley... the thinnest alley I've ever seen!
Looks a lot creepier with the gates half open xD
We came across this store there that had a lot of nude artwork and photography on display. I didn't take any pictures of them, but they were very extravagant and unique.
I did manage to take a picture of their light switches, which was probably the most interesting one I've seen yet ~
The photograph store/ art gallery was linked to a consignment store. The gallery and shop belongs to a young couple, who are extremely friendly and told us in great detail, the history of the store.
Apparently, this used to be a gambling den that the Chinese frequented back in the 1920s - 1970s. Behind the shop lays a horde of poppy plants that used to be made into opium back in the days. There's also an abandoned opium den in the back. The owner told us that the previous owners of this building tried to remove all the plants, but the plants were stubborn and perhaps the roots lay too deep in the soil, so it was impossible to absolutely remove them.
The ceiling reveals the history of this building. The once busy gambling den was always filled with smokers --- hence the brown/yellow spotted ceiling.
I want a typewriter like this one xD
Here's one of the first Chinese schools in Canada.
Here's the founder of the Chinese school and his family. Pretty creepy picture though, don't you think? Looks a bit like vampires...
After visiting Chinatown, we went to visit the Miniature World. It was a wonderful place filled with miniature worlds and buildings and houses on display. Lots of it was on the history of Canada as well =)
Here are a few snapshots...
Doesn't this one remind you of hobbits? =P
Back out on the streets, there were a lot of street performances going on. This boy talent totally caught our eyes (as well as many people passing by). He was dancing and lip syncing to Michael Jackson and his moves were amazing! Almost like the original xD
We had a scrumptious dinner at a steakhouse (forgot the name >.>). The oysters were soooo yummy and the mini Tabasco was so cute >///<
We missed the fireworks, but the night scene in Victoria was amazing on Canada Day.
It looked like a sea of people...almost like Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympics xD
You can see Victoria's night market on the right side of this photo. It was very small though, and sold mainly jewelry and a lot of First Nation gift items.
All in all, it was an amazing trip! I'm really glad that I spent Canada day at British Columbia's capital city, and I had a lot of fun! It's a beautiful city and I love the Victorian style homes and buildings. Too bad that we didn't have enough time to visit the castles in Victoria. I also really wanted to visit the wax museum, but it was closed at the time due to renovation. Hopefully, next time when I go to Victoria, it'll be opened once again. =)
No comments:
Post a Comment