travelogue babble - Victoria
Dec. 14th, 2011 06:18 pm1) I definitely have a stupid love of ferries. I don't know why, I just do.
2) No more fried food/diners/pubs, ever. Blerg.
3) Today was the day of shopping and over indulgence. Bought all kinds of yummy bath things at Lush, to use in the hotels. Walked past a MAC store and bought all the things I've been meaning to buy, since we don't have one in my silly little hometown. They resulted in the kind of final bills that make you suck in a breath of surprise, but at least I know the makeup will probably last me 2 years or more, so over time it's not all that bad.
4) TEA! I ♥ tea. In fact, I ♥ ♥ ♥ tea! :) Last time we were here for out honeymoon, we didn't have tea at the Empress hotel, so this time it was the primary reason for coming. Extravagant, indulgent, gorgeous, lovely yummy food and sandwiches and tea and stained glass and holiday lights... Definitely worth it for a once a decade affair. They even gave us 2 boxes of loose leaf tea, and when they packaged up our uneaten desserts for later, they gave us a fresh full set of everything. :)
5) We're staying at a Best Western (but a shockingly non-midwestern generic one) and there is a Beyonce' outside the door! (those of you who read the Bloggess will know what I mean, and everyone else should go find out.) So we knew it was the right hotel for us.
(The bird actually goes with the little cafe, which made a fabulous fried-egg sandwich, which is a not-so-secret indulgence of mine.)
6) Also, there are five comic book/gaming shops within a half-block. Husband is in hog heaven.
(Which is good because we had a massive blow-out relationship-wise, but... we're working on it, and I don't want to ruin the vacation or even my mood at the moment by babbling about it here.)
7) Oh, and the hotel gave us a room on a higher floor, which I asked for to cut down on the street noise. Right across from the elevator, which made a really loud - even to my ignoring/selectively deaf husband - grinding noise every single time anyone on any floor used the damn thing. We asked if they could move us to a quieter room and they upgraded us to a suite free of charge. FTW!
8) Tomorrow we go to Sooke, a swanky B&B with amazing locally grown/harvested food - http://www.sookeharbourhouse.com/ (It was a gift from the in-lawns, I didn't suddenly win the lottery or anything.) I recall the dinner we had there 11 years ago as being pretty much the best in my life. Eleven years later, the http://www.domainofkillien.com/ may have them beat, but I'm interested in seeing how the battle plays out.
9) Adding up today's receipts, our day of super extravagance actually didn't break $200. I guess I'm just kind of cheap, historically. ;)
2) No more fried food/diners/pubs, ever. Blerg.
3) Today was the day of shopping and over indulgence. Bought all kinds of yummy bath things at Lush, to use in the hotels. Walked past a MAC store and bought all the things I've been meaning to buy, since we don't have one in my silly little hometown. They resulted in the kind of final bills that make you suck in a breath of surprise, but at least I know the makeup will probably last me 2 years or more, so over time it's not all that bad.
4) TEA! I ♥ tea. In fact, I ♥ ♥ ♥ tea! :) Last time we were here for out honeymoon, we didn't have tea at the Empress hotel, so this time it was the primary reason for coming. Extravagant, indulgent, gorgeous, lovely yummy food and sandwiches and tea and stained glass and holiday lights... Definitely worth it for a once a decade affair. They even gave us 2 boxes of loose leaf tea, and when they packaged up our uneaten desserts for later, they gave us a fresh full set of everything. :)
5) We're staying at a Best Western (but a shockingly non-midwestern generic one) and there is a Beyonce' outside the door! (those of you who read the Bloggess will know what I mean, and everyone else should go find out.) So we knew it was the right hotel for us.
(The bird actually goes with the little cafe, which made a fabulous fried-egg sandwich, which is a not-so-secret indulgence of mine.)
6) Also, there are five comic book/gaming shops within a half-block. Husband is in hog heaven.
(Which is good because we had a massive blow-out relationship-wise, but... we're working on it, and I don't want to ruin the vacation or even my mood at the moment by babbling about it here.)
7) Oh, and the hotel gave us a room on a higher floor, which I asked for to cut down on the street noise. Right across from the elevator, which made a really loud - even to my ignoring/selectively deaf husband - grinding noise every single time anyone on any floor used the damn thing. We asked if they could move us to a quieter room and they upgraded us to a suite free of charge. FTW!
8) Tomorrow we go to Sooke, a swanky B&B with amazing locally grown/harvested food - http://www.sookeharbourhouse.com/ (It was a gift from the in-lawns, I didn't suddenly win the lottery or anything.) I recall the dinner we had there 11 years ago as being pretty much the best in my life. Eleven years later, the http://www.domainofkillien.com/ may have them beat, but I'm interested in seeing how the battle plays out.
9) Adding up today's receipts, our day of super extravagance actually didn't break $200. I guess I'm just kind of cheap, historically. ;)
no subject
Date: 2011-12-15 10:20 am (UTC)*smooshes and loves*
no subject
Date: 2011-12-16 08:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-18 05:37 am (UTC)I wouldn't call that cheap at all! That's smart. $200 might not be a lot but if it's giving you makeup and bath supplies for a long time to come along with everything else that's what I call excellent shopping.
no subject
Date: 2011-12-19 05:00 am (UTC)I'm pretty frugal, so I think you're right - in the long run, it works out to be extravagant but make it last a long time.