VA2007 - Day Trips - Victoria

Shakespeare's axiom "What is past is prologue" is best contemplated in the lobby of Victoria's 1908 Fairmont Empress Hotel, drinking stiff black tea and eating raisin scones with double Devon cream. Afternoon tea has been served there for 99 years and makes a perfect, if caloric, introduction to Victoria's love affair with Olde England. With its manicured trees, fish and chip houses, and 19thcentury façades, the only thing missing from the Englishness of Victoria is a Rent-A-Corgi service.

Once you've had your fill of crustless cucumber sandwiches, you can walk from the Empress's central Inner Harbour location to several other attractions: the Parliament Buildings, the Royal British Columbia Museum and the Maritime Museum of B.C. If you have children in tow, you can reward their lack of fidgeting at teatime with visits to the Royal London Wax Museum. It features British royals, historical figures, a gruesome Chamber of Horrors and, most terrifying of all, various Canadian prime ministers.

Double-decker tour buses are available for city tours and destinations like Butchart Gardens and Craigdarroch Castle. If you're over-Anglicized by the end of the day, you might head to one of Victoria's excellent non-British restaurants. Café Brio, to name one, is a well-loved local bistro rooted in Italian village cuisine and West Coast eclecticism.

Getting there: Contact BC Ferries at 888-223-3779.
Victoria Travel InfoCentre, 800-663-3883 and tourismvictoria.com.
The Fairmont Empress Hotel, 721 Government St., 250-384-8111.
Royal British Columbia Museum, 675 Belleville St., 888-447-7977.
Maritime Museum, 28 Bastion Square, 250-385-4222.
Royal London Wax Museum, 470 Belleville St., 877-929-3228.
Double-decker buses: Grayline of Victoria, 800-663-8390.
Butchart Gardens, 800 Benvenuto Ave., Brentwood Bay, 866-652- 4422.
Craigdarroch Castle, 1050 Joan Cres., 250- 592-5323.
Café Brio, 944 Fort St., 866-270-5461.

Insider Secret

Art for the price of a comic book? Gareth Gaudin's Magic Teeth Dailies art project, for which Gaudin draws a new Perogy Cat adventure every day, has achieved cult status worldwide. Among Gaudin's fans is Barenaked Ladies front man Ed Robertson, who quotes from the comic in concert and wore a Perogy Cat pin during his appearance on David Letterman. With over a thousand comics completed, Gaugin has committed to daily creations indefinitely. Magic Teeth Dailies are available only from the comic book store Gaudin co-owns (but you can get a sneak peek online). Legends Comics & Books, 633 Johnson St., Victoria, 250-388-3696. — Masaji Takei