Family Travel: A Week in Victoria, British Columbia

Family Travel Victoria BC Canada Beacon Hill Park Ducks Petits Villains

Hanging with the ducks near the Botanical Gardens in Beacon Hill Park

A few years ago, once both my parents were retired, they decided to spend the cold Canadian winter, in the warmest part of Canada: the west coast of British Columbia. My parents got married in Victoria, a beautiful island off the coast, and lived there for a few years before migrating east for work. Victoria holds a nostalgic place in their hearts and so, when I had the opportunity to travel there to visit them during their winter getaway I jumped at the chance to see the beautiful island that forms the foundation of their story.

Family Travel Victoria BC Canada Dallas Road Beach Petits Villains

Muralled pathway along Dallas Road

Family Travel Victoria BC Canada Dallas Petits Villains

Balancing on drift wood at Dallas Road Beach

Hippie in Disguise Family Travel Beach Pebbles

Natural souvenirs from Dallas Road Beach

Family Travel Victoria BC Canada Petits Villains Dallas Beach

You can see Washington State across the water at Dallas Beach

Family Travel Victoria BC Canada Dallas Beach Petits Villains Drift Wood

Our little beach engineer is forever building forts with washed up lumber

Family Travel Victoria BC Canada Dallas Petits Villains

Lookout at Dallas Road Beach

Victoria is a small city, but the central one, on the large island of Vancouver. The island is known for its stunning landscape, which includes gorgeous ocean shores, protected dunes, a rainforest with trees hundreds of years old, and gorgeous mossy rocky mountains to hike. Victoria is also known for its arts and cultural offerings, a mixture of Indigenous arts that have had a place on the island for centuries, and the art of newcomers to the island. Victoria has a beautiful harbour, complete with seals and otters smiling at visitors (for real!), water taxis, and a seaplane airport, so you can watch planes landing on the water.

Family Travel Victoria BC Canada Totem Museum

Totem poles outside the BC Museum

Victoria has a historic downtown with lots of famous local shops, galleries and places to get food. However, Victoria also has well developed neighbourhoods (‘villages’) that have all the amenities, cafes, and so on, within walking distance, so they are very much worth exploring — we especially loved Cook Street Village. Victoria also has various local hiking spots for people of all fitness levels, including my mother who was just out of a total knee replacement. We enjoyed hikes at Mount Douglas and Mount Tolmie.

Family Travel Victoria BC Canada Mount Douglas Petits Villains

Looking out from the summit of Mount Douglas

We were happy to read in a local paper while we were in Victoria that approximately 40% of residents are vegetarian. Say what?! This helped explain the ample options around town for plant eaters like us, and the fact that no one rolled their eyes at us when we asked for almond milk or Daiya cheese. After a few days in Victoria, I was ready to conclude that I could move there and be quite happy for the rest of my life. It had the perfect mix of urban attractions and the beauty of natural spaces.

Family Travel Victoria BC Canada Living Wall

Living wall at Discovery Coffee. Hungry child has no time for a smile!

This is not a sponsored post, but I wanted to share some of our favourite places for families looking to travel to Victoria. I would say it’s a great place to go, there’s a lot to experience that costs no money at all (raise your hand if you are budget conscious — that’s us!), and the general vibe of the residents is very welcoming. There is so much to experience that one week there just wasn’t enough, so we will definitely make a trip back!

Here are our highlights: [ LOTS MORE PHOTOS at the END of this POST ]

Eating

  • Moka House Coffee – We visited this coffee house most mornings either before or after our walk to the beach. Food and drink were great, with lots of creative options. My favourite was the seasonal Lavender Latte, which was a naturally flavoured warm lavender drink. So good!
  • Hot and Cold Café – We dined here twice, the space is quite small, but worth the squeeze. The food suits all diets, so everyone can find something they love. I had the green curry and let me just say I’m still thinking about it! The coconut pudding desserts were out of this world delicious, even for my children who aren’t fans of coconut.
  • Hot House Pizza – On a lazy evening we ordered pizza from Hot House and we were pleasantly surprised. If you like traditional deep dish pizza, with a nice thick crust and no shyness when it comes to toppings this place is for you. While they had all the conventional pizza types, including dairy cheese and meats, you could adapt any of them to vegan diet, including delicious melty vegan cheese. No regrets!
  • Re-bar Modern Food – Found in the downtown area, Re-Bar is a fairly well-known local restaurant, that boasts its own cook book. The restaurant offers mostly vegetarian options, although it also serves fish. The number of desserts on the menu is pretty impressive, so if you have a sweet tooth you won’t be disappointed. We went twice and tried a few different dishes and *literally* everything was insanely good. My daughter had a salad that she became slightly obsessed with trying to replicate at home. It was that good – and it was salad. Go figure!
  • Pour – a coffee shop in downtown Victoria that has absurdly delicious coffee, as well as a variety of fresh baked goods and gelato. After my first visit, I woke up every day wanting one of their Americanos.
  • Discovery Coffee – This is a local, trendy coffee chain, that focuses on serving really good coffee. We enjoyed a nice drink at the downtown location, and loved that they had a living wall in the café.
  • La Taqueria – While exploring the downtown area, I noticed a long line of people down a sidewalk that led to a small taco restaurant. Long lines for food mean one thing: delicious food. We crossed the street and joined the line, which happened to move fairly quickly. We got tacos that were crazy delicious! The menu includes lots of  meat and 4 (!) vegetarian options. We went back a second time because it was THAT good.
  • The Very Good Butchers – inside a gentrified market space we found a vegan deli that makes plant based cheeses and meat analogues (sausages, chicken, etc), they also serve comfort food meals, such as mac’n’cheese, poutine, nachos, burgers, and salads (my daughter counts salad in the category of comfort foods!). Although often vegan versions of cheese and meat are underwhelming, tasteless or unhealthy, the foods at this deli are none of these.

Shops

  • Munro’s Books – Visit this space even if you don’t read! A gorgeous independent book shop that occupies and old bank building. There is an adorable little annex in the back for children’s books and things, with space to read and enjoy. A great collection of books, we loved this shop. It’s also a great place to find tasteful souvenirs and local finds.
  • Roger’s Chocolates – Local and famous chocolatier, this is a great spot to have a little treat or to get a special edible gift for someone. They offer samples copiously so be ready to taste a few.
  • Victoria Public Market – Mentioned above, this is a gentrified market complex, with various goods and souvenirs, local food shops, eateries, specialty shops and community spaces. Worth a visit, especially if you are hungry!

Attractions

  • Royal BC Museum – A deceptively vast museum space, which included a large collection of Indigenous art and artifacts, as well as a natural history collection of animals and flora. Worth a visit! It has a really nice gift shop, as to be expected with most galleries and museums.
  • Hiking – Mount Douglas and Mount Tolmie – we hiked both of these famous summits, and neither was particularly challenging, although I definitely recommend solid footwear for Mount Douglas, which I dangerously ascended in moccasins and a linen dress! While both can be hiked on foot, I’ve been told that you can also take a back road up in a car to a lookout spot.
  • Beaches – We visited the beach everyday, don’t think that cold temperatures should keep you away from the beach, there is so much to do and explore. My kids spent hours building forts with drift wood, I collected sea glass, and we all had a great time. Our favourites were  Willow Beach (note the photos at this link do not do the beauty of the beach justice) and Dallas Road Beach. Willow is sandy, while Dallas is mostly pebbles.
  • Beacon Hill Park – This is an expansive multi-use park, that includes a number of play structures, a botanical garden, a petting zoo for rescued animals, mild hiking, and more. We saw wild deer and peacocks multiple times while walking through the park. Definitely worth a visit and it is located on a main street so there are places to grab snacks if hunger or thirst strikes.
  • Inner Harbour – Victoria has a beautiful inner harbour that is located in the downtown, where you can see and ride water taxis, visit float houses (so cool!). You’ll probably also get to see sea planes landing on the water.  Across the street there are two of the most beautiful buildings: the BC parliament and the historic, luxury Empress hotel.
  • Empress Hotel – If you aren’t staying at this hotel it is still worth a visit! The gardens in front and around the back are gorgeous, and inside the hotel you’ll find beautiful interior decor, magnificent chandeliers, unique shops and welcoming staff. It’s fun to explore the fancy side of life!

Accommodations

  • We stayed in an AirBnB, however there are lots of beautiful hotels to stay at too.

Victoria is well worth a visit, and is definitely the kind of city that would satisfy most people. There’s good food, lots of outdoors activities and ways to stay fit while on vacation, lots of family friendly activities, lots of arts and culture to take in, and a good general vibe from the local residents. The city is very walkable and is full of natural beauty at every turn. We will definitely go back again!

NOTE: Seneca’s clothing was graciously gifted to us by one of our favourite Canadian clothing designers: Petits Vilains. Petits Villains designs handmade organic clothing, including basics like leggings and tops, as well more formal clothing, including adorable jumpers, blouses, overalls and more. Please check them out and support small makers and designers doing good things in a sustainable and ethical way!

Family Travel Victoria BC Canada Petits Villains Dallas Road

Hiking alongside Dallas Road

Family Travel Victoria BC Canada Petits Villains Red Wood

In the red woods at Beacon Hill Park

Family Travel Victoria BC Canada Petits Villains Red Wood

Watching 8 peacocks high within the branches of a giant red wood at Beacon Hill Park

Family Travel Victoria BC Canada Goat Sanctuary

Snuggling goats at the animal sanctuary at Beacon Hill Park. Ro wanted to name this newborn Pumpkin Spice.

Family Travel Victoria BC Canada Beacon Hill Park

Wandering around the vast Beacon Hill park landscape

Family Travel Victoria BC Canada Willow Beach Petits Villains

Fort engineering at Willow Beach

Family Travel Victoria BC Canada Willow Beach Petits Villains

Family Travel Victoria BC Canada Willow Beach Petits Villains

Bare foot at Willow Beach

Family Travel Victoria BC Canada Dallas Petits Villains

So much wind! I took about 50 photos and none of them showed both of their faces. They were laughing so hard at how hard it was to keep the hair away!

 

Family Travel: A Day In Toronto

art gallery of ontario riopelle

Interactive fun at the Art Gallery of Ontario

The children and I recently made a trip across the country from Ottawa, Ontario to the island of Victoria, in British Columbia, which is off of the Canadian west coast. We made a similar trip last year to visit my parents who winter out there. Isn’t it fun and funny to use ‘winter’ as a verb?!

On our trip out west last year, my youngest child, Sen, found the travel pretty long. The fact that he won’t watch shows or distract himself with screens doesn’t help the situation…but, overall that’s not something a parent should complain about.

Sen Art Gallery of Ontario Riopelle Mitchell

I would definitely rather my child stares at this sort of thing! Art work by Joan Mitchell at the Art Gallery of Ontario

When planning our trip this year, I decided to try dividing up the travel to make the journey more fun for Sen and to add a little extra arts and adventure to our trip. We decided to ride the train from Ottawa to Toronto, spend a day and a half in Toronto, exploring the downtown, and then catch a direct flight from Toronto to Victoria. And I can say, it worked out really well!

Toronto is Canada’s biggest city. And, to many people’s surprise it is not the capital of Canada. As far as big cities go, Toronto has all the great things that big cities offer: art galleries, performing arts shows, museums, zoos and an aquarium, parks, waterfront, old architecture and astonishing modern buildings, theme parks as well as lots of unique shops and delicious local food.

Art Gallery of Ontario Children

More creative fun at the Art Gallery of Ontario

Those readers who are more familiar with our family’s beat know that I have a strong preference for travel by foot (either walking or pedalling), and I love a good city adventure. So, that was our plan for Toronto: explore the downtown area around our hotel by foot and see what discoveries we could make. My children love this sort of itinerary where all we know for sure is that we are walking out the front door and we will see where our curiosity leads us. They feel like they have more input in our day and look at the city with an inquisitive lens, seeing if they might spot something, a street, an alley, a shop, a park, that we should venture to. They feel more part of the decision making and enjoy the surprises that come with an unplanned day, and they absorb a lot more about the city because they are actively looking for fun things to do. It’s a fun, healthy competition to see who can find the next city clue to pursue.

That being said, I did have one destination in mind: the Art Gallery of Ontario. Not only is the AGO a fantastic gallery, especially for families, but a new show had just opened for an artist I have been fascinated with for a few years: Yayoi Kusama. So, when our exploration brought us pretty close to the AGO (we ended up in Kensington Market a few blocks away), I steered the adventure toward the AGO, where we spent about 4 hours viewing the exhibits and participating in pop-up art activities.

Art Gallery of Ontario Yayoi Kusama Garden

Yayoi Kusama’s Narcissus Garden at the Art Gallery of Ontario

This is not a sponsored post, but I do want to share the places we stayed, visited and ate, because, well, I found them to be great! People often ask me for travel recommendations, so now, when it comes to Toronto I can point them toward this post.

Here are the highlights and some details of our day in Toronto:

Accommodations

  • Our hotel was the Strathcona: We picked it because it was inexpensive and across the street from the train station and subway lines. The staff were very polite and helpful. The room was clean, but tiny. The beds were tiny. But the size didn’t matter, we slept well and spent most of our time outdoors.

Food

  • Breakfast was smoothies from Freshly Squeezed. These are pure fruit smoothies, no additive like sugar, whey, etc. Not organic, but no one’s perfect. Don’t forget to bring a travel cup (like this!) and straw (like this!), so you don’t have to take single-use plastic!
  • Lunch was at Fresh. Fresh is a delicious local restaurant mini-chain — I think there are 3 locations. This mainly vegan restaurant has delicious, nutritious foods, like Buddha bowls, salads, burgers, tacos, smoothies, soups and lots more. The menu is massive. And true to its name the food is fresh! It’s definitely child-friendly and my children loved the food, my littlest said “Take a picture of this place, so we can tell people all about it”. Just in case the word ‘vegan’ scares you off, the restaurant is known to be popular with people who aren’t vegan, so try it out!
  • Afternoon treat: We discovered a delicious vegan bakery in the basement of the Hudson’s Bay at the Eaton Centre called Sorelle & Co. The bakery was so fancy and had such beautiful presentation I didn’t even think there was a chance they had anything without butter in it. The kids and I gazed at the beautiful pastries simply for the artistry of their construction…then I noticed a sign that said all their goods were vegan…so we got a few things!

Attractions

  • Walking city streets, stopping at pop up markets, enjoying buskers performing, exploring alleys was a main attraction. We like to do this to get the pulse of a city. And thanks to our wandering nature, while we were near Kensington Market, we got to see a peaceful protest against Chinese oppression of Tibet.
  • The AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) is amazing, it has a great permanent collection. The temporary shows that we’ve seen have been excellent and really gave us a good gallery experience. For example, the Mitchell Riopelle show was spacious, the rooms didn’t feel cramped, there were sofas to sit on to enjoy the artworks for longer. The AGO has done a good job of leaving breathing room in its galleries. A big draw for families that enjoy visiting art galleries is that the AGO has done a standout job of developing activities for children to enjoy throughout the gallery, rather than off in one room or a corner space. At the AGO there are activities and art projects to engage in throughout the building and fitting all ages. This allowed me, as a slower observer, to enjoy the art work longer, because my busier child, Sen, was easily able to occupy his excess energy and creativity with the activities on offer.
  • Kensington Market is a district in downtown Toronto, it is eclectic and lots of fun to wander through, it almost feels like you’ve stepped into another city! There is a mix of independent shops for clothing and food, international food and cuisines, boutiques, street art, decorated alleys and always something completely unexpected.

Transportation

  • We mainly got around town on foot. If you are downtown in Toronto in the area of the train station or the Eaton Centre, there is an extensive network of underground tunnels that connect the buildings. These can be useful for getting around in bad weather. The tunnels are filled with shops and are full of people, so don’t be nervous about using them.
  • To get to the airport for our flight we took the new express train, called the UP (Union-Pearson), that takes people from Union Station to Pearson Airport. The tickets are about $12 and children are free. The trip is supposed to take about 25 minutes, but ours was faster than that. I don’t know why anyone would fight traffic in a car or taxi for 45 minutes or longer and at a much higher cost. The UP train is the way to go!
  • To travel to Toronto we took VIA Rail, which is Canada’s national train line, and to fly to Victoria we flew direct via Air Canada on points. Overall the travel was pretty easy and inexpensive.

Toronto is a great city with much more to offer than I can cover in this one post and just one day spent there, so explore and see what you find, and let me know what cool stuff you discover!

toronto parrot street art

Street art and a silly child imitating the parrot’s expression

Hippie in Disguise Ottawa Canada Arboretum

When in Rome: The Ottawa Edition

In the news! I was by asked my friends (Carina and Bree) over at Peaks & Harbours to contribute to their series “When in Rome” where they profile cities in terms of their fun, artful, adventurous and family-friendly activities. Sounds like a great resource, right?!

We live a pedestrian lifestyle, so we are out and about walking around Ottawa every weekend, rain or shine, sun or snow. Ottawa is bursting with natural beauty, art experiences and adventure, so it was pretty hard to pick my favourite three spots to share. If you know me well, maybe you can guess…

Find out here.

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image   A Day in New York City

image   Visiting Philadelphia

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset   Urban Adventures