August 26, 2007

The Twins turn 30!

To celebrate our 30th year, Tia and I decided to take a special trip. Due to my wedding, we were unable to do the trip in January, so we decided to do it for our "half" birthday instead, when the weather is better anyway! We packed our bags and headed to the Northern land of...

Canada! We hopped aboard the Victoria Clipper, a catamaran that journeys through the San Juan Islands and lands in Victoria, British Columbia. Located on Vancouver Island, this little city boasts it's historic ties with England, which still run strong. Of course the Canadian outdoor culture also has a strong presence, as you can see me here with a Canadian Black Bear.

We stayed at the historic James Bay Inn. We enjoyed a huge room and antique furnishings.

Tia especially enjoyed some of the Victorian-era sofas, like this red velvet one in the lobby.

A very walkable city, we set out on foot to have some fun. We hiked around downtown and turned up a few streets until we found signs that led us to this: the Craigdarroch Castle. Over 30,000 square feet, this castle was a great representation of the lifestyles of the wealthy during the Victorian Age. It was filled with original furniture, stained glass, musical instruments, etc. We had a lot of fun exploring the four floors and enjoyed the view from the lookout tower. How fun it would have been to be invited to an "at home" - when the ladies of the house had social hour inclusive of ballroom dancing complete with a card filled out ahead of time letting you know which song and with whom your dance partner would be!

Later that evening, we happened upon a production of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet in a local park square. It was easy to get swept up in the passionate and tragic tale of one of the most famous stories of all time. You know it's great acting when the actors can pull you into the story without any fancy backdrops or props.

After the play, we headed to the Empress Hotel. There, we went to the Bengal Lounge to listen to some live jazz and have some drinks.

This Bengal, displayed above the fireplace mantle, is the namesake of the lounge. Kind of unsettling if you look at him for too long...

But the jazz and the virgin mojitos were awesome! Best of all was the company of my sister. We have soooooo many laughs together!

Also while in Victoria, we visited the Parliament building and had a tour. Did you know the Queen of England still visits and has her own entrance? It is quite a spectacular building and the architecture is quite astounding.

Of course to make our trip to Victoria complete we had to visit the Butchart Gardens, world-renowned flower gardens just outside of Victoria.

Here is Tia in front of the "sunken garden". Below are some of my favorite photos from out visit. It was super-fun for me to take these pictures and enjoy the relaxing and beautiful garden atmosphere...We had a lovely time celebrating the 30 years since we came into this world, together! I love my sister and am so proud of her. I would like to thank her for a wonderful trip to Victoria, and wish her luck and she heads off to graduate school in Boston!