The day didn’t begin very well. The shuttle that brought us to the Butchart Gardens was plagued by an icy AC tornado inside, so bad that we had to wrap ourselves up in everything we had to protect our faces from this unexpected blizzard. Also, there was a very depressed driver mumbling continuously and very loudly in an overblown mic. It was both deafening and unintelligible. The poor man himself seemed incredibly saddened by all that. He talked as if he was commenting on a children’s grave in a cemetery. He may have been, for all I know, but I don’t think so, because I’m quite sure he mentioned golf. Unless the poor child suffered an accident on a golf course. Tragic.
So, when we arrived, we were quite shaken by the 30 minutes trip. It took a while for our feathers to get unruffled, then we entered the famous Butchart Gardens.
The Butchart Gardens are world-renowned gardens close to Victoria. One of the top tourists’ attractions. CNN, National Geographic and USA Today all rave about it. I thought, you know, we love flowers, this is a big garden with lots of flowers: what could go wrong?
See? Flowers! Pretty flowers!
According to the garden’s website, one million visitors come to see the garden each year. In my opinion, there were all in the garden, with us, this exact day. Cramming the population of a small city into a very narrow pathway surrounded by flowers is not exactly conducive to peaceful meditation. Moreover, all those people seemed overjoyed and very excited to be in the garden, shouting and calling each over while trampling our feet, at the same time not being much interested in actually looking too closely at the flowers. Mostly, they were taking pictures. Of themselves. Next to flowers they didn’t look at. While poking you in the eyes with their selfie stick.
Don’t look too closely at this picture, there are people in it!
No peaceful meditation, then. This was the quiet stroll equivalent of a black Friday never-ending line-up in front of a badly-stocked store.
You see a flower at a distance of 10 meters. It takes you twenty minutes to get to the flower, and by the time you can look at it, you got pushed in the knees by a stroller, knocked by a grumpy child four or five times, poked in various places by angry selfie-sticks carriers, asked by three different couples and a family to take a picture of them, then another with Auntie Carrie, said `sorry` twenty times, in short, you’re bruised, battered, blind, deaf and bewildered. The flower herself, poor thing, seems sorry about it. She certainly wishes there was a bird or a bee to keep her company, instead of this raging flow of weird screaming crushers.
Took me 5 minutes and a blockade to get this picture! #dedication
The gardens themselves are absolutely beautiful. Don’t pay any attention to my complaining, I just really don’t like crowds!
Back in the hotel, I spent a lot of time trying to find a restaurant that would be opened a Monday evening, with the White Owl saying mostly “Wherever you want, I don’t mind”, and “oh no, not that” and then, groaned:
“Everything interesting is closed, I don’t know where we can go…
-You talked about a Fish&Chips? Asked timidly the White Owl.
-Well, yes, but you know, it’s not a restaurant, it’s on the harbour, and you take it in a paper to go…
-I’ve always dreamed of eating a Fish&Chips in a paper,” sighed the White Owl.
I stared at her.
“Well, let’s make your dream come true, then?” said I, and we went on the harbour.
Now, it was not any Fish&Chips. It was the best Fish&Chips of Victoria, called Red Fish Blue Fish, and there was a huge line-up. We waited hours, and I wouldn’t have stayed in the line but for the White Owl, who really wanted her Fish&Chips. It was worth it. Not only was it absolutely delicious, but they were smiling, patient, and nice. Honestly, we should all stop right now and give them a round of applause, and also a medal. And another round of applause. Working for hours in a hot container frying fish with no break and a big line-up, and still having a nice word and a smile for everybody?? Another round of applause for them, please!!
(And yes, it was delicious!)