EPTI took the Victoria Clipper up from Seattle at hell o'clock in the morning and reached Victoria at just about 10 a.m.. On the boat, my stomach tried to eat itself, so I tempted to please it with the Tuscan Deli lunch basket offered on the Clipper. It came with an assortment of cheeses, crackers and salami. Of course, I'm a sucker for cheese and crackers, so despite my better judgment informing me that eating nothing but salt and fat first thing in the morning was a poor choice, I happily nomed away on the basket of stomach ache.
After I landed, I got off the boat, through customs and found myself extremely dehydrated and in the need for better food. My original plan was to visit the James Bay Tea Room, once of the few places in Victoria where you can get a high tea without having to sacrifice an arm and a leg. Also, it's one of the places without a dress code (sorry, Empress, I love your overpriced afternoon tea and fancy tea sets, but I refuse to change out of my jeans). So, yet again, against my better judgment, I went straight to the tea room after posing for a few customary tourist photos outside of the parliament and other places of interest.
I had never been to the James Bay Tea Room before, so I had a little trouble finding it. Rather, I walked in the direction it was until I finally ran into it, which just happened to be about two blocks after I thought I would find it. Since the coffee I had drank earlier had finally caught up with me, I was very relieved to see the cute little white building welcoming me!
Inside, the tea room was crowded. The building was small and they clearly made use of every inch of space they had. Part of the kitchen overflowed into the main room and they had no reserves about putting the small tables right up against it! The service, despite the crowd that probably came close to violating occupancy restrictions, was quick and friendly. Though, admittedly, the waitress seemed a bit annoyed that I didn't know the menu because it just so turned out I was the only tourist in the entire place, everyone else were regulars.
I ordered a pot of their earl grey and their light tea, which came with two small scones, a bit of cheesecake, a lemon tart and two crumpets. Normally I'm a scone lover to the core, but I found these scones to be spongy and chewy rather than flaky and buttery. I was also rather disappointed that they had non-sweetened whipped cream instead of clotted cream, but that's just me being a tea snob. However, the rest of the tea was amazing! Actually, the tea was amazing, too. Probably one of the best earl greys that I've had the pleasure of tasting. Anyway, the cheesecake was a chocolate mix with chocolate chips and an oreo crumble-like bottom. It was the perfect mix of chocolate to cheesecake and absolutely delicious. The lemon tart was also very good, especially the custard within it. I was not a huge fan of the crust, but the lemon custard was the perfect mix of sweet and sour. Yum! That brings me to the crumpet. Normally, I really don't like crumpets, they are often spongy, dry and give off the same odor as english muffins (don't get me wrong, I love english muffins, but I think we can all agree that they smell terrible). This crumpet, however... well, exploded butter into my mouth when I bit into it. I think they must have put at least a quarter stick of butter on each crumpet and it made them absolutely delicious.
After finishing my tea while staring at pictures of the Queen and of Prince William's wedding, I decided to venture out in search of a drink! After all, it was nearly noon and I had yet to get alcohol in my system!
And so the adventure continues in my next blog... http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?id=234122
Edit:
PICTURES:
+ Show Spoiler +
Lol... bad picture
![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/IMG_3692.jpg)
Parliament!
![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/IMG_3697.jpg)
IT'S GOT ME!!!
![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/IMG_3701.jpg)
Doggie style!
![[image loading]](http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/GinRyuChan/IMG_3705.jpg)
Edit:
Here's Part 2, as my thread for it was closed:
Continued from: Canada Trip (Part 1)
So I dropped my bags off at my hotel and I went in search for drinks!
I decided to wander up Douglas Street when I saw a Cactus Club! Now, despite Cactus Club being a fairly overpriced chain, they have a drink I absolutely adore, so I decided to swing in to nab one and see what else was on their menu.
Cactus Club Cafe is by all means a chic place, with consistently low lighting, scrumptious (but overpriced) food and a list of martinis and drinks that really bring in the crowd. When I got inside, I initially felt a little shy about ordering nothing but a drink at 11:30 in the morning, but my stomach would just not put up with anymore food at that point in time. So I awkwardly pardoned myself from being seated at a table and shimmied up to the bar. I knew the first drink I was going to order before I even had to glance at the menu: a bellini. It is described exactly like this on their menu:
the bellini
- better than sex! Peach schnapps, champagne, appleton white rum & sangria
- better than sex! Peach schnapps, champagne, appleton white rum & sangria
Yes, they claim that it's better than sex, and, considering something like half of all females can't orgasm from sex (sorry, but no drink can beat and orgasm), I think it's pretty close to a true. What the menu doesn't tell you is that the bellini isn't just a mix of various alcohols, it's a slurpee of them. A nice, smooth, icy mix of peach and rum with a bit of champagne to give it some extra texture and the sangria to give it a nice fruity bite that prevents you from feeling like you just paid $8 for a kid's drink. It is the perfect drink on a hot day, especially for other peach lovers like me. It is absolutely delicious!
After letting the bellini settle my stomach, I decided to be a little more adventurous. I was told that on Sundays that caesars were the special. I had never heard of a caesar before and was fairly curious as to what they were. Apparently, they are wildly popular on Sundays, because ever bar, pub and restaurant that makes them has them on special on Sundays. I'm not exactly sure how to describe it other than it's what a bloody mary should be, but Cactus Club describes it as:
caesar
– smirnoff vodka, mixed with our signature blend of spices, clamato juice and pickled beans
– smirnoff vodka, mixed with our signature blend of spices, clamato juice and pickled beans
It actually didn't sound particularly appealing to me, but I saw someone else get one and noticed it had a mozzarella ball, a stuffed green olive, an onion and some kind of pepper all as decor for the drink. As I love all of those things, I decided I would try it out and write it off as an expensive hors d'œuvre if I could not stomach it. It turns out I love the damn things.
It isn't as thick as a bloody mary, so your mouth doesn't fight with the heavy texture being combined with alcohol. Instead, it's light and refreshing. The vodka is not noticeable at all and, instead, a blend of spices that seem to be straight out of some delightful culinary creation tickle your taste buds. Admittedly, I enjoyed munching on the decor that I was given with my drink, but would have quickly traded them for another few sips of the delightful concoction. Also, being the sodium addict I am, I was pleased to find the spices that flavored the drink encrusted the rim with salt... and I happily licked it off.
Now appetized from my tasty drink, I decided to wander up to my favorite bar/pub/foodplace in Victoria and had a very, very unpleasant surprise...
