Victoria in November

From November 17th to 19th, we were in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia and also of Vancouver Island. It is also the largest city here that can be reached without a ferry. But "big" is also relative.

On Friday, the International students went on a trip to Victoria, but since we were staying there for the weekend, our host mother drove us down. So we could still meet our friends and explore Vic with them. After the 3-hour car ride, we first went to the hotel. We had already stayed at the Parkside Hotel when we were in Vic before. It has an indoor pool and a gym, which we didn't actually use because we were out all day. There was also a gingerbread donation show there this weekend, where a lot of gingerbread art was presented.

Victoria itself has 90,000 inhabitants, plus many suburbs. It is definitely considered a "big city" because it is the largest city in the area. Like in any "big city," there is Downtown and Uptown. Downtown Vic is Government Street. There are some shops and the Bay Center, which also houses shops. Uptown is divided into the actual Uptown where there are shops and the Mayfair Center, which is 3 blocks away.

On Friday, I met up with my international friends. We were downtown shopping. After the international students who were on the program left, I met up with other international friends who were also staying with their families for the entire weekend. We went back downtown, had ice cream, and just passed the time. In the evening, we went out to eat with our family (when I say "we," in 99% of the cases in this entry, I mean me and my host sister Camila (+ other people)). By the way, we went to an old Spaghetti Factory. After dropping off our things at the hotel for the first time after 7 hours, we immediately went back downtown, especially to the Parliament Building, to take photos. It is always illuminated at night. Totally exhausted and with aching feet, we fell into bed that evening.

We spent the entire Saturday with our friends. We took the bus to the Mayfair Center and later walked to Uptown. Eventually, I bought sneakers because my boots were hurting my feet. I went back to downtown a little earlier and met up with my former host sister, who now lives near Vic. Later, I met up with the others again. With a friend, we went to the harbor and took some more photos. You can see the results of that here. After the lights at the Parliament Building magically went out, we made our way back home. In the evening, we went out to eat with the family again, this time at Red Robin, which most people probably won't know...

On Sunday, we were briefly in downtown again, but I didn't buy anything else. In the early afternoon, we made our way to Courtenay. The weather matched my mood (it was raining).

This weekend, I realized how much I actually miss the big city. Courtenay is just a small town and there's not much more to do than go to the movies and eat. Vic is different, and Berlin even more so. I never expected to say this, but I miss Berlin, not in a homesick way, but still. Maybe it's good that I'm starting to appreciate what I have in Germany...