O Canada

Kevin and I just returned from a 10-day trip to Canada —
Victoria to visit Dad; Vancouver to scope out a possible future.
Very cold! But so beautiful.

Here's a sampling of our photos.... Enlarge any photo by clicking on it.















The view from the house at Ladysmith on Vancouver Island.
Photo by Kevin.














Anoosh walking across the rocks at Ladysmith.
Photo by Kevin.













A pair of bald eagles flying overhead at Ladysmith. They seem to be ubiquitous, even in the cities. At first we were in awe every time one flew by. By the end, we sounded like this:
"Was that another bald eagle?"
"Yup."
"Ehn."
Why is this eagle a symbol of the U.S. when they all seem to live in Canada?














Kevin, our friend, Shushan Egoyan, and some happy ducks at the Crow and Gate pub in Ladysmith.














Floating hippo sculpture at an art garden on the Island.














Mysterious heads at the art garden.




















My handsome husband and giant poppies at the art garden.














The bunnies at my dad's house:
Heffalump ("Heffie") and Milli Vanilli ("Milli")














Milli














An early Father's Day celebration with Dad and his wife, Hannah, at Café Brio in Victoria. "Best frites," says my dad. Should be — they come with a drizzling of truffle oil.














The latest thing at schools in Victoria: hand-painted salmon decorating the fence. One of them is an illustration of Charlotte's Web, featuring a barn, a pig with a blue ribbon, and a spider on a web. It's in the foreground, but perhaps too small to see here.














A hosta flower at the Abkazi Garden in Victoria. A lovely place to visit and a fascinating story. And it's all organic! You can learn more here.




















An amazing bulb related to the onion at the Abkazi Garden.
Photo by Kevin.














My take.














Hard to tell in this photo, but these leaves are huge, about 3-3 1/2 feet wide.




















No trip to Canada is complete without it: tea with scones, clotted cream, and jam. Mmm, clotted cream. Mmm, organic strawberry jam. This has to be one of the best settings for tea.
Photo by Kevin.














At the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. A gorgeous campus.
Photo by Kevin.














On the Wreck Beach hike at UBC. We find it a bit odd that the campus has a clothing-optional beach that attracts male nudists, determinedly clothed women, and Asian fishermen. We kept our lens fixed firmly out towards the sea.














The view of Burrard Bridge from Granville Island (really a penninsula now, and quite the shopping Mecca).














The harbor and the Vancouver skyline.




















Mangosteen and rambutan at the Public Market on Granville Island.
Photo by Kevin.














Yes, that really is a mallard duck and her ducklings (she had a total of 4) in a barrel. Pretty darn cute.
Photo by Kevin.


















A Great Blue Heron at Kitsilano Beach in Vancouver. We saw as many herons as we did Bald Eagles.
Photo by Kevin.