Buchart Gardens 2

Buchart Gardens. Victoria Van Couver Island Canada

 The Buchart Gardens in Victoria covers 55 acres. It was originally a worked out limestone quarry which had supplied the owners of the Portland cement plant. Today it is still owned by the original familys great grand daughter. The gardens are visited by close to a million visitors each year. Fortunately for us we decided to get there before opening and we were allowed to enter at 8.45am. It turned out that this was a great decision as there were very few people around until 10.30am when people just swarmed in but we had already covered over half of the gardens by then so most people were well behind us.  The gardens employ 50 outdoor gardeners and 20 indoors and then many more staff the Gift Shop, a restaurant and two cafes. The gardens were absolutely stunning. All the plants were in the best condition and not a weed to be found anywhere.

 The two photos above are of the Sunken garden with beds of annuals, flowering trees and shrubs growing to the base of the towering walls.

 The Ross fountain which was created and installed in 1964 for the gardens 60th anniversary by Ian Ross who was the grand son of the Bucharts. The fountain spurts water to the height of 21 metres and was quite spectacular.

 A dragon fly landed on the chain fence in front of us. This was the  only one like this that we saw as all the others were a very bright blue and much prettier but didn't oblige by landing for us.

 The snap dragons made a beautiful show.

 With it being Canada's 150 year anniversary this year they had made a special garden feature to commemorate this. The area was still a work in progress.

 A very handsome Monkey Puzzle tree.

 A stunning dragon fountain was a gift to the Buschart Gardens from the Peoples Republic of China.

 One of three massive Redwood trees in the gardens

 The rose gardens were spectacular and all out in full bloom.

Monterey and San Francisco

 A seafood lunch was in order on Cannery Row after we left the Aquarium. Couldn't find a better place to sit and wait for our table than on Forest Gump's seat outside

 On the walk back into Monterey we followed the barking sounds to the natural rock colony of seals in the harbour. Most were juveniles but there was one very large male who was controlling all that was going on and he stood for no nonsense in the mating game!! My goodness he was fearsome. I missed a photo of him because by the time I decided get a photo he disappeared into the water and every time he popped up above the water I was too slow and missed the opportunity.

 Walking home from Fishermans wharf on our final night in Monterey. It had been a wonderful week.

 In San Francisco about 150 metres away from our hotel we found this  delightful little French restaurant in a very old hotel. We read the menu on the outside and decided that it looked okay. We ended up being very surprised when we were escorted down to a basement to a charming 15th century style hideaway dining room displaying many articles of Joan of Arc memorabilia. The food was old style country menu which was just delicious and the atmosphere was fantastic.

 Mmmmm!! I think he is going to surprise me with something.  Cheapskate, it was out of the table vase!!!

 Pier 39 at Fishermans Wharf. Very colourful.

 We took the ferry over to Sausilito a beautiful seaside town just across the bay.

 The fog was rolling in again on our return to San Francisco.

 Downtown San Francisco.

 Union Square.

 Then its goodbye to San Francisco as we pass under the Golden Gate Bridge on an almost clear evening with no fog.

Monterey and Carmel

 On the way to Carmel by the Sea we stopped off at the Mission Ranch Lodge at Mission Beach which Clint Eastward owns and rents out villas on the property. He apparently rescued it from Apartment developers and renovated the entire property. It is a very tranquil setting and we could have stayed longer just wandering around but unfortunately time didn't allow. The grounds cover 22 acres with spectacular views.

 The Dream Casters Tour van that we had all to ourselves. Very comfortable and a great diver who stopped and showed us many places that were not on the itinerary.

 A beach scene in Monterey Bay. Beautiful white sand and many old trees.

 We wandered the streets in Carmel by the Sea before lunch and discovered this home that had a tree canopy covering all of their front section right up to the roof. I imagine it was great for the summer time but not so good on the dismal cold days of winter when the fog hardly disappears.

 Discovered this very large lone statue in Devondorf Park in the town centre. Not sure who it was as no name inscription but it was pretty impressive amongst the trees and looked as though it had been there for many years.

 The former Cannery Company building in Monterey. It was a former sardine canning factory. The business began in 1902. Today it houses stores and restaurants

 We spent a day at the Monterey Aquarium which was one of the best aquariums we have ever visited. Its a non profit attraction and their main mission is to inspire conservation of the ocean. It opened 30 years ago They have a lot of hands on exhibits and kids can book a sleep over in front of their favourite exhibit. They also have diving lessons in an ocean pool behind the aquarium. The most impressive exhibit was the 8.5 metre tall kelp forest that was best viewed from the lower level. It was the first aquarium in the world to grow live giant kelp. It has a surge machine at the top of the tank that provides the constant water motion that kelp requires. The kelp grows 4 inches a day which requires divers to trim it once a week.

 Giant plumed anemone.

 Complete in its own enclosure is the coastal bird exhibit. It was amazing and there were so many birds we had never seen before. The bird on the right is a Western snowy plover which had a nest with eggs in-between two driftwood logs. The one on the left was a killdeer, but I'm not sure what the middle one is. They all seemed to be happy co- habitating.

 This was an indoor clear tunnel that captured the wave wash over the rocks outdoors. Amazing.

 The outdoor diving pool where classes were in action, as school had just broken up for the year, so lots of kids participating

 This huge water tank contained plastic rubbish that had been retrieved from the sea. Looked very colourful but a bit of an eye opener and concerning to what is out their in the ocean and how dangerous it is for marine life.

The giant kelp forest window.