3426 replies to this topic

[D.L.]

Last time I was down there I was surprised at how many food places there are now. It's a tiny town on the dock now.

[VicHockeyFan]

Last time I was down there I was surprised at how many food places there are now. It's a tiny town on the dock now.

[LJ]

Last time I was down there I was surprised at how many food places there are now. It's a tiny town on the dock now.

We had an order of fish and chips from Barbs and sat across from Barbs by the Mexican place to eat. At about 12:45 three people showed up and opened the Mexican place, which said open at 11:00. I don't suspect they did much business that day after missing the lunch crowd.

[Baro]

Three cruise ships, about 10,000 people nearly.

[aastra]

Empress Hotel:

The room faced the back of the hotel, overlooking the garbage bins, and either a hospital or parkade.

From TripAdvisor.com...

[HB]

Three cruise ships, about 10,000 people nearly.

The list that you see that shows the amount of passengers on the ships is at full capacity and the ships are not always full especially this time of year. later in June and through July the capacity if getting up there due to all the family units on board and one other point is not everyone disembarks here. I would guess that 2 thirds may get off

[HB]

X8D_ZkuFMzc

[HB]

I used to like it when the downtown section of Govenmet St was a prostitute stroll. It made the whole area vibrant but the city had the cops force tem out of town and further down government st then eventually rock bay.

That is NOT their parents in teh background.
They are just random peeps walking by.

[aastra]

Hotel Rialto:

...the area was very 'seedy' and they didn't have staff like I've seen in areas in the US like New Orleans and Portland, who...well just kind of 'help' you outside when you come and go so you're not approached by druggies and street people. Also, the parkade is across the street in a very precarious area, where my 76 yr old mother and I saw a drug deal happening right outside the parking area. When we had to leave at 5 am to go the airport, the doors of the hotel were locked to get out! We had to wait around for staff,who didn't walk us (women, myself and 76 yr old mother to scary parking area, and we were immediately accousted by a lady clearly under the influence of drugs, very discomforting and I felt very unsafe. I seriously would have a hard time coming back due to the location.

From TripAdvisor.com...

****

The more Victoria changes, the more it stays the same:

We took the Victoria Clipper from Seattle to Victoria and I would highly recommend it as the best way to travel there. Hadn't been in Victoria for forty years and was not disappointed as it really hasn't changed but only improved.

From TripAdvisor.com...

****

Backhanded compliment?

Our car did not get broken into, so parking was very secure.

From TripAdvisor.com...

****

Add Abigail's to the list of hidden gems:

Hidden gem, centrally located

From TripAdvisor.com...

[HB]

James Whitney of the failed Kabuki Cabs has started a new business in Victoria DBA Pro Motion Electric Vehicles Ltd

He has the Curbside parking spots secured with the City of Victoria and his new Electric Busses from China will be on the streets in the next 10 days or so.

The company will operate as ZEEBUS and their vehicles are all electric.
and look like this.

http://vijobs.ca/vij...bus-250x187.jpg

Kind of like a huge golf cart.

These buses were originally going to be used for the now failed Chicago 2016 Olympics

Watch for a media release in the next week or so.

The buses are in transit to Victoria now.

[aastra]

Crappy museum, not much to see:

This is basically a much scaled down version of a similar museum in Ottawa. The one in Ottawa is lightyears ahead of this one. If you come from a large city (5 million+ or so), you will find this museum to be tiny and uninteresting. My friend and I saw it was ranked as the most interesting thing to do in Victoria. If so, Victoria is a sad, sad place.

The museum is basically just a small collection of period dioramas located outside of an IMAX theater, which does not show anything very interesting. If you are traveling with children, the museum might interest you...

(Even the IMAX movies are bad. Victorians make terrible IMAX movies. I hope the RBCM administrators know how lucky they are that Greater Toronto only just passed 5 million in the 2006 census, and that there are no other cities anywhere near that size elsewhere in Canada.)

***

Awesome museum, lots to see:

“One of the best museums in the world”
Unique in that they immerse you in a historical scene. The attention to detail is staggering.

“Impressive and huge museum”
This museum has so much to see you really need 2 days. However, it is split up well so you can choose what rooms or themes you want to see if on a time restraint. I was very impressed with the quality and creativeness of all the displays. I dare say it is a step above museums in the US!

“First Nations Art Galore”
If you only have a day in Victoria, consider spending at least half of it in the Royal BC Museum -- the First Nations exhibit alone is worth every minute and every penny!

From TripAdvisor.com...

Edited by aastra, 08 June 2017 - 11:09 AM.

[Mike K.]

Toronto-itis strikes again. I've heard people from Toronto b*tch and complain about aspects of New York and how Toronto was light years ahead. These folks get defensive and poo-poo anything of even moderate quality that dare be outside of the Golden Horseshoe.

Sigh...

[AllseeingEye]

[quote name='aastra']Crappy museum, not much to see:

(Even the IMAX movies are bad. Victorians make terrible IMAX movies. I hope the RBCM administrators know how lucky they are that Greater Toronto finally passed 5 million in the 2006 census.)

***

....er, we "make" IMAX movies? Cool. Since when? You hate to cast aspersions against an entire population but it does seem an inordinately large percentage of Torontonians have a serious case of Little Man syndrome. I merely point out whenever I encounter it that if size and physical presence were are the barometer then in any large, cosmopolitan and truly world class city like Shanghai, Mexico City or Tokyo one could drop the entire Toronto metro region into the middle of them and no one would even notice. I mean 5-6 million people isn't even remotely large by the standards of the largest international cities. And besides I remain skeptical about any place that has a problem with the name "Bare Naked Ladies". The horror....!

[VicHockeyFan]

James Whitney of the failed Kabuki Cabs has started a new business in Victoria DBA Pro Motion Electric Vehicles Ltd

He has the Curbside parking spots secured with the City of Victoria and his new Electric Busses from China will be on the streets in the next 10 days or so.

The company will operate as ZEEBUS and their vehicles are all electric.
and look like this.

http://vijobs.ca/vij...bus-250x187.jpg

Kind of like a huge golf cart.

These buses were originally going to be used for the now failed Chicago 2016 Olympics

Watch for a media release in the next week or so.

The buses are in transit to Victoria now.

Anyone have an actual picture?

[HB]

This is the bus he used on his ad but it has since been removed from there





Shuttle Bus Driver / Sightseeing Tour Guides needed for the summer season. We need 20 drivers. The season ends in October, but shifts are available all year long. You must have a clean, unrestricted driver's license. If you are hired, we will require a recent copy of your driver's abstract. You must have or be able to obtain Class 4 license. In order to obtain a Class 4 license, you will have to have had your Class 5 license for 2 years, so the minimum age for this position is 20 years old. We are looking for personable, outgoing, well-groomed individuals with a good knowledge of the city (will train the right people). Full or part time / day, evening & weekend shifts available. $15.00 per hour plus tips.


Interviews are being held this week. Thank you for your submission, we will contact you if you are a suitable candidate

[aastra]

....er, we "make" IMAX movies? Cool. Since when?

That's what I'd like to know. Apparently the IMAX movies showing in Victoria's IMAX theatre are crap compared to the IMAX movies showing in every other IMAX theatre, so Victorians must be responsible one way or another.

The museum is basically just a small collection of period dioramas located outside of an IMAX theater, which does not show anything very interesting...

[HB]

Guess they didnt see the escalotors and elevators that went up the the 2nd and 3rd floors

[aastra]

You know, I honestly wonder if that's not actually true for a lot of people. I see the "not much to see" complaint for all sorts of attractions in all sorts of different cities. "Good way to spend an hour...", they say. For crap's sake, most people can spend an hour at Starbucks or McDonald's without even trying. I know people who can spend hours milling around aimlessly in stores like Wal-Mart or Ikea. Not exactly stimulating environments.

I saw a review recently, I think it was for the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the person seemed to be saying that the best part of the museum was the coffee shop.

Some people seem to have no idea what they're missing. I don't know if it's a lack of curiosity or what. Maybe it's that anxiety that some people have about not wanting to seem like they're unfamiliar in a new place so they blast through everything as quickly as they can, and miss a bunch of stuff in the process.

My all-time favourite: plenty of people go to Disneyland and assume there aren't a lot of rides because the rides are themed and tend to be hidden within show buildings (as everyone on the face of the earth should probably know by now). Disneyland staff/cast members talk about this because people often ask them, "Where are the rides?"

Edited by aastra, 08 June 2017 - 11:11 AM.

[Bingo]

Went to see the Race to the End of the Earth display at the museum on the weekend. It is a fascinating story of the two teams, one Norwegian and one British, with a side by side timeline of what each was doing during the short window of time to be at the south pole.

Allow at least two hours to take it all in.

[VicHockeyFan]

Went to see the Race to the End of the Earth display at the museum on the weekend. It is a fascinating story of the two teams, one Norwegian and one British, with a side by side timeline of what each was doing during the short window of time to be at the south pole.

Allow at least two hours to take it all in.

One team still has not made it back, right? I'm hearing from others that say it's real good too.