Traveling with the Jones

In anticipation of an upcoming visit to Victoria, the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, we completed a little background research.

16 Fun Facts about Victoria, British Columbia

1. Victoria lies on the southern tip of Vancouver Island while the city of Vancouver is located 76 miles northeast on the mainland. Traveling between the two cities takes about 4 hours via a combination of a car or bus ride combined with a ferry ride.

2. The city of Victoria is home to about 86,000 residents, while the Greater Victoria metropolitan area of has a population of 383,360.

3. Named for Queen Victoria, the city began as a Hudson’s Bay trading post in 1843.

4. Victoria became a British crown colony in 1849, but remained a small town of less than 300 people until 1858, when news of the gold discovery in British Columbia reached San Francisco. Within days, Victoria became the supply base and port for miners on their way to the Fraser Canyon gold fields, and the city’s population quickly exploded to more than 5,000 people.

6. Chinese immigrants came to Victoria during the Gold Rush. Today, Victoria has the second oldest Chinatown in North America – where you can find Fan Tan Alley — the narrowest alleyway in all of Canada.

7. Robert Service, who would later be known as the ‘Bard of The Yukon’ for famous poems like The Cremation of Sam McGee, first settled in Victoria in 1906 as a banker. Today, the bank were Service worked is a popular restaurant called Bard & Banker.

8. In 1908 the Canadian Pacific Railway built the iconic 477-room Fairmont Empress Hotel on Victoria’s Inner Harbor.

9. Queen Elizabeth II is just one of famous guests who have stayed at the Fairmont Empress Hotel. Even if you don’t stay overnight, you can enjoy afternoon tea like a royal. The hotel serves more half a million cups of tea each year.

10. Also near Victoria’s picturesque Inner Harbor you will find the Royal BC Museum (founded in 1886) as well as the British Columbia Parliament Buildings.

Daytime visitors to the Parliament Buildings can join a regularly-scheduled guided tour or take a self-guided tour.  Once the sun sets, 3,560 lights illuminate the Parliament Buildings.

11. Although it’s located on an island, Victoria is the western terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway. The “Mile 0” marker stands at the intersection of Douglas Street and Dallas Road in Victoria. The Trans-Canada Highway runs northward for 62 miles on the east coast of Vancouver Island to Nanaimo, where traffic has to catch the Departure Bay ferry to Vancouver.

12. Victoria’s climate – the mildest in Canada — offers nearly perfect growing conditions for the city’s 55 acres of gardens.

13. Starting in 1904, Jennie Butchart envisioned a grandiose garden in place of a former quarry for her backyard. Today, more than a million people visit the famed Butchart Gardens located 25 minutes from downtown Victoria.

14. Author and Nobel laureate Alice Munro lived in Victoria during the years when she published her first story collection.

You can visit her bookstore — Munro’s Books – at 1108 Government Street in downtown Victoria.

15. Victoria is used as a filming location for films and television series. Scary Movie, Bird on a Wire and the television series Smallville — which is supposed to be set in a Kansas town — were all filmed in Victoria.

16. Victoria is a major tourism destination with over 3.5 million overnight visitors each year. Another 500,000 visitors arrive via via cruise ships which dock at Ogden Point near the city’s Inner Harbor.

What fun fact can you add about Victoria?

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Are you planning a visit to Victoria? Check out these resources:
Moon Victoria & Vancouver Island (Travel Guide)

Victoria and Vancouver Island: A Personal Tour Of An Almost Perfect Eden

I recently flew ANA Flight 007  between San Francisco (SFO) and Narita International Airport (NRT) on a Boeing 77W aircraft.

Also known as Tokyo Narita Airport  — it’s located 37 miles east of central Tokyo — Narita is Japan’s second largest and busiest international airport. The airport is the main international hub for All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. — better know as ANA.

Flight Review ANA Business Class

Boarding ANA flight 007 in San Francisco was very efficient. The roughly 10 hour flight was on time and even pushed back early from the gate.

With a large window by my seat, I had a great view of the departure runway as we were about to depart San Francisco International airport.

ANA Business Class On Board Experience

The business class seat on this flight was spacious.The seat included a huge side table for storage.

The business class seats also had large television and entertainment screen. Under the screen was a large tray table to pull out for working or dining.

The only draw back for me was the area for your feet. It was not a very tall space.  I have big (US size 13) feet, and could not put my feet up in the space. To fit,  I had to lay on my side and have my feet sideways.

The amenity kit included an eye mask, ear plugs and dental kit, along with a facial mist, lotion and lip balm.  Amenities also included a bedding pad which made the seat much easier to sleep on.

Food and Service

ANA Business Class offered excellent food and service. The menu included  both Japanese and western dishes.

The main meal started with a amuse of roasted duck pincho, smoked fish canape, and dried fig with cream cheese.

The appetizer was grilled cajun prawn and prosciutto. Corn soup was served at  the same time.

My main course entree choice was the beef filet with spicy Japanese style sauce.

The Business Class wine selection on ANA flight 007 featured a good selection of Washington, California and Australian wines.

I also enjoyed the Suntory Hibiki 17 year Japanese Whisky.

ANA offered a list of “light dishes anytime” for business class customers to enjoy anytime after the first meal service was complete.

For a mid-flight snack,  I opted for the  IPPUDO ramen. It was the best ramen I’ve every had from a package (the fight attendants prepared it for passengers.)

I enjoyed this ramen so much that I ordered this similar Nissin Instant Cup Ramen Ippudo Ramen from Amazon after I returned to the U.S.

There was one more meal service before arrival.

This was veal and mushroom stew with gnocchi, served with bread and fruit.

Overall, I give the ANA Business Class high marks for its food and service.

The seat could be a little larger to be more comfortable for a 6 ft, 6 inch (or 2 meters) tall guy like myself.

Have you flown ANA? How did you enjoy the experience? 

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Our favorite meal during our Canada and New England cruise on Holland America’s ms Veendam was Rudi’s Sel de Mer pop-up restaurant in the Pinnacle Grill.

While we’ve previously dined at the Sel de Mer restaurant on the Koningsdam, we found this “pop-up” event to be a better dining experience.

Our meal had a number of delightful touches starting with the playful “Food Faces” show plates made by Bernardaud, the leading French manufacturer of Limoges porcelain.

There is unique “Rudi’s Sel de Mer” tableware used throughout the meal, which begins with a baguette of bread and special salted butter.  

A variety of tapenades are also served with the bread.

Before the appetizers, we were served an amuse-bouche of seared scallop  – it was delightful.

For an appetizer, we both chose Rudi’s Seafood Tower. Three kinds of seafood including lump crab, North Sea shrimp and octopus arrive in three separate glass containers.

I ordered the Dover Sole Meunière — which was carefully and expertly separated from its bones by our waiter during an impressive table side serving.

Mr. Jones chose the fresh fish of the day, finding it perfectly cooked.

Sides are portioned large enough for sharing; we enjoyed the cauliflower puree and the ratatouille.There is a special wine list for the Rudi’s Sel de Mer pop-up restaurant, although other wines are also available.

Since we had purchased Holland America’s “Cellar Number 3” wine package, we choose the Laurenz V “Singing” Gruner Veltliner. This light and refreshing white wine from Austria paired well with our fish and seafood.For dessert, I selected the Profiteroles with Hot Chocolate Sauce.  Mr. Jones enjoyed the popular Apple Tarte Tatin.

In addition to dessert, our waiter brought a metal “tree” blooming with chocolate-dipped strawberries and special white and dark chocolate truffles, to be enjoyed with our coffee.

Book Sel de Mer Before Your Cruise

While the stand-alone Sel de Mer restaurant on the Koningsdam is a la carte pricing, the Rudi’s Sel de Mer pop-up restaurant on other Holland America ships has a flat fee of $49 per guest.  Four and five star Mariners get a 50 percent discount.

If you want to experience the Rudi’s Sel de Mer pop-up restaurant during your next Holland America cruise, it is best to book before your cruise by calling Ship Services or via the cruise line’s website.

This special dining event is only offered once evening per cruise of 10 days or less.

More Food Faces from Chef Rudi Sodamin

If you enjoy the playful Food Faces plates, you might want to check out the Rudi’s  coffee-table book — Food Faces: 150 Feasts for the Eyes — that’s sold onboard and via Amazon.

Have you tried Rudi’s Sel de Mer pop-up restaurant on a Holland America ship? How did you enjoy the experience? 

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