Our Mini-Honeymoon in Victoria B.C.

So! We arrive at the final wedding-related post - our honeymoon! We went to Victoria B.C. for 4 nights. The main reason we chose Victoria is because my mom's cousin co-owns an amazing 5-star Bed & Breakfast there. In all these years, we had never been... even though they are super vegan-friendly. Our agavemoon seemed like a perfect time to go for it!

Our B&B: Villa Marco Polo

The B&B was totally off the hook! I've been hearing good things about this place for years, but as soon as I finally saw it with my own eyes - I could see what all the fuss was about. It's a beautiful Italianate mansion in the lovely Rockland part of Victoria. Our room was called "Persia" (perfect for me!) and it was so beautiful. Just look at that glorious bed! Every day, some time in the late afternoon, the bed would be turned down, and a little selection of goodies would be left on our pillow. A piece or two of fruit, with two delicious (and vegan!) dark chocolates. Also, every morning there was a coffee and tea station that you could go to as soon as you got up - and they even had a little yellow dish of Almond Milk out for me!

ReBar Restaurant

Our first night we went out to ReBar restaurant. At the table next to us was Sarah Kramer of "How it All Vegan" fame! I've heard a lot about ReBar over the years, but I have to say that we were totally underwhelmed with the two dishes we got. I'm sorry I didn't write down the names (I assumed I'd be able to look them up online, but I guess ReBar doesn't really have a website right now). One was a warm salad, and one was a Thai curry sorta thing. Both were pretty much blah at best. If I had made a dinner like this at home I would consider it a non-success. Still, the service was great, the coffee was good, and we had fun together. I wouldn't recommend it to any of you, but it wasn't a total bust for us.


Hernandez Mexican Food

When we very first arrived in town, I was on the verge of total collapse from hunger. We had to wake up at 4 am to catch our flight (very romantic way to start a honeymoon), and then the airplane had no vegan options... and I was starting to go into All Systems Shutdown Mode. So, we made a beeline for Hernandez Mexican Food - a place I read about in Sarah Kramer's excellent little Vegan Guide to Victoria pdf. I'm sorry this is the only picture you get of my burrito, because it was Totally Freaking Delicious and I was too busy eating to take more pictures. This place was really really good! They had a bunch of vegan or veganizable options, and my burrito was full of veggies and beans and flavor and spices... it was just great. Plus, I loved the Lotteria cards they use to bring you your order!

Breakfast at Villa Marco Polo:

Breakfast at the B&B was a real highlight of the day for me! Everyday, you go downstairs and all the guests sit together for a 4-course meal. It's all very Room With A View! Talking to all the other folks - there was a great couple there from England who we really loved, and then a sweet and hilarious couple from Lichtenstein arrived a day or two later... it was quite fun. Most mornings there were 6 of us at the table, and the last day was all booked up with 8 people.

Each morning includes a fruit dish and smoothie, a baked goodie, a savory dish, and a sweetie. HEAVEN. Day one was a fruit plate with a raspberry smoothie, some excellent vegan muffins, a tofu-asparagus scramble (the non-vegans got eggs), and pancakes with ginger syrup and peach slices. Yes yes yes!


Royal BC Museum
We were almost eaten alive by the dinosaurs at the Royal BC Museum exhibit! That's not vegan, dino buddies!


Pizzeria Prima Strada:

cheers! to a happy honeymoon! to a happy marraige!

Walking home to the B&B, exploring the clean and floral streets of Victoria, we saw this Pizzeria that looked good. So, we took note, and headed back later for dinner. Our pal Liam, who is the other owner of the B&B along with my cousin, told us later that Pizzeria Prima Strada is one of his favorite spots in the city! Good find! In fact we went back on our last night in town, together with Liam, for more pizza. It's really that good. 

On the left is their amazing - and vegan - fennel salad with oranges and grapefruits with a light vinaigrette. So delicious! It was light and crunchy and refreshing and all the flavors were absolutely great together. I got it again when we came back a second time. On the right is their most simple pizza from the menu: tomato, garlic, herbs and olive oil. When then ingredients are good, a pizza like this can be quite enough. I loved it! The second time we went back, I decided to add on a bunch of other veggies - which they were totally cool about - and that was fun too.

Breakfast Day Two

A fruit cup with a mango smoothie, some amazing cranberry-orange-walnut muffins, a delicious seared tofu-beans-concoction, and a strawberry crisp. I is a happy camper.


Dinner with Friends!

Lucky for us, we actually have friends in Victoria! My special PPK Pal Vijita lives in Victoria nowadays - and she had us over for dinner. It was SO FUN. Somehow I got pictures of their cat Puddy sitting in his special spot, and I got pictures of our delicious dinner, but no pictures of us together. I guess that shows where my mind is at! Food and fur! :)  It was so great to finally meet Vijita's really excellent boyfriend and sweet kitty Puddington. And dinner was delicious - she made 3 different salads from Terry Hope Romero's upcoming book Vegan Eats World. They were all great, and all different, and a big salad bonanza really hit the spot. Plus, it is so fun to go to someone's house for dinner and know that 1) the food will be vegan; 2) they are an awesome cook and you will like whatever they make; and 3) the company will be great. It was such a treat! Thanks again, Vijita!!!

Breakfast Day 3:

This is what the breakfast table at the Bed & Breakfast looks like every morning. Amazing!

Melon balls for the win! So fun and cute and sassy! Plus a great little tofu scramble thingee with veggies and spices, and for dessert a couple thin slices of chocolate torte with blackberries. I think the muffins that day were the same as the day before, and I forgot to take a picture. So instead, here is another picture of the cute little coffee/tea zone. As you can see, the breakfasts really were pretty spectacular. We never even considered lunch until about 3 pm.

Breakfast Day 4:

Our last morning in Victoria - before heading off to the airport (and many travel hilarities that ensued - including TWO flights cancelled for mechanical reasons!), we enjoyed one last fabulous breakfast at Villa Marco Polo. A lovely fruit cup and a raspberry smoothie, followed by muffins (no picture again!), and a totally super delicious polenta dish over a bed of spinach with seared tofu on top, and a crazy rich chocolate bomb with raspberry coulis. Huzzah! 
Our time in Victoria was really great - we walked a lot, went on day hikes, explored different neighborhoods, walked along the waterfront, enjoyed the beautiful scenery, saw some spectacular gardens, and took a ferry to Salt Spring Island for one day.  Plus, our time at the Bed & Breakfast was just totally great. Four days in a row of fancy vegan breakfasts is really my idea of heaven. Plus, the gardens, the room, the sweet company, and the great people running the place. I'm so glad we decided to go on a little honeymoon. It was really nice to be together and just have some quiet time to poke around together and enjoy each other's company.
This concludes my wedding posts: We now return to our regularly scheduled programming! Plus, VeganMoFo 2012 starts in just a few days!!!