Hey, y'all! Wasn't Ketchikan fabulous? I'm sure you can easily see why it was my favorite port. Sure, the Endicott Arm had an incredible glacier, Skagway had beautiful lake & mountain vistas, we saw a bear in Juneau but there's just something about Ketchikan that drew me to it. It was love at first sight. Our last stop on the cruise was Victoria, British Columbia. We were in port for strange hours. We got off the ship at 7 PM and had to be back on board at 11 PM. That didn't leave much time for us to really get out there and explore so we made the best of what little time we had in Victoria.
As soon as we got off the ship, we walked towards the taxi stand and hired a cabbie to take us to the downtown district. Outside of the Parliament building, there's a company that offers horse and carriage rides around the downtown area and surrounding parks. The ride was an hour long which was perfect for our short time frame.
We left downtown and headed for Beacon Hill Park in our carriage. The park is massive and is home to stunning gardens, manicured lawns, cricket pitches, a petting zoo and several different trails.
Our tour also took us down Government Street which led us past Emily Carr's Home and other incredible examples of Victorian architecture. When these homes were constructed, paint was a status symbol. Any home with 3 or more colors was a sign of wealth.
I'm pretty sure these jokers were loaded! This vibrantly painted house was one of my favorites!
When our tour ended, we walked around the historic district a bit before heading back to our ship for the night.
It was interesting visiting a port a night, and for such a short period of time. Victoria is an absolutely stunning city/island when the sun goes down. I love that many of their buildings were illuminated in white lights. The area reminded me a lot of St. Augustine, Florida- the oldest city in the United States. It was definitely a cool place!
Now that I've given you a glimpse of each of the ports we visited (Endicott Arm, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchika, & Victoria), I'll be sharing tips and tricks for cruises throughout the rest of Alaska Month here on Maps & Monograms. Be sure to like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter so you don't miss it!