7th Day of March

Well it's the 30th of March, and our back yard is still covered in snow. Even, the trees are confused. Patrick and I just spent the last three days in Victora. Not Australia, but B.C. We left Sunday morning on an 8:00 am flight. We arrived to a beautiful Sunday morning in Victoria. Took a shuttle to our hotel "The Empress" around 9:30 am and they kindly let us check in. Good thing, because both Patrick and I needed a nap. (there's a reason I love this boy) So we got up and headed down town. First stop was Chinatown for dim sum. We looked for the smallest, dirtiest place (they usually have the best food). And kudos to us for not ordering too much. Usually we come away with enough food for 6 other meals. The lady said there was some great onion pancakes we should try - but Patrick figured out that one - she must have been trying to get rid of left overs from the night before~!!!!! We toured most of down town and then headed back to our hotel. Put the packages away, cleaned up and walked across the street for supper at Milestones. That was the best steak I've had in a long time. Then we walked around the harbour, til i felt it was getting to late and a little scary at night. Sometimes, I think Patrick doesn't realize the danger out there (or maybe I was over reacting) Monday morning, we were up bright and early and headed by cab to the Unversity. After all, that really is the reason we made the trip; Patrick got conditionally accepted and this was their open house for Calgary students. We sat through two lectures; one from a grad student on cave art. She was so enthusiastic and excited, it almost made me want to start studying it. The second lecture was from a retired professor, who still lectures; (haven't figured that one out) his subject was on micro biology. I probably would have got more out of the course, but I couldn't get over the fact that he looked exactly like David Susuki. He explained how every year there is a new disease being introduced into society. How refreshing! After the lectures and some muffins and beverages, we broke into groups and went on a tour of the actual facility. I loved it and Patrick did too. It was funny because the tour guides were complaining about how cold it was and I was heating up the entire time in my coat. Patrick was even in shorts and no coat. I even got a little bit of sunburn from this walkabout. Then we were back in another meeting room for a pasta buffett. After lunch, the parents and students had an opportunity to visit different booths and ask any questions they might have about the following year. We even heard from other Calgary students who have been attending U of Vic. This brought us to about 2:15, and then we boarded a double decker bus, for a tour of the city. Very cool. Heard about some of the history, seen the landscape, and got a chance to rest my feet!!!!! The tour ended right in front on the Empress Hotel (cool, cause that is where we are staying) Grabbed a quick nap (it was a long day) and then headed to one of the meeting rooms in our hotel for finger food, conversation and prizes. Darn, we didnt' win a thing. (even a eco clip board, would have been something), but it was a very impressive day put on by the university. Needless to say, I didn't need any rocking Monday night. Tuesday morning we slept in (until 9:00 am) Patrick made a quick trip to McD's for our egg mcmuffins. We slowly ate and got ready for our last day in this beautiful city. We checked out of our hotel; boarded our luggage and walked; and we walked and we walked. Patrick wanted to hit the local soccer store; it was a 22 minutes bus ride. We did most of it by foot. We were going to stop at a couple of malls first; then grab the bus. I didn't buy anything on this outting, but Patrick came away with some good deals. Boy can that kid shop! By the time we got back to our hotel, we still had a couple of hours before our shuttle bus came, so we used some of the University coupons and hit the IMAX. I can't remember the movie title, but it was about caves and collecting micro organisms for research. I think Patrick slept through most of it. We back in Calgary by 10:28 (right on time) and Bill and Maya picked us up at the airport. Now it's time to place catch up (on sleep, laundry, work and sleep) Hopefully the next few days won't be too hectic!!! Yeah to Victoria (I brought home the classifieds, in case we want to look at condo's for sale) Stacey