September 11, 2013: Customs House, Victoria, By Night

365 Project, Day 77

Here is my day seventy-seven submission to my 365Project:

I bought my first wide angle lens today as a birthday present to myself (September 13 is the big day!)...and here's a photo I got from my first shoot with it around Victoria at night. We have so many interesting places to photograph here and I liked how the the seats of Red Fish, Blue Fish (an awesome fish and chips spot!) lead the eye to the old Customs House building. 

Fun fact of the day:
Customs House (1874) was the first federal building built in Victoria after British Columbia entered Confederation. The building has a traditional form indicating the regulatory function it had in Victoria's harbour; there is a lower receiving floor with upper offices and a roof-top viewing deck which allowed for the ability to view the harbour and harbour heads. 

Here are some more photos from today:

I went on another trip with Five Star Charters this afternoon and we saw members of all three groups of Resident, fish-eating, killer whales (Orcinus orca) swimming across the Victoria waterfront towards San Juan Island, Washington.

A large congregation of sea birds feeding in a bait ball off Oak Bay (Victoria)

One die hard gull still trying to grab fish from the bait ball

Harbour Seals (Phoca vitulina) hauled out and resting on the rocks at Great Chain Islands, Oak Bay, Victoria

Local resident hanging out on the front steps, of one of the more interesting places to live in Victoria, Saint Joseph Apartments, which used to be Saint Joseph Hospital 

The Empress Hotel at night in Victoria's Inner Harbour 

Ship's Point at night in Victoria's Inner Harbour

Jackson's Ice Cream Truck at the Custom's House dock

Swan's Hotel and Brewpub

Chinatown, Victoria by night

Re-cap of 2011: Gaudi greats and Montserrat moments in Barcelona, Spain

March - Barcelona, Spain

This year`s visit was my third time to Spain so I decided to mix things up and visit a place I`d heard much about ... Barcelona! My travels continued by heading east from Cadiz and Granada (see previous post) to this modern and architecturally interesting city packed with delicious restaurants and an active nightlife!

En route from Granada to Barcelona

Shortly after arriving I met with two friends from home (Victoria, Canada), Jackson, of Jackson's Ice Cream Float fame, and his good friend and international businessman, George. We spent the next week exploring the sites of this lively city and enjoyed taking in the cafes (including those along the famous Las Ramblas!), tapas (the best ever at Lolita Taperia!) and the fascinating architecture scattered throughout the city. I especially enjoyed the magic of wandering around and through Gaudi's wonderful creations including Casa Mila or La Pedrera, Casa Batlló , La Sagrada Familia and  Park Güell.

In addition to exploring in Barcelona, Jackson, and I spent one of our last days, in the hills, at the Benedictine retreat of Montserrat. We took the train one hour northwest of Barcelona and then rode the cable car to the monastery retreat in the hills. In Montserrat we learned about the history of the retreat, visited and touched the black madonna, contemplated the beautiful architecture of the monastery buildings and purchased delicious locally produced cheese and honey from small market stalls.

What a wonderful week spent taking in the culture of this fascinating city! Following are some photos* highlighting my time in Barcelona :)

*Unfortunately, my camera batteries died just as we were ascending Montserrat in the cable car so I have also included photos taken by Jackson during our travels

Views around Barcelona

Casa Mila also known as La Pedrera - by Gaudi - views around and inside

Casa Batlló

We also saw what appeared to be a car commercial being filmed on the road below us one morning from our hotel room!

Views in and around Park Güell

La Sagrada Familia ... a church like no other!