Dear all,
The people staying at Marketa's are somewhat mixed -- but in one way, very similar. They're mixed in where they come from: one younger couple is from Portland, OR; a mother with two children is from Greece; an older couple is from Lucerne, Switzerland; and another older couple is from Seattle, and a trio is from the Netherlands. However, when I asked how they heard about Marketa's, they all had the same answer: The Internet.

Marketa's breakfasts are wonderful: eggs benedict, bagel with cream cheese and a little smoked salmon, coffee or tea, pancakes... but they try to cook fresh for about ten people in an ordinary-sized kitchen.

Victoria's downtown caters heavily to tourists -- particularly cruise ships. This means that Victoria's downtown has many good restaurants (and pubs). Unfortunately, it also means that Victoria feels like Disneyland -- somewhat artificial. (This artificialness is especially apparent at night: the capitol building is decorated with lights around its outline.)

Victoria very much wants to go back to being part of England. From double-decker buses to Union Jacks to British-style pubs, Victoria is filled with references to England that I've seen little of in other parts of Canada. (This city takes the phrase British Columbia very seriously.) On the other hand, Victoria doesn't have the great curry shops that England has.

Despite it being "on the Pacific rim", and it having "the oldest Chinatown in Canada", it has extremely little Chinese influence. Their Chinatown is only one block long. (Eli will get years of teasing me over eating at a "Chinese" restaurant that had only Anglo customers... and only Anglo staff. Grumble. They had good soup.) Their "Chinese tea" shops are very limited, compared with the Bay Area or even Seattle.

I've been sick, so I have not been exploring as much as I normally would. On Friday, I only ate soups, and crashed asleep during the day. In the evening, Eli and I walked to the Irish Times Pub. A pair of musicians fiddled and plucked and sang Irish songs (and pseudo-Irish songs). Eli had fish and chips. I had the Irish stew: dumplings on top of a chicken-Guiness broth with lamb, potatoes, carrots, onions, and other vegetables. I ate every drop. Made me feel much better.

A lot of my new music comes from podcasts, including the CBC Radio 3 New Music podcast. I emotionally know that I can import music myself -- many smaller bands gladly sell mp3s -- but I'm old-fashioned. I still prefer to hunt down obscure CDs. We found one place, and it was terrible for my wallet: I bought nine new records, ranging from "Godspeed You! Black Emperor" to "The New Pornographers" and "The Weakerthans" to "!!!".

Tomorrow is the trip home, through Seattle. I've really enjoyed this trip, though I'll also enjoy being home. Or anywhere that has laundry available...

Take care, all.