There’s a great Cuban cigar store in Victoria. Get a Cohiba. We didn’t stay at the Empress, and it was a huge mistake. The cultural museum in Victoria is quite good. I went to the Bard and the Baker and sat at the bar and watched hockey on tv. it’s the only time I can really remember watching hockey on tv, other than a re-run of that olympic game, but it was a pretty bar and it was great fun.
We ate at Little Jumbo because it’s always recommended, but I thought it was pretty mediocre.
When we were in the cigar store, we started talking to a guy in an Astros hat. He was an engineer from the Woodlands who was in Victoria/Vancouver to build a sewage treatment plant. They had never had one. They just dump all their shit into the Pacific.
Stanley Park is a really cool place to check out when the weather is nice. HUGE park on a peninsula facing the Strait. If you like bike riding, there’s a really great bike path all the way around the park that has some awesome city and ocean views.
The Capilano Suspension Bridge Park north of town is pretty amazing as well.
Granville Island Market is a touristy but neat spot, tons of shops to check out.
If you’re looking for a place to grab a beer, here are the spots I visited that stood out:
Strange Fellows Brewing - good to great beer choices in a pretty standard space.
Postmark Brewing, now Settlement Brewing - Really awesome space and great food to go with good beers.
Callister Brewing - This place was an Incubator Brewery when we visited, essentially they invited up and coming brewers to come brew single batches and sell them in their tap room. Looks like they’ve gone legit and now are their own brand, so no idea what they’re like now.
This is the stuff I remember off the cuff mostly, I can do some digging and see what else we did while there on our long weekend 5 years ago.
I went to Vancouver long before my craft beer awakening so Mark’s advice is way superior to mine. Don’t leave the area without seeing Victoria, though.
We were there in February, and the Butchart Gardens in Victoria weren’t crowded. It was still cool though, even in the middle of winter. With springtime crowds it might be less appealing, but I’d bet it’s beautiful. We had tea there, and it was mighty dainty, and kind of fun.
My son and I are heading to Tampa for the SEC basketball tourney (they are only sending half the cheer squad and he got the women’s tourney and not the men’s). Any suggestions for good bites around the arena area? Our hotel is in the USF area so any recommendations in that area as well.
I don’t know much around the arena or downtown these days, my favorite restaurants in Tampa are in Ybor City and West Tampa. The most famous restaurant in Tampa is, of course, The Columbia in Ybor. It’s not too far from the Arena, and it’d be worth a stop. And while USF is close to my old homestead, I haven’t a clue what’s there now. It’s nowhere near the arena. Get a Cuban sandwhich and a devil crab somewhere though. And a cigar and cafe con leche or cortadito.
I think Ty works somewhere near there. Or used to.
The arena is downtown and there are a number of good spots there for food depending on what you are after. The area around the arena has changed dramatically over the past few years with Vinik’s Water Street Tampa and the USF medical school’s arrival. The pandemic happening concurrently has me a bit off on what’s good around there, plus I am in Austin at the moment but I’ll check when I’m back home this weekend and get some recommendations from friends for you.
We’re not high-falutin’ diners by any means but off the top of my head, one of our favorite downtown spots is Pizzaiolo Bavaro, brick oven pizza and pasta. Cafe DuFrain on Harbor Island is a nice little new American dining spot. The Columbia has a cafe at the Tampa History Center which is literally right next to the arena.