Fashionista Sista

Where: Victoria, Vancouver Island

Sleep: Empress Hotel. 

Rich with history.  Elegant rooms.  Centrally located.  Just look around you and take it all in.  It’s worth it if you’d like to invest in the sleep.

Getting Around:

Just walk.  It’s pretty easy to get around, or you can just hop in a cab or a bicycle rickshaw.  For a romantic twist hire one of the horse & carriage teams and ride around the elegant waterfront.

Eat: Spinnakers Gastro Brew Pub 

Drive just over the Esquimalt Bridge to Spinnakers and sit around the comfortable dinning tables in the restaurant or the pub upstairs and enjoy some of the tastiest beers on the West Coast.  Their Honey Pale Ale is the best I have ever had.  Sincerely.  The great food is produced locally so they bake the bread, pastries and desserts like the amazing Truffles to tempt you as you walk out the door.  I couldn’t say no to the gold flecked Caramel or Vanilla Latte truffles. Aaaaaaaaamazing.  You can also stay in one of the cool Guesthouses in the back if you’ve had a one too many in the bar.  How sweet is that?  A must do when your by the water!

Eat: The Reef – New to Victoria but an oldy but a goody in Vancouver!

Explore this menu and you will be pleasantly surprised.  The Pina Colada’s are nice and frothy and the Mojito’s and Ceasar’s are killer.  A great way of getting out of the wet or cold fall and winter and slipping into a little bit of Jamaca.  WE love the Reef and always have a good time!  Bring back the Banana Bread Frenchtoast!

Fun: Madam Tusades Wax Museum

Check out the Wax Museum near the Empress Hotel on the water.  I used to go there as a kid and I still love going to this day.  A little creepy, but good creepy.

Shopping: Antique Row

Enjoy a historical slow shop walk down Antique Row.  There are so many pretty things to tempt your eye and possibly your wallet.  Areas like Antique Row, Fairfield Village and Cook Street Village are great shopping.

More Shopping: Artina’s, Rebel Rebel, Roberta’s Hats, Oscar & Libby’s

These are my top picks for boutiques around the downtown area.  Easy to walk to them all and you can stop and shop at so many other’s along the way.  Artina’s is a Canadian jewellery shop that really knows what their doing.  Their respect for their Designer’s and excitement over the jewels they carry make them a must shop.  Rebel Rebel is a hipster clothing shop to satisfy the urban fashionista.  Roberta’s Hats… just cause I can always find a fresh new hat to rock there.  And last but not least, Oscar’s & Libby’s is a fun and frolicky boutique of fun and fashionable gifts that you have to stop by on your shop about town.    

Tourist Must-Do: Royal British Columbia Museum

This museum used to blow my mind as a kid and it still does today.  Take a few hours and enjoy all the rich and colourful display after display of Westcoast Canadian history. 

Where: Seattle

Right down town in the thick of it.

Sleep: Sheraton Hotel. 

Handsome, designer rooms.  Clean and contemporary esthetic, with a nice widescreen TV and great views of the city building rooftops.  Centrally located.  You’ve got to check out the amazing touch screen tabletops that are in the lobby sitting area.  They are beyond cool.  Check out google maps and all the other interactive stuff they have on there.  Technological wonder.

Getting Around:

Just walk.  Its pretty easy to get around you just have to wear walking shoes because you might climb a couple of hills but with enough cocktails you won’t notice a thing!

Eat: The Crab Pot down on the water. 

Sit with your friends at a long table, with bibs and a cutting board in front of you and they’ll serve you up a seafood feast that will stuff you silly.  There was no way we could eat it all.  We did seem to have a lot of waste so order a pot at a time and order as you need more.  It’ll keep the food warmer longer too.  Still it was a riot eating like that and a must do when your by the water!

Eat: Palace Kitchen 2030 Fifth Ave.

We literally stumbled into this late night resturant for some nosh and our last drinks for the evening.  Low and behold we were pleasantly surprised by the polite and jovial staff and the FOOD was stellar!!! Order a bunch of appy’s and share with your crew.  You will be completely glad you did.  I can’t even remember all the dishes that we enjoyed they were all just so divine.  We also enjoyed a round of peach mojito’s and whoa…  I was hooked.

Fun: The Underground Tour.

See the way Seattle evolved from a seaside town with ladders that people had to climb up and down everyday to do their daily errands to the modern cosmopolitan city it is today. 

More Fun: Seahawks Football Game

Not a football fan?  Me neither, especially not the NFL.  However, I’m always good to go do something sportingly fun, so I went with my crew, and even though we were up super high in the nosebleeds it was an experience I enjoyed though ally.  It was so much fun being surrounded by Super Fans everywhere, cause they’re straight up crazy for football down there.  Oh oh oh and they have good beer!!  That’s a huge blessing, because well.. Budweiser sucks!! 

Shopping: New H&M

Just opened their doors and all in all the shopping is good.  I’m not crazy about the way they merchandised the store but I eventually found some fun items so I was happy when I left.

More Shopping: Nordstrom Rack

Clothes and shoes for days and days and days.

Tourist Must-Do Too: American Music Experience AMP

Learn in a savvy multi-media way all about the history of Rock music and make some music yourself.

Tourist Must-Do: Seattle Space Tower

Head up to the top of the space tower at night when the city is a sea of lights.  Use the powerful telescopes to find the best patios in the city and play some eye-spy.  Enjoy the early part of your evening with a cocktail or two high up in the clouds.