Go for the Gold! Discover the Past's Gold Fever Trail Walking Tour in Victoria, BC

John Adams of Discover the Past walking tours. ©SueFrausePhoto

I've been on several of John Adams' Discover the Past walking tours, and they're a fun way to explore Victoria and learn more about the provincial capital's history. This summer, Adams has teamed up with the Royal BC Museum, and is offering a Gold Fever Trail Walking Tour. 

Participants will walk in the footsteps of gold rush personalities, plus see some of Victoria's legendary and lesser-known sites that served the miners of BC's gold rushes. Victoria was the port of entry for merchants, prospectors, card sharks, heroes and villains -- and even a herd of camels. 

During the 90-minute walking tour, each participant will take on a real character, making choices that will determine his/her fate. Along the way, you'll hear anecdotes about the colorful people; see some of the city's famous sites in Old Town; and learn how to pan for gold. 

Tours run daily at 1PM through September 6, 2015. Meet in front of the Royal BC Museum at the gold panning trough. Tickets are $15, and may be purchased online. 

To learn more about the Gold Rush, visit the Gold Rush!: El Dorado in BC exhibition now on display at the Royal BC Museum through October 31, 2015. 

Vikings Land at Victoria's Royal BC Museum During First Stop on North American Tour

Days of the Week: Discover which four weekday names that are still in use today have Viking origins. Photo courtesy Royal BC Museum.

Vikings: Lives Beyond the Legends has landed at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, BC. Vancouver Island is the international exhibition's first North American stop and runs through November 11, 2014. The exhibition evolved from recent discoveries and provides insight into the Viking era. 

Artifacts, interactive computer displays and hands-on educational activities tell the story of the Viking people, illustrating who they were and how they lived. Vikings: Lives Beyond the Legends challenges commonly held beliefs and misconceptions of this mythical period. It breaks through stereotypes of Vikings as plunderers rampaging across Europe, wielding swords in search of treasures and valuables. The people of what is today Denmark, Sweden, Norway, northern Germany and parts of Finland lived mainly off the land. They were farmers and fishermen, and the myth of horned helmets was invented in modern times.

Pendant, crucifix, silver. This pendant is considered to be the oldest known crucifix found in what is present day Sweden. It was discovered in a woman's grave in Björkö, Adelsö, Uppland -- she seemed to have great wealth. The crucifix is completely unique, both in shape and its early dates, and no others of this type have been found. Photo courtesy Royal BC Museum, 
SHM 34000:Bj 660 (FID 108914).

The exhibition, produced by the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm and MuseumsPartner in Innsbruck, Austria, features more than 500 rare artifacts and original archaeological objects from the 8th-11th centuries. They include jewelry, swords, axes and clothing -- many have never been displayed outside Scandinavia. 

The objects provide glimpses into domestic life at that time: family and community, religion and rituals, travel and trade aristocracy and slavery and Viking women. The exhibition provides insights into the significance of the Vikings' craft, the power of their mythology and the symbolism of their ships.

Scandinavian Settlement and Viking Activity: Though the word 'viking' appears in Old Norse sources, it's mainly used to describe an activity. Men and women went 'on a viking' -- a commercial trip or raid. People seem to have referred to themselves as a Viking only when involved in this activity. This map shows the wide extent of Viking activity and Scandinavian settlement across Europe and the North Atlantics from the 8th-11th centuries. Image courtesy Swedish History Museum in Stockholm.

The six-month exhibition in Victoria, which opened in May, includes numerous activities for all ages. Among the youth oriented programs are Saturday Night Alive and Vikings Summer Camps. A complete schedule may be found on the Royal BC Museum website. 

IMAX Victoria, located in the Royal BC Museum, is screening a companion film to the exhibition, Vikings: Journey to the New Worlds. The 40-minute large-format documentary provides a comprehensive snapshot of the Vikings, their historical and cultural impact, as well as scientific and technological achievements. Special Royal BC Museum and IMAX combo pricing is available. 

Tickets for Vikings: Lives Beyond the Legends are available online or at the Royal BC Museum Box Office. Call 888.447.7977 for more information. The Royal BC Museum, located near the BC Parliament Buildings and The Fairmont Empress, is open daily from 10-5. Extended summer hours are 10-10 on Fridays and Saturdays through September 27, 2014.

Bengal Lounge at The Fairmont Empress Celebrates 60 Years in Victoria, BC

Even if I'm not staying at The Fairmont Empress while in Victoria, I always pop into the hotel's Bengal Lounge to have a cocktail. When I last visited in February, she was just in the midst of celebrating her 60th anniversary, and preparations were underway for a black tie celebration on February 27. On that evening, revelers enjoyed live entertainment, updated twists on hors d'oeuvres and cocktails from menus gone by and special giveaways. The bar also created a signature Bengal Diamond Cocktail for the event, but more about that later. 

If you're like me and missed the event, you can enjoy dinner for two at the Bengal Lounge's curry buffet with sparkling wine for $60 (for 2) -- now through the end of March. Reservations may be made for Sunday through Thursday evenings at 250.389.2727 or emp.diningres@fairmont.com. 

The Bengal Lounge originated as the Reading and Writing Room and occupied the entire first floor of the south wing that was added in 1912. Fast forward to 1954, when The Fairmont Empress became the first establishment in Victoria (and one of only three in BC), to receive a liquor license. To comply with the strict new liquor laws, the room had to be upgraded and redesigned to comply with the regulations that prohibited "necking booths." After the $85,000 renovation, the room was renamed the Coronet Lounge, and featured striking blue carpet, namesake coronets, tudor roses and wreaths and views out to the hotel gardens through 12-ft windows. When the room opened, The Empress Special became the drink of choice -- it was a combination of rye, pineapple juice and grenadine in a sugared cocktail glass.

In 1970, an Indian theme was adopted for the room during a facelift called Operation Teacup. It was an acknowledgement for the hotel being named after Queen Victoria, Empress of Victoria. With waiters garbed in Nehru jackets and caps, a Bengal tiger skin was hung above the large working fireplace and an Indian theme carried out on a menu that featured curries. The room was named the Bengal Lounge. Cocktails at the time included the Bombay Stinger, The Bengal Tiger, The Tropical Itch and The Bengal Bar Special. The hotel's new lounge was an instant hit, and celebrities such as John Wayne were known to visit (he sailed his converted minesweeper, the Wild Goose, into Victoria's Inner Harbour). One local real estate person conducted so much business from the lounge that he had a personal phone line installed, and it became the place to lobby politicians who could be found at their favorite watering hole. No surprise, as the BC Parliament (also designed by the same architect as The Fairmont Empress), is just across the way.

A second phase of renovations in 1989 included the addition of a 32-color silkscreen mural to the entrance way, along with rattan furniture and punka ceiling fans -- reminiscent of the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel in Singapore (now a Fairmont property). In 1998, the center bar was removed to open up the room, and furniture and floors were restored to provide colonial character. A decade later, leather furnishings and leopard accents were added and is the current "regal look" in the Bengal Lounge today. 

The Bengal Diamond Cocktail was created in honor of the 60th anniversary. Inspired from the Empress Special cocktail in the 1958 lounge menu, the 2014 cocktail uses locally produced Victoria Gin as a base with Dubonnet, Grand Marnier and Angostura Bitters -- with a dusting of gold flakes for a classic cocktail taste and a modern twist. I ordered the one pictured above, and it was delicious!

Bengal Diamond Cocktail

1 1/2 oz Victoria Gin

1 oz Dubonnet

1/2 oz Grand Marnier

Dash Angostura Bitters

Garnish: Liquid Kitchen Gold Luster Dust and Bada Bing cherry

Measure in spirits. Fill mixing glass with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into prepared martini glass. Garnish.

Photos by Sue Frause

Enjoy a Spot of Weekend Tea at London Heritage Farm in Richmond, BC

The 1880's farmhouse at the London Heritage Farm. Sue Frause photo.

Tea time doesn't need to be over the top or expensive, that's why I so enjoyed afternoon tea at the London Heritage Farm when I spent a few days in Richmond, BC several years ago. Located on 4.5 acres overlooking the south arm of the Fraser River, it's a lovely spot with heritage and herb gardens, a restored barn and even a small hand tool museum. There is also an expansive lawn and picnic tables for when the weather warms up. 

The table is set with china and flowers. Photo by Sue Frause.

A full tea is served in the Heritage Tea Room of the 1880s farmhouse and includes their own blend of London Lady Tea; a large, homemade scone with London Farm jam/jelly and butter; plus three homemade goodies. No fancy sandwiches, but the tea room tables are set with lovely tablecloths and served with bone china tea pots, cups, saucers and dessert plates. The price is a reasonable $8.50 per person (you'll pay $48.50 for The Fairmont Empress Afternoon Tea in Victoria). 

Colorful tulips blooming in May. Photo by Sue Frause.

Before or after tea, tour the six rooms in the restored house, complete with furniture, pictures, clothing, quilts and other everyday items that reflect life in Richmond from 1880-1930. London Heritage Farm hours are Saturday and Sunday from 12-5 (February-June) and Wednesday-Sunday from 12-5. To see more photos of Richmond and the nearby fishing village of Steveston, click on my Seattle Travel Examiner slideshow.

UBC museum acquires historical Captain Cook artifact

The University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology (MOA) in Vancouver has acquired an object of global historical and cultural significance. The rare ceremonial club, received by explorer Captain James Cook from a Canadian First Nation during his final voyage (1776-1779), is being donated to the museum by a leading arts philanthropist.

The club was recently purchased through a private dealer in New York, and valued at $1.2 million. It is the last remaining object from Captain Cook's personal collection that was not housed in a public museum. Thanks to the Audain Foundation for the Visual Arts, the club returns to British Columbia, where the explorer received it from the Nuu-chah-nulth people on the west coast of Vancouver Island in 1778.

According to the Audain Foundation, the ceremonial club has immense historical and cultural value, and is the first and only in Canada. Other Nuu-chah-nulth objects collected by Cook are housed in museums in London, Berlin and Vienna. Michael Audain, chair of the Audain Foundation for the Visual Arts and an active Canadian arts supporter, is delighted. "I hope to encourage the repatriation of other Northwest Coast art works to public museums and cultural centres in British Columbia," said Audain.

MOA says the club was misattributed in a number of historical documents as a "curious war instrument" from the "Sandwich Isles" (Hawaii). In fact, it was carved by an Aboriginal Northwest Coast artist as early as the mid-1700s, and is considered to be the oldest and most finely executed club of this style. Carved from yew wood in the shape of a hand holding a sphere, MOA says it may have been both a ceremonial symbol of its owner's high rank and a function tool or weapon. The club eventually found its way from Cook's family into the Leverian Museum in London, where it was sold in 1806. It passed through several private collections in Britain and the U.S. and was eventually obtained by the Audain Foundation and returned to British Columbia.

The club is displayed at the east entrance to the Multiversity Galleries of MOA, which house more than 10,000 objects from around the world.

Three views of the ceremonial club

Photo by Bill McLennan

Quebec City Christmas Magic: Guided Walking Tours of Old Quebec

One of the most magical places in North America during the Christmas holidays is Quebec City. C'est bon! And a most fun and entertaining way to see it is with Cicerone's Christmas Walk Tour. The two-hour tour is led by a historical figure garbed in authentic attire from New France. You'll walk through Old Quebec and the Quartier Petit-Champlin district with all its colorful holiday decor -- plus learn more about the 400-year history of the city and how local Christmas traditions evolved in Quebec City.

The tour is given in both French and English every Saturday and Sunday during the month of December -- plus daily from Dec. 24, 2011 through Jan. 2, 2012. Meet at Hotel du Vieux Quebec (1190, rue St. Jean) at 11 AM for the French tour and 1:30 PM for the English tour. Rates are $21.95 CAD for ages 13 and up, children are free.

Pictured Above: Quartier Petit-Champlin district of Quebec City and Le Fairmont Chateau Frontenac in Old Quebec. Photos by Sue Frause. 

Les Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France: Quebec City's New France Festival

Quebec City is one of my favorites in Canada. Located on the Saint Lawrence River, it's been 403 years since it was founded by French explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1608. Originally called <Kebec> (an Amerindian word meaning place where the river becomes narrow), this French civilization quickly established roots in the Americas.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, Quebec City was the heart of New France, a French colony in North America (1534-1760) that covered what today is Eastern Canada, the Eastern US, the Great Lakes and Louisiana -- it extended from Hudson's Bay in the north all the way to Florida in the South.

Now in its 15th year, each summer Les Fetes de la Nouvelle-France or the New France Festival celebrates the arrival of the first Europeans on North American soil. The festival (August 3-7, 2011) is a showcase of theater, dance, street entertainment and parades -- five days of more than 1,000 events inside the walled city of Old Quebec. Click on for a fun video of the festival.

I'll be attending for the first time, and am looking forward to meeting the Quebec Giants (no, they're not a new baseball team!) and also dressing up in period costume for the New France Festival parade. My home for five nights will be the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac, where I stayed during my 2009 Great Big Canadian Train Adventure. The hotel, overlooking the St. Lawrence River, opened in 1893 -- five years after the Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta.

Colorful buildings of the fortified town of Quebec City, a UNESCO World Heritage Centre, taken in November 2009. Photo by Sue Frause.

Winnipeg's St. Boniface Cathedral a Provincial Heritage Site

St. Boniface Cathedral is one of 124 Manitoba Provincial Heritage Sites designated by the Canadian province. Located at Avenue de La Cathedrale in Winnipeg's Francophile community of St. Boniface, the site was originally occupied by a small, log chapel built in 1818 by Father Joseph-Norbert Provencher.

Fr. Provencher dedicated the chapel to Saint Boniface, an English missionary monk and apostle. As the first permanent mission west of the Great Lakes, it was the hub of Roman Catholic missionary work, which stretched out to the Pacific and Arctic coasts. It also served the people who lived in the Red River Settlement.

Over the years, five cathedrals have stood on the site. The first cathedral with twin spires was built in 1832 by Bishop Provencher, and 30 years later a stone cathedral was constructed by Bishop Tache. In 1906, the cornerstone of a cathedral designed by Marchand and Haskell of Montreal was blessed by Archbishop Langevin. As the finest example of French Romanesque architecture in Manitoba, it was destroyed by fire in 1968.

The present cathedral dates back to 1972, and was designed by Franco-Manitoba architect Etienne Gaboury. The sacristy, facade and walls of the former basilica have been incorporated into the structure. The tombs of the bishops of Saint-Boniface lie within the facade.

Among the many notables buried in the adjoining cemetery, Western Canada's oldest Catholic cemetery, is Louis Riel. According to The Canadian Encyclopedia:

"Louis Riel, Métis leader, founder of Manitoba, central figure in the NORTH-WEST REBELLION (b at Red River Settlement [Man] 22 Oct 1844; d at Regina 16 Nov 1885). Riel was educated at St Boniface and studied for the priesthood at the Collège de Montréal. In 1865 he studied law with Rodolphe Laflamme, and he is believed to have worked briefly in Chicago, Ill, and St Paul, Minn, returning to St Boniface in 1868." Click on the link to read his full biography.

St. Boniface in Winnipeg, Manitoba 2004.
Photos by Sue Frause

Canada now has an official tartan; April 6 declared Tartan Day

Being a citizen and resident of US, I know our states have their own official flags, mottos, birds, flowers and sometimes even songs. But when it was announced earlier this month that Canada now has an official tartan, I knew they were in a league of their own.

James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, said in a press release that "the Maple Leaf Tartan has been worn proudly and enjoyed by Canadians for decades." He added that Canada's national symbols express the country's identity and define its history. "The Maple Leaf Tartan represents the contributions that the more than four million Canadians of Scottish heritage continue to make to our country," added Minister Moore.

The Maple Leaf Tartan was created in 1964 by David Weiser in anticipation of the 100th anniversary of the Confederation in 1967. The Second Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment Pipes and Drum has adopted theartan and the National Defence Headquarters has approved it for issue to Canadian Forces pipers and drummers who have no specific regimental affiliation. The tartan was also featured in costumes worn during the closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Canada has declared that April 6 will formally be recognized as Tartan Day. On April 6, 2011, Canadians across the country can celebrate this day with its newest official symbol. As an official symbol, the Maple Leaf Tartan joins Canada's most significant emblems, such as the Coat of Arms and the National Flag of Canada.

In addition to the national tartan, all of Canada's provinces and territories, except for Nunavut, have regional tartans.

The tartan jacket pictured above is from the Royal BC Museum's collection and was once worn by BC Liquor Control Board employees. It's made from the official tartan of British Columbia. Photo by Sue Frause.

Vancouver turns 125: What are your favorite 'Places that Matter'?

To celebrate Vancouver’s 125th Anniversary this year, the Vancouver Heritage Foundation is asking Vancouverites to nominate 125 sites that commemorate the people, places and events that helped shape the city.

The sites will be selected through a combination of nominations and a public vote. Nominations can be made online until March 15; after that, the public may vote for the sites through April 6, 2011. During the summer, the text will be written for the 125 plaques, which will be manufactured and installed in the fall. There will also be a website that will identify the location and text of each plaque.

Although I can't vote, The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver is a place that matters to me. I've often called it my living room, as it's where I head to first when I visit the city.

The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver reflected in glass
Photo by Sue Frause

Plains of Abraham re-enacment canceled due to firestorm of protests

You won't need a map for Quebec City's Plains of Abraham re-enactment this year. The CTV reports:
"Following a firestorm of protest, a planned re-enactment of the 1759 defeat of French forces on Quebec City's Plains of Abraham has been cancelled. The National Battlefields Commission, the federal agency that helps to preserve the Plains, made the announcement Tuesday while explaining revisions to the programming surrounding the 250th anniversary."

I thought Americans were the only ones who were overly PC about stuff.

Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum: It's All About Shoes

The Bata Shoe Museum. Photo by Sue Frause.

I've only been to Toronto once, but I already have a favorite spot: The Bata Shoe Museum. The award-winning building houses a huge collection of footwear from all walks of life.

Inside are more than 4,500 years of history and a collection of 20th century celebrity shoes in the exhibition, All About Shoes.

Artifacts range from Chinese bound foot shoes and ancient Egyptian sandals to chestnut-crushing clogs and moon boots.Three additional galleries feature special exhibitions.

If you can't visit in person, no worries. The All About Shoes Online Exhibition is a comprehensive overview of the museum.

Rare Titanic passenger list at Royal BC Museum

The Royal BC Museum’s Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition is two artifacts richer today. Bowen Island's Don Marshall, 76, whose mother and grandmother survived the sinking of the Titanic, searched his home for the items this spring after the museum put out a call for BC connections to the ship and its passengers.
On July 4, Marshall presented the museum a pair of family treasures – a second-class passenger list and an essay titled A Personal Experience on the Titanic, written by his mother in 1914. The conservators of the museum installed the valuable items in a display case in the BC Connections Gallery.

“I and my family have chosen to loan these artifacts to the museum's exhibit because we believe that our mother would have wanted this,” said the retired dentist. “She was proud of the fact that she and her mother had survived the sinking of the Titanic and participated in many interviews over her lifetime.”

In 1912, Elizabeth (“Bessie”) Watt and her 12-year-old daughter Bertha were aboard the Titanic, en route from Scotland to Oregon to join Mr. James Watt, when the ship struck the iceberg that sent it to the ocean floor. Mother and daughter escaped in Lifeboat 9 with only the clothes on their backs – the second-class passenger list happened to be in the pocket of Bessie’s overcoat.

Two years later, Bertha (Marshall’s mother) wrote an essay about her ordeal for her high school yearbook. “About 2 o’clock, we heard the boilers burst and then (the ship) broke in two and slid into the water, leaving nothing to be seen,” she wrote. “We were then left entirely alone in the dark, except for the stars.”

Last week, a first-class passenger list sold at a Christie’s New York auction for $48,000 US. An eight-page, handwritten description of the sinking by a 16-year-old survivor earned $16,800 US at the same auction.

Created by Atlanta-based Premier Exhibitions Inc., Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition features 281 artifacts recovered from Titanic’s undersea resting place in a series of galleries that trace the life of the “unsinkable” ship. RMS Titanic Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Premier Exhibitions Inc., is the only company in the world authorized to recover artifacts from the Titanic wreck site.
Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition will be at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria until Oct. 14, 2007.

Titanic sails into Victoria on Vancouver Island for six-month run

Victoria's Royal BC Museum launched its six-month run of Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition on Saturday. That's exactly 95 years to the day, April 14, 1912, that RMS Titanic struck the iceberg that sent it to the bottom of the north Atlantic Ocean.

I'd seen a Titanic exhibit at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle in 2001 and was underwhelmed. But after a sneak peek at the Royal BC Museum last month, I'm planning a return visit to Vancouver Island to see the show in its entirety.