Kristi visits Canada

Sydney, Victoria Island, British Columbia

Our last stop on the Victoria Island was to eat lunch. We decided to eat in the little waterfront town of Sydney which was close to the airport. After parking and walking around a bit we decided to eat at a pub that was directly across the street from the water. We decided on a table outside. The food and beverages were very nice but the view was breathtaking. The mountain that we were looking at was Mt. Baker and is in the state of Washington. We has to have been a good 75 miles from Mt. Baker but it was a stunning view.

British Columbia Parliament Building

This is a beautiful building and our second Canadian Parliament Building. Once again we were amazed by the lack of security. Even after the thwarted bomb threat which was announced just the morning we visited, we just walked in to the building although there was visible security throughout the building. The tour of this building was by far the best tour we have ever been on bar none. While we were viewing the room where members of parliament use when in session to debate and to make laws, an actress appeared in period clothing. She was "Queen Victoria" and she told us her thoughts on the city, the building and her statue on the grounds. What an exciting idea and a great way to truly bring history to life.

Bomb plot foiled by RCMP

While we were roaming around the Parliament grounds and the area around out hotel on Canada Day, we both noticed what we thought was an unusually high number of policemen. There seemed to be three or four on almost every corner and they seemed to be quite engaged. We found out the next day that there had been a bomb plot that was foiled by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on Canada Day. Two Canadian nationals tried to plant pressure cooker bombs on the ground of the Parliament Building. The RCMP were undercover and there was never any true danger to the thousands of people that were out and about July 1, Canada Day. When we walked up to the Parliament building on July 2, we very quickly noticed that there was to be some kind of press conference on the steps. We waited and waited to see what it was all about. After what seemed like a good hour, the Premier, Christi Clark, came out and made a statement. It was very interesting to see it all take place. There were not many people watching but there was one lone protester on the grounds. He was quiet but had a big sign. Our visit to Victoria was unique and I hope that we will never be in an area where bombs are planted.