September 25, 2008
The Bard & Banker Public House
Enjoyed walking around Victoria's historic downtown quarter during the afternoon. But after dinner all the shops were pretty much closed, so most of the folks from our tour group just went back to the hotel, even though it was still early yet in the evening. Wife and I both wanted to do something on our own and have a local experience instead of yet another blah Chinese meal in a distinctly un-Chinese city. I noticed the large number of pubs while we were wandering the city during the day, and this particular converted bank building's imposing facade and cool-Brittanic name certainly made an impression. So a night-cap at the public house seemed liked the perfect way to close out our day in Victoria.
On a Thursday evening it wasn't hard to find a table upstairs, where we could see the fancy chandeliers hanging from the ceiling above, and look down onto the bar converted from the bank's teller cages below us. A guy came in and played cover-songs for a bit for some added entertainment. No alcohol for the pregnant wife, of course, but they had a cappuccino plus trifle dessert combo which was perfect for her nightcap. The trifle's layers of sponge cake, pudding, and whipped cream topped with fruit is just like how they make cakes in Taiwan, so it was actually a comfortingly familiar dessert for us, and I had to hold back to not scarf too much of it from her. Had myself a sampling of Victoria's finest local brews, enjoying light and dark beers produced from the craft-brewing microbrewery culture of the Pacific Northwest.
Finished our drinks just as the performer finished his set. If we were bigger party-types we could've had ourselves a good time pub-crawling, but it's another early departure the next morning so it's back to the hotel we go. I probably should've been more social and invited fellow couples from our tour group to come with us and made a good time of it. But after all that hectic traveling with the big group, it was so nice to enjoy a relaxed evening with just the two of us.
The Bard And Banker
1022 Government St.
Victoria, BC
+1 (250) 953-9993