Parkside Victoria Travel Blog

By Jessica Woollard

For all those lazy, hazy, crazy holidays in the capital city, breakfast is the meal of choice for late-night revelers and late-morning loungers alike. Lucky for all, downtown Victoria offers several top-drawer eateries for your favourite meal of the day. Enjoy eggs made every way imaginable, French toast dipped in scrumptious secret ingredients, taters fried to golden perfection, and waffles with tantalizing toppings—mounds of fresh fruit dribbled with heavenly syrups and homemade jams.

Each of the top five breakfast eateries below serves amazing, mouthwatering breakfasts. No, the menu alone might not help you choose which place to try; instead, the key to your choice might lie in the décor, the history, the vibe, or the approach to cooking. Here’s an overview to help you choose the best spot at which to start your day:

Shine Café, 1320 Blanshard Street (downtown location); 1548 Fort Street (Oak Bay Junction location)

We love a romantic story at Parkside. So when one of our guests decided to propose to his girlfriend in our atrium lobby on Friday, we couldn't resist sharing the news.

Kelowna residents Manjit and his girlfriend, Jillian, stayed with us for a romantic weekend getaway, but Jillian also got a lovely surprise! Armed with a bouquet of red roses, Manjit requested the help of our Guest Services team to deliver the flowers, one at a time, to Jillian, who was seated in our atrium thinking she was simply meeting a friend.

When half of the bouquet had been delivered, Manjit appeared with six more roses, got down on one knee and proposed to Jillian. Our Guest Services team was all smiles when she said YES!

Congratulations to Manjit and Jillian - we wish you much health and happiness in your union!

Photos: Gwendolyn Ewart Photography

By Jessica Woollard

Guided walking tours are a great way to get to know the history of a city and scope out some neat places to return to later on your own. But there’s also something to be said about the spontaneity that comes with wandering through city streets on your own, discovering a delightful hole-in-the-wall café, an intriguing shop at the end of an alley, or an intimate art gallery.

Self-guided walking tours offer the best of both worlds, and I was thrilled to come across a set of four Do-It-Yourself heritage walking tours for downtown Victoria. Even after living here for six years, I learned a lot about this beautiful city—and the tours were a great way to get some fresh air and exercise!

The four “Secrets of the City” tours lead you around the downtown area, indicating significant landmarks and the stories that have made them memorable. If you’re worried about your level of fitness, it's important to note:

>> Complete article on A-Life BC Travel Blog

While we're still busy giving our special Valentine's spa treatments until Saturday Feb. 18, our team has launched a sparkling new website!

The eye-catching site is easy to navigate, learn about spa treatments and escapes, and request reservations.

You can also view videos, photos, subscribe to our newsletter and get a snapshot of some of the spa buzz on Twitter.

Check us out at victoria.aquaterre.net      

By Jessica Woollard

Tea is trendy right now. Somehow in the last few years, the stuffy English staple has been wholly made-over into a hip libation, attracting a cult following of connoisseurs who can distinguish rooibos from oolong as quickly as a wine dilettante knows gris from grisio.

No doubt, walking around downtown Victoria, you’ve noticed there are more tea shops here than in most cities. All within a few blocks of each other, you’ll find smaller enterprises like century-old Murchie’s and Victoria’s own Silk Road and Special Teas, as well as one of three Victoria locations of the über trendy David’s Tea.

Having established itself as a centre for tea enthusiasts, Victoria proudly hosts North America’s largest tea exhibition, the Victoria Tea Festival, running this year on February 18 and 19 at Crystal Garden. Now in its sixth year, the tea festival has evolved from a small, one-day exhibition, to a two-day event featuring more than 40 exhibitors and 200 volunteers and attracting more than 3,300 people, some making Victoria a yearly destination holiday because of the Tea Festival.

>> For complete story, visit A-Life BC Travel Blog

AquaTerre Spa at Parkside had the pleasure of hosting Shaw TV The Daily personality Sucheta Singh last week.

We gave Sucheta a preview of some of the chocolate treatments we are offering in celebration of Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day Spa Specials are available Feb. 11-18.

Watch the show >>

See Valentine's Day Specials >>

Parkside is proud to again partner with the Victoria Film Festival as a venue. Our HD movie theatre with large, plush seating is all set for tonight's showing of Belcanto. 

Here's a list of films showing at Parkside Feb. 3-11.

Belcanto

Friday • February 3rd • Parkside • 7:15
Director: Ryszard Maciej Nyczka
Poland • 2010 • 107 min • Digital
Canadian Premiere

When Mariusz Marzeda, a provincial opera and operetta tenor, comes into neighbourly conflict with a local escort of considerable influence he loses his job and becomes a social outcast. His old friend General Ogórcow, a commander of the armed forces, who is totally in love with music, decides to defend him by dropping two atomic bombs on West Berlin.

By Churchill Foundation Vancouver Island

For several years Les Leyne of the Times Colonist and admirers of Sir Winston Churchill have braved the elements and gathered at the hawthorn tree in Mayor's Grove, Beacon Hill Park, to mark the death of SWC, January 24, 1965 and to celebrate his life.

This year, the Churchill Foundation Vancouver Island has added to the celebration with a Chatfest of pithy and fun observations and stories! The Chatfest will precede the tree ceremony running across lunch from 11:30am to 1:30pm on Sunday (Jan. 22) in the beautiful (and warm) atrium of Parkside Victoria Resort & Spa.

By Jessica Woollard

Ah, January... the month of fresh starts and fitness regiments. Like several million people around the world, I’m committed to staying in shape through to the end of 2012—after all, it might be the last chance I’ve got!

I’ve made this promise to myself in past years, along with eating more broccoli and buying fewer flavoured coffees; but while I still cringe at the sight of green flowers on my plate and give in, at least once a month, to the sweet aroma of a Caramel Brûlée Latté, I have found the key to sticking to a fitness plan: signing up for races.

Photo/Tony Austin

Christmas is fast approaching! Need a gift idea they'll love while treating yourself?

Buy a Gift Card, Receive Your Own Gift From Our Christmas Tree!

We've placed gift certificates for various free spa treatments in our Christmas tree: purchase a $200 gift card and choose a gift; purchase a $500 gift card and receive a free spa robe along with a gift from the tree.

Call or visit our spa desk to give the gift of relaxation this season while getting a little something in return!