It’s been almost two weeks since we were in Victoria, British Columbia. I didn’t add anything about the trip to my blog at the time because the Evil-Doers called Just Host had me firmly ensnared in their Axis of Evil and I was blogless in Victoria.

But Good aka Laurie McConnell, triumphed again! Granted, with her spiky magenta hair, she is an unlikely-looking force for Good. But you may rest assured that woman is the embodiment of Goodness, Persistence and Techi-Genius.

It was a whirlwind trip in the provincial capital. I was working on a guidebook and needed to personally check out as many places as possible. But how many great cappuccinos, hotels, lounges, bakeries and restaurants can you take on in two days? As it turns out? Quite a few.

There were some high points, one of them being our digs for the weekend; the penthouse at the Inn at Laurel Point. Yup. Very shiny. The only thing missing was Uncle Bill, Mr. French, Buffy and Jody. And for those of you who don’t get that reference? It means you’re too young.

We had a wrap-around view that took in the night-time lights of the Fairmont Empress Hotel, the Inner Harbour and across to the main part of the city.

The first night’s dinner was at the hotel’s restaurant, AURA, where we indulged in a gastronomical debauchery that included foie gras, poke, sablefish and so many other flavours and tastes as to render me rather speechless. And I’m not sure if it was just the cocktails but when the Inn’s director of marketing and sales, Ms. Avril Matthews, had her virginal foie gras experience…let’s just say we all felt closer having shared it with her.  I just wished I could have offered her a cigarette.

Our final night’s dinner was at Ulla’s. It was one hip and happening place. The owners have collectively worked at some of Victoria and Vancouver’s finest restaurants like Feenie’s West, Lumiere, Cibo and Brasserie L’ecole. It showed. It’s a great space with large arched windows, brick walls, fir tables and clean modern touches like funky white-flowered chandeliers but the stand-out was the flavours.

“How,” I asked our server, “is it possible to make short ribs taste this good?” She gave me one of those Mona Lisa smiles, “They cook them slowly for 48 hours.”

Talk about planning ahead. I’m lucky if I remember we might need to take something out of the freezer an hour before it’s time to cook it.

But something else is suddenly making sense. That is, that as I’ve written this post, and yesterday’s and a few previous entries, I’m starting to make the connection between my tightening waist band and my food intake the last few weeks.

Apparently I can’t really blame it on hormonal fluxes…It would appear it’s because I’ve been hoovering awesome food at a rather spectacular rate.  I’d much rather blame my estrogen levels. But it looks like this time, I really need to blame Tourism Victoria.

Thanks guys. Thanks for a LARGE weekend.