Tuesday, August 26, 2014

doing the fan tan...


london may have diagon alley...
 but victoria has fan tan alley !!!

with visitors in town, we are doing touristy things these days.
and one of the coolest spots downtown is chinatown on fisgard street.
did you know that victoria's chinatown is the oldest in canada and second oldest 
in north america (after san fransisco)? 

 after ordering some bubble teas to go... 
we sauntered down the famous narrow fan tan alley
which is tucked behind the fan tan cafe.
 in the past, fan tan alley housed the gambling quarters of victoria 
within its stores, eateries, and opium dens

today, tourist and locals come for
 the unique little boutiques, barber shop, record stores.  
a family friend of ours had even rented a beautiful art studio above one of the shops.
another interesting fact:  
fan tan alley, measuring just under three feet wide, 
is the narrowest (recognized) street in canada !!!

you really do learn something new every day 
(especially when reading tourist info on tours of your home town)
i can't believe we are nearing the end of august already.
the teachers' strike in british columbia hasn't been resolved and it doesn't look promising 
that school is going to start next week.

my kids are both bummed out and a little happy that their summer isn't ending yet.

thank goodness for visiting cousins 
and little touristy adventures like this one to keep everyone's spirits up!!!


erica
xoxo

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