We are re-opening in April 2013 after spending much time on major re-landscaping of three large areas of our B&B gardens.

Our summer accommodation rates will be reduced for all reservations except one night stays. So stay for just two nights or more to benefit:

From 16th June until 15th September 2013:

10% discount on stays of 2, 3 or 4 nights
15% discount for 5+ nights.

A summary of our rooms and cottage with applicable rates can be seen on this B & B accommodations page. Click on the brown Check Availability button to view availability and to book online. You will be pleased to know that the British Columbia provincial government has bowed to public pressure and changed the tax structure from 1st April 2013 so that we only have to charge 5% tax rather than the recent 12% rate.

We have been purchasing fruit, vegetables and more from Oldfield Orchard for many years – our favourite of many Saanich Peninsula fruit stands.  Although Linda bakes muffins and scones their ooey-gooey cinnamon buns are the best.

Oldfield Orchard are typical of many rural businesses here on the Saanich Peninsula: family run with artisan care to provide the very best quality. Many of our guests include a tour of peninsula fruit stands and wineries, enjoying local produce – we provide them with Victoria area maps.

After over 50 years operation, the Orchard passed into new hands a couple of years ago. Raphael and Kelsie Guite are throwing youthful energy into new activities. The highly popular Octoberfest continues but this year is the first annual Berryfest. I’ve always tended towards sceptism when I see the words “1st Annual …” wondering if there will be a 2nd one but I have no doubt this will be a success, followed by many more. So if you are visiting Victoria on 21st and 22nd July 2012 do drop by. There are many special events included, especially for the younger generation. And be sure to take away a punnet or two of their wonderful fruit.

A QR Code is a “Quick Response Code” having similarities in use to a bar code. It is more complex in design, a two dimensional code in a square shape. It most commonly links to a webpage.  The idea is to place a decal of maybe 6″x6″ on either side of our Victoria B&B sign. When people drive by our sign they simply point their smart phone at the code, see the website page and can bookmark it.

Above is a QR Code I have just generated with a link to Gazebo B&B homepage. (Well, I hope it does – I am one of the rapidly decreasing number of people in our society without a smart phone.)

Only last week I mentioned to Linda that it seemed odd that I had not seen a QR Code in use in Victoria. Maybe this is because the extent of my travels is to the grocery store. Then, last Sunday, we had our first sighting, on a real estate sign.

So maybe we should get a QR Code printed for our sign making it easier for people to see the beauty of our Victoria B&B without even entering our gates.

It is Victoria’s 150th birthday. On 2nd August the city of Victoria will be 150 years old. That’s not much, but we are on the West coast and it took a long time for causasians (that’s politically correct “white man”) to reach the coast.

Captain James Cook arrived on British Columbia’s coast in 1778 but a fort was not established here until 1843 by the Hudson’s Bay Company and its Chief Factor, James Douglas. Not surprisingly, it was named Fort Victoria after Queen Victoria. The significance of 2nd August 1862 as the birthdate of the city is that this was when it was incorporated as a City. By then the original community, numbering 230 in 1854, was growing fast to serve the goldrush in the Fraser Valley. Tales were told of city lots valued at $25 being sold for $3,000 a week later to meet demand. Hindsight is everything. The photo shows Fort Victoria in about 1860, from the City of Victoria archives.

57 arts and cultural groups have received grants for Victoria 150 productions and the city is planning central events so this may be a good period to plan to visit Victoria. Oh … please bring some candles; we need to find 150.

Researching this article has produced a remarkable diverse range of things to see and do in the next three months, and these are just some highlights. Let’s start with a cheery image from our own B&B garden:

Spring is the perfect time to visit Victoria gardens. My favourites at this time of year are the Butchart Gardens for their massed displays of tulips in April and little-known Playfair Park with its glorious rhododendrons in May and early June.

The great outdoors of southern Vancouver Island offers so much but let’s focus on special events and festivals. You can run a 10km race, the Oak Bay half marathon or, for the ultra-fit, there’s the Elk Lake triathlon whose bike portion passes our gates. Cycling events include the Tour de Victoria, the Victoria International Cycling Festival and even Jumpship in the Inner Harbour where crazy mountain bikers “perform” (my italics) on a floating barge!

The 148th (yes) Victoria Highland Games and Celtic Festival or the Luxton Rodeo offer feats of strength and precision, or for a nautical touch there’s the Swiftsure International Yacht Race or the Victoria Harbour Boat Show.  If mingling is your style then wander through the 50th Oak Bay Tea Party and be in the crowds for the annual Victoria Day Parade.

Lovers of culture and the arts will enjoy many theatrical plays and concerts (classical, jazz, blues and more), a chess tournament and the Victoria International Jazz Fest.

Lastly, there are some significant interesting exhibits at the impressive Royal BC Museum. They have a major dinosaurs exhibition this year and two photographic displays: Wildlife Photographer of the Year and about 100 portraits celebrating the Queen’s diamond jubilee.

You can also view a full Victoria events calendar 2012.

It promises to be a great spring in Victoria and we hope to welcome you here to enjoy it.

Then we go away to relax on vacation: no rush, no schedule, no demands on our time. Starting the day at leisure sets us up for the way we want the day to continue. So breakfast should be taken in this luxuriating manner.

Here, tongue in cheek, is a brief video presenting us with our breakfast options:

At Gazebo Bed and Breakfast we make breakfast that special, relaxing and tasty affair it should be. None of that hit-and-miss hotel breakfast buffet gamble. It is elegant, even candlelit, at a beautifully presented table in the dining room with fine china, silver service and linen napkins.

You have a choice of breakfast formats from a continental breakfast, to a lighter meal, to the full (overfull?) option. If you are unable to enjoy these due to an early start we will provide a packed breakfast to get your travels under way.

As for the food, well, it is fresh and tasty, nutritious and healthy. Here is a full description of these breakfasts – we use local ingredients from a farmers market and fruit stands. See some breakfast reviews from past guests. We look forward to serving you.

Initially, you have two choices. You can click on the beige Check Availability button on the left of every page on our bed and breakfast website. Or you can read our B&B Availability page which chats about the process and has a link on the first line to our Availability Calendar.  This page shows you this handy calendar of available dates (on the top left you can click on an arrow to change the month shown):

Either method will take you to where you select reservation dates. Let’s say you wanted you wish to stay here in Victoria on 18th and 19th June 2012:

You next see the below chart showing available units for a two week period after your planned arrival. Click on the small circle under your arrival date.

Then this summary below appears. Choose your room or cottage on the button “Click to make a Reservation Request” and you reach the final form where you enter all your information. This includes Visa or Mastercard details which are securely encrypted. You can opt for one of our packages at this point if you wish.

We receive an email notification that you have made your reservation request. We log in to the Webervations site for your information and then email you to confirm your reservation. This confirmation email will contain lots of useful information and links to help you plan your visit to Victoria.

It really is easier than it appears!

Then we look forward to welcoming you to this lovely Victoria and southern Vancouver Island.
Linda and Martin.

There is so much to see and do here, all in a beautiful setting with a pleasant climate. We can select from both long-term attractions like the Butchart Gardens, whale-watching and the Royal BC Museum and from short-term / temporary events and festivals.

I was reminded of our wealth of choice a few days ago. A nephew emailed that he would be returning from South America with an 18 hour stopover in a North American city much larger than Victoria. I suggested he take a bus to some local attractions so went online to locate some good choices for him. They were sadly short in quantity and quality. We are fortunate indeed here and so are our visitors to Victoria and southern Vancouver Island.

For many years our website has contained comprehensive local tourist information to help our guests make the most of their time here. Two pages are particularly useful. Firstly, the Itineraries page describes and illustrates suggested tours and attractions to fill a week or so. It responds to what we hear so often: “We never realised that there was so much to do in Victoria. We should have stayed longer“. Secondly, our Victoria events calendar for 2012 lists events and festivals of a temporary or short-term nature. Catch them if you can!

December is a month when we rest each year, taking a deep breath after the busyness of the past B&B season and preparing for the next one. Most of the leaves have tumbled down and have been placed in several leaf mulch wire bins to slowly decompose for the future benefit of the garden. This seems to be an analogy for our life here now: we have tumbled down, so it feels, and are placed at ease in preparation for the future (hopefully not to decompose yet!).

We held a Christmas tree decoration party for 20+ friends so the house is festive. Martin was disguised as Saint Nicholas for a neighbouring childrens party, hoping they do not recognise him and that he does not forget those onerous lines “Ho ho ho” (photo above at our tree just before the visitation). Parties, gift-giving and relaxation amidst good company with good food seem deserved after a long summer. We hope your Christmas, or whatever holiday season you celebrate, will be relaxed and happy. Further, we wish you a happy and healthy 2012.
Linda and Martin.