Post Secret

With our postal system going on strike recently, it brought me back to realizing how wonderful the art of sending mail really is.  I appreciate every single postcard I receive from my clients when they get to experience a wonderful new corner of this earth.  One website that embraces the art of sending mail is Post Secret.  This website is dedicated to people sending in their secrets by postcard to a person in the USA, who then posts them on his blog.  They have now published a book with some of these wonderful postcards, which at times lead to laughter and other times to tears.  Here are a few to share:

The sweet sound of jazz

Victoria Jazz Fest is just around the corner happening between June 24th until July 3rd.  The above video is from a Québécois band called The Lost Fingers, they are a Juno winning band who apply their hard swinging gypsy panache to the pop music of the 1980s.  Another great jazz trio is the Marc Atkinson Trio, you can catch these fine lads at Hermann's Jazz Club July 2nd at 8:30pm.

Another great talent which we will be lucky to have in town for this Jazz Festival is Madeleine Peyroux, an American jazz singer, songwriter, and guitarist.  To give you a little taste of her gorgeous style take a look at this video, plus it's lovely to see Paris again!

A fine dining experience

In Victoria we are blessed with some pretty remarkable dinning options, everything from delicious sushi to healthy burritos, and fine French food.  One fairly recent addition to our dining options is Ulla.  Ulla is located at the bottom of Chinatown in a beautiful brick building. 

 They use local ingredients, classic flavours and modern techniques which sums up their food philosophy. Here are a few dishes to get your senses going:

A year ago ....

Oh, baguettes, how I adore thee!  A year ago at this time, I was taking my first journey over the Atlantic Ocean to a country which truly inspired me here at Mille Fiori Spa, that being France!  I adored the great pleasure the French people have for enjoying food and everything involved in the process.  One of their greatest country treasures is the art of making bread.  Their boulangeries are like nothing I've ever seen.  The amount of bread, and pastries, topped with croissant and brioche they had to offer was remarkable.  The closest I have come to fulfilling this bakery experience here in Victoria is Fol Epi.  On one weekend day, you can find me there getting a croissant or a perfect piece of pie accompanied by a cafe latte from Fantastico.  If you haven't already made it to this town gem, please treat yourself to some of these: