Last Day!!

It was here. Our final day exploring the hidden metropolis that is British Columbia.  The crew assembled in the lobby of the lovely Royal Scot hotel where we met up with our fearless leader, Ms. Ducharme. Our first stop was the stunning parliament building. Nicolas, a jubilant tour guide, walked us through the rich history of both Victoria and British Columbia. We then came to arguably the most important room in BC, the Legislative chamber. This is where it all happens. Every British Columbian resident can view the chamber live to watch their elected officials debate, discuss and decide what the future of the province holds. We ended the tour with a Q&A with Nicolas which allowed us to take a deeper dive into our respective research topics. Personally, I was able to hear different perspectives on the economic impact the new environmental policies would produce.

 

Hungry and under-caffeinated we wandered around the parliament building looking for the BC Legislative dining room. After minutes of searching, we learned we had walked past it multiple times. However, this was all worth it when we got to sit in the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly’s personal dining room (fun fact: The Speaker is allegedly a slow eater). Refueled and ready to carry on, we took one last look around Victoria then hopped on a double decker bus and headed to the Ferry.

The day came to an end with a grand Italian feast where we all said an emotional goodbye because we were not ready to leave.


--Tucker Ballou

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