Impressions of Victoria

Some things I've noticed so far about our new home--it's:

• Expensive! - Gas is about $4 per gallon, milk is almost $5 a gallon. That'll take a little getting used to.
• Beautiful - There's the coast, mountains in the distance, and lots of flowers and trees.
• Friendly - People are more outgoing then in the U.S., from cashiers to the people we're buying furniture from off Craigslist. When they find out we've just moved from the U.S. they have questions and advice and are just generally willing to strike up a conversation and/or help us out.
• Eco-friendly - The city collects kitchen scraps separately from garbage, the University of Victoria has recycling receptacles with all their trash cans, and an auto repair shop I've looked into has a "Green Products and Services" section on their website where they tell how they recycle everything they can and use environmentally-friendly products.
• Hilly - This may just have struck me because Buffalo was super-flat, but it seems like we're always driving up and down.
• Bike- and pedestrian-friendly - There are crosswalks everywhere and lots of bike lanes, although some places don't have them, which makes it seem scary to bike. But I guess it must be okay once you're used to it, and it seems like all the drivers are very respectful of bikes.
• Easy to get around - It's a small city on an island, so maybe that's a given, but it's been really nice since we arrived not knowing the area at all.

tonight's sunset