Sidney By The Sea

Sidney by the Sea is a small town and harbour approximately 15 minutes from Victoria, British Columbia.  Our first stop was to check into the peaceful and lovely furnished Beacon Inn Bed and Breakfast on Third Street.  In 2014 they were voted one of the top 10 Canadian B & B's.  They are very proud of their 5 star rating and I think this B & B is definitely deserving of such high marks.  We loved our accommodations in the Salt Spring Island Suite on the third floor complete with a four poster feather bed, separate seating area, fireplace, goody plate, complimentary sherry and soaker tub.  In the morning they served a delicious fresh Three Berry Upside Down Pancake.  I will be searching for a recipe of my own to duplicate this tasty morning treat.  Our plates also included yogurt, granola and sausages.  Cereal was also available but with such a hearty and delicious breakfast we did not even give the cereal selection a second glance. 

 

We walked around downtown and stopped for lunch at the Beacon Landing Restaurant and Pub.  The weather was perfect and we enjoyed an appetizer of Pork Dried Ribs with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce and two different salads on the ocean front patio.  I choose the traditional Caesar Salad and Anthony was adventuresome with a Brussel Sprout Chopped Salad which consisted of shaved brussel sprouts, crispy bacon, tomatoes, toasted cashews, pecorino cheese, egg, rice wine and mirin emulsion.  He said it was fantastic.

Several small shops were too tempting to pass up after lunch.  Although our purchases were minimal the Victoria Lavender shop was my favorite stop with lots of bath and body products and even some culinary delights.  I will admit to being treated to lavender bubble bath (remember the soaker tub at the Beacon Inn) and lavender body lotion.  We did not have time to visit the Victoria Lavender Farm but understand that they have wonderful gardens, lavender fields and they also operate a rescue bird sanctuary.  Their web-site notes that badly behaved children will be fed to the chickens.  That really tickled my funny bone!   We had a wonderfully relaxing day discovering Sidney by the Sea.

Beacon Inn Bed and Breakfast:  http://www.thebeaconinn.com

Beacon Landing Restaurant and Pub:  http://www.beaconlanding.ca/

Victoria Lavender:  http://victorialavender.com/shop.html