Have you ever felt like you have lived many lives in your short not-even-over lifetime? Because I have, for many years. I look back at certain periods of my life, and they seem to have been a whole other life, a lifetime ago. Usually, these chapters of my life are well defined by specific events, situations and locations, and have a clear beginning and end. They are all so different from one another. The memories of them sometimes feel like I’m watching a dream or a movie, and I find myself trying to grasp the fact that I’ve actually lived thru them all myself. 

The most recent experience with this sensation relates to my time in Canada, which has kind of taken me by surprise.  It was barely a month ago that I was still in the northern country, enjoying a lovely weekend in Victoria with my dearly beloved…how can that feel like a lifetime ago already? It feels like such a different life, so far removed from where I stand now.  Perhaps it has to do with so much happening in such a short period time; perhaps it’s all this coming and going that messes with my perception of time, of movement, of life, making me feel at times even disoriented; perhaps it’s just the nostalgia of knowing such a wonderful summer, a lovely time in my life, even if ever matched or surpassed by others (they do say the best is yet to come), is after all unrepeatable.

They also say that to remember is to live again, so as I share my photos of the Butchart Gardens and Victoria’s downtown with you, I can almost go back in time and relive it all. Unfortunately for you guys, my photos don’t come even close to making Victoria, the gardens and all of their beauty justice. Actually, I don’t think any photo ever will. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy them.