Coffee House Chronicles, Part 1: Victoria's Best Cafes for Working and Studying

Until last fall, I was the girl who ran into Starbucks, grabbed my mobile order, and continued on in my busy day. Unless I was travelling, I seldom worked in coffee shops or paid close attention to the atmosphere and amenities. That all changed when I moved to Victoria and became a PhD student living in a tiny studio apartment...with a piano player on the floor above me. Suddenly, it became imperative to find that perfect coffee house with delicious lattes, a cool vibe, and a great work space. This series of blog posts features some of my work/study picks from Victoria's buzzing coffee house scene. I've evaluated each cafe on appearance and atmosphere, work space, and coffee/food. Hopefully this guide will lead you to your new mobile office...a place where the latte art is creative, the wifi is strong, and you feel productive and inspired!

Hide and Seek Coffee, 2207 Oak Bay Avenue, Victoria

Oak Bay is such a charming neighbourhood!

Appearance and Atmosphere 
Located in a brick building with high ceilings and large windows, Hide and Seek Coffee packs a big aesthetic appeal. The decor is minimalist with lots of white and light wood, accented with artistically arranged shelving with coffee and various merchandise for sale. The coffee bar is long and white and everything looks sparkling clean. Music selections were great--singer-songwriter, folk-inspired, and some 1960s Beatles-sounding tunes added to the ambiance. And when you throw in that this coffee house is located in the incredibly charming Oak Bay neighbourhood, you have a winner for sure.

Beautifully arranged merchandise

Barista Kelsey behind the long coffee bar

Work Space
There are a variety of tables and seating options available, with power outlets located under some of the tables. Natural light floods the space, and wifi is available. This intimate yet uncrowded coffee house is definitely a pleasant space to work!

Lots of natural light here

Coffee and Food

I wasn't hungry, but I did notice that they have homemade pop-tarts and vegan/gluten-free selections. My latte was excellent, made with non-fat milk and house-made vanilla syrup, which was their only flavour. It was served in a nice cup with terrific latte art. Worthy of noting: although they don't roast their own beans, they serve coffee from local roasters such as Fantastico and Fernwood.

Overall Impression
I'll definitely return here--it's near my apartment and meets all my requirements for a great work space. The barista who served me (Kelsey) was super friendly and took time to explain where they source their coffee, provided recommendations for other coffee houses to visit, and encouraged me to return on Sunday for their famous waffle features. The only negatives were the lack of latte flavours and limited outdoor seating (only a bench and a couple of stools, no tables).

Habit Coffee (The Atrium), 808 Yates Street, Victoria

Appearance and Atmosphere
Habit Coffee is big on visual impact, and I was impressed from the moment I spied their Yates Street location. Massive curving windows flood the space with natural light and provide a panoramic view of the bustling action on busy Yates Street. There's also a sunny patio with flowers and numerous tables, as well as a fantastic courtyard space available for customers' use. Wow!

The decor includes natural wood, rugged stainless steel, exposed concrete, and chalkboard menus, giving a chic industrial look. Music selections added to the ambiance. Habit Coffee rates high on appearance and atmosphere!

Open, airy, and lots of natural light 

This adjacent courtyard is beautiful! Wow! 

Work Space
The abundance of natural light and different seating options lend themselves nicely to a productive work space. This is a great place to pass the time with a book or a sip a coffee and watch the world go by. Unfortunately it is not well-suited to anyone who requires wifi or power outlets, as there is a dearth of both. I'm drafting this post tethered to my iPhone. Definitely a disappointment....but now that I know this, I would choose Habit for tasks not requiring wifi (or get access from one of the other businesses nearby). And sometimes not having internet access keeps me more focused on the task at hand!

Great views and many seating options, but NO WIFI! 

Coffee and Food
Similar to Hide and Seek, the only flavoured latte available was a vanilla latte. My latte was beautifully crafted with terrific latte art, and served in a clear glass with no handle, evoking memories of Europe. It was a delicious latte and reasonably priced at $4.50.  Habit Coffee brews Bow and Arrow products from a local roaster and stocks Phillips' sodas as well. There was a tempting selection of food, and the lemon-lavender muffin definitely caught my eye--something to look forward to on a future visit.

Overall Impression
This place is big and beautiful with huge aesthetic appeal, and the sunny patio is a nice bonus. I would definitely return, but having to pay for street parking and no wifi or power outlets are disadvantages that would impact my decision to work here. All in all, Habit Coffee is highlight of the Victoria coffee scene!

Tre Fantastico at Parkside Hotel and Spa, 810 Humboldt Street, Victoria

Appearance and Atmosphere
Located in Parkside Hotel and Spa, Tre Fantastico is a coffee house on steroids...a cafe as well as a lounge with great eats. The actual interior space is quite small--the main room contains the coffee bar where you order and a handful of tables, connected to a second room by a hallway. There are more seating options in here with some cool modern art on the walls. All of this is quite nice, but the decor isn't the reason I'm obsessed with this place--it's the fantastic outdoor patio and the hotel lobby and conservatory area that patrons can access. The patio is shaded with beautiful greenery, and I love looking up from my screen or book to rest my eyes on the historic St. Ann's Convent in the distance.

A great spot to take a break from studying 

The hotel lobby is incredibly inviting, with a variety of seating options, including a glassed-in conservatory space. When I'm craving warmth and natural light on cooler days, it is so pleasant to work in here under the mini lights by the fish pond. Lastly, there are really nice bathrooms to use with high-end hand soap and lotion. What I did learn was that you CAN'T take your wine into the lobby area, but non-alcoholic drinks are allowed!

A nice variety of seating options in the hotel lobby 

A fish pond...such a tranquil spot to read 

Work Space
Tre Fantastico (the cafe space) is a lovely spot to read or work on a laptop. The wifi is strong, and you can work on your laptop outside if you choose a shaded spot. The only disadvantage is a lack of power outlets--I only found one on a quick inspection, so make sure your devices are fully charged before you arrive. The hotel lobby and conservatory is better suited to reading, as there are no tables (other than coffee tables) to put your device on, and they are the wrong height for computer work. I have happily worked here for hours, and I always found it a functional space and enjoyable experience.

Coffee and Food
There are three Cafe Fantastico locations in the city, and Fantastico has been sourcing and roasting their own coffee beans for 25 years (according to the friendly barista). The caramel lattes are excellent here with lovely latte art, and so is the food. I love their Morning Glory muffins, and the cookies and scones look great too. For heartier fare, I've only ever had the breakfast sandwich (which was delicious) but the food I've seen around me has looked very tempting too.

Caramel latte and a Morning Glory muffin...mmmm!

For later in the day (or not....), alcoholic beverages are a really nice option. Victoria craft beers, BC wines, and a variety of spirits are available, and there is a twice-daily happy hour (5-6 pm and 8-9 pm) with discounted prices.

Overall Impression
Tre Fantastico packs a big punch with the combination of great food and drinks and gorgeous physical spaces. This is one of my favourite places to work and study in Victoria, made even nicer by the fact that I can stroll through St. Ann's to Beacon Hill Park for a break whenever I need one!

And there you have it...my first three reviews of some of Victoria's best coffee houses. Stay tuned for another post in this series, and I'd love your feedback on where I should visit next. Please share your ideas in the comments. Thanks for reading!

My PhD Journey Begins: Living and Learning in Victoria, BC

Well here I am in Victoria and it's October. Thank goodness. September was the longest month of my life. Usually, September flies by in a flurry of first days of kindergarten, endless forms to complete for the office, and all the usual "back to routine" stuff. This September was dramatically different as I am currently on leave from Fort La Bosse School Division and my busy and fun kindergarten classroom at Oak Lake Community School. It was a September full of new experiences, first times, and a lot of being brave. And time seemed to crawl.

So what brings me to Victoria? After years of flirting with the idea, I've finally decided to pursue my PhD in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on early childhood education. I researched PhD programs all over Canada, and the best fit for me (complete with a fabulous supervisor and entrance scholarship) was University of Victoria on the west coast of Canada. I've been here for nearly 6 weeks and a lot has happened. Here are some of my thoughts on this new and exciting stage of my life.

On Being a Student
UVic has the most beautiful campus ever, and now that I've figured out most things are contained within the ring road with a huge green space in the middle, I'm navigating my way around campus without Google Maps. There are totem poles everywhere, a lovely fountain in the centre of campus, a gorgeous library, and the amazing First Peoples' House. Finnerty Gardens and Mystic Vale are also part of UVic, and they are beautiful green spaces that I enjoy as often as I can.

It isn't just the campus that's nice--the people in my cohort (the PhD word for the people in your year/program) and my professors are great too. I've already made some new friends in my cohort and organized a study group. And I'm super impressed with the high quality of professors...I'm regularly moved to tears in my curriculum class with Dr. David Blades. I've never met someone who could make curriculum fascinating, engaging, and emotional, but this man certainly can. This week's assignment was to write a story about a time we felt we'd made a difference in education, then reflect on it. Everyone was invited to share their story for last night's class, and it resulted in 11 teachers and a professor tearing up over and over. And this was how he introduced us to the phenomenological approach, which postulates that curriculum is experiential, relationship-based, and transcends the human experience. Wow! My supervisor is amazing as well. Her name is Dr. Jodi Streelasky and she is such a lovely person, and everyone who asks me who my supervisor is assures me that I'm so lucky when I tell them. Take a look at her latest project here.

I'm thriving on immersing myself in being a learner again, but I'm still not confident that I can actually do this. I just keep telling myself to do the work, participate in class, and it will all come together. Fingers crossed! There are so many additional learning opportunities on campus that I'm soaking up too--special lectures with visiting scholars, concerts, and sessions for improving my knowledge base and academic skills. I'm going to as many as I can because it's basically free professional development.

On Being Brave
I've had to be brave a lot lately, and I think that's why the month of September has been so hard. My best friend Leah drove out here with me, so together we navigated the bus system, set up my apartment, and toured around Victoria. But when Leah left, reality hit with a vengeance. I've never lived on my own before, so it's been quite an adjustment. Fortunately my little apartment is working out really well and the people I rent from are very nice.

First meal in the new apartment with Leah

First day on campus at graduate student orientation 

My first day of school probably took the greatest amount of bravery. I was (and still am to some degree) really intimidated of classes at the PhD level. I'm still worried that I'm not smart enough and although I make an effort to participate in class, I never think my comments are as meaningful and intelligent as what other people say, but I can only offer what I know from my own experiences. Just like I'd tell my kindergarten students, I focus on trying my hardest, doing my absolute best, and being myself. And if that's not good enough, then this isn't the right path for me.

Although I've always been a confident driver (not necessarily a good driver, but a reasonably confident one), driving in Victoria is stressful. My built-in GPS in my Jeep loves to take me the most random routes ever, so I constantly have to check with Google Maps. I'm always getting messed up by lanes that turn into turning lanes (or don't) and all the new "no left turns on certain streets" that were added recently and maps haven't caught up. There is also never ANY parking downtown, so I take the bus a lot. Since I never know where I'm going, I have to allow myself lots of time, and as a result I show up everywhere super early (my dad would be proud).

Teaching on-call requires quite a bit of bravery too. Just driving to the school in morning traffic is enough to get my heart pounding. Then the assignment is just like a box of chocolates--you never know what you're going to get. Most of my experiences have been pretty decent, but I had a rough go last week. I've discovered a new love for high school low incidence classrooms (what we'd call a life skills unit in Manitoba) and those are my absolute favourite call outs. Since I have a Master of Education in Special Education, nearly all my call-outs are for learning assistance and special education. Not one kindergarten classroom yet :( Fortunately, the pay is really good (2-3 times what substitute teachers make in Manitoba) and it's nice to be with kids a couple of times a week. I've instituted a new rule: if I teach on call I can go to Starbucks. It's working pretty well.

Victoria and the People
I'd heard from a few people that Victoria was quite a "closed" city that didn't welcome outsiders well, but my experience has been the exact opposite. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming, and I chat with people everywhere I go. Yoga has been wonderful, as I meet lots of people in yoga studios and I made some new friends at my yoga teacher training at the end of September. The thing I like best is that when riding the bus, everyone thanks the busdriver when they get off. How charming is that?

Victoria's Yoga Scene
Sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm here to go to school, not attend yoga classes. It's hard. There are so many amazing yoga studios and events, and I'm less than 2 km from a therapeutic yoga teacher training program. Their restorative training was fantastic in September, and they offer weekend trainings twice a month. But finances and academic commitments dictate that this is something I can only take advantage of once in awhile. I'm also very guilty of wanting to plan my teaching on-call schedule around my favourite yoga classes. I've discovered a new passion--barre classes (especially the ones that blend yoga and/or pilates). I'm spoiled for choice here!

Taking relaxation to a new level at Ajna Yoga restorative training

New Things I've Learned
Anytime you step out of your comfort zone it's a great opportunity to learn new things about yourself. Not that it's always easy or fun, and I know these realizations are really simple. But sometimes you need experiences like these to drive home the most basic lessons.
1) It's a huge privilege to be part of a community. I miss Kenton, my family, my friends, my yoga community, and my school community. I miss people knowing me and caring about me, and I miss knowing and caring about other people too. Although I am making new friends and a place for myself here, I don't really think it's possible to replicate the level of connection and interdependence in Victoria that I've experienced as a lifelong resident of a small town.
2) Having a pet is an amazing gift. I miss my dog and cat SO much. It's not that I miss them more than my family, it's just that I can't text and call them. In six weeks of being away from them, I've learned that having a pet to love and care for is really imperative to my happiness. I ask to pat random dogs and engage in conversation with dog owners at Starbucks, the beach, and on trails just to get a dog fix. I have all these beautiful places to walk and hike and no dog to take with me, and it's so hard.
3) Keeping busy is key. I've always maintained a very busy schedule, and although sometimes I've longed to have fewer commitments, I've found that I don't do well with downtime. Especially when I'm lonely. My PhD workload is demanding, and I try to teach on-call 1.5-2 days per week. Any remaining time I fill with yoga. The busier I am the better I seem to do! Every week I try to do something new and "touristy". So far I've visited Witty's Lagoon, Hatley Castle, Ogden Point, Butchart Gardens, a couple of wineries, Beacon Hill Park, walked the Songhees Walkway, checked out Mile 0, and enjoyed a few beaches. I also went to the symphony in the beautiful Royal Theatre to hear James Ehnes with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra. I'm so grateful that my temporary home has so many beautiful sites and new and different things to do.

The stunning legislature buildings and grounds in downtown Victoria

4) Everything is temporary. I tell myself this when I'm feeling homesick or overwhelmed. These feelings are temporary and will pass. This opportunity to live, learn, and practice yoga in Victoria, BC, is temporary too. I try and stay mindful, push myself to try new things and meet new people, and soak up every drop of this amazing, challenging new experience.