Well, THAT was interesting!

We had a really good time at Le Dîner en Blanc, despite the chilly weather and Long March to the secret location. Weeks of preparation (and not a few bucks) had gone into our participation in this outdoor, all-white, flash-mob picnic. It was nice to show up in a taxi with all our stuff and just go with the flow.

La Transportation

The 1000+ guests had been divided into groups for transportation from around Victoria. Our group met at the fountain behind the Grand Pacific Hotel.

Here we are at the meeting place, waiting for the busses that didn't actually come:



After we'd been standing around for awhile chatting with the other members of our group, we all started heading towards James Bay -- on foot! Ours was the one group that did not receive transportation to the secret location.

I was a bit dismayed that we were walking, only because that meant that our picnic location was in James Bay which is the chilliest part of Victoria at any time of the day. I had been hoping that we'd be transported to a beautiful farm in Central Saanich, or to the lawns of Royal Roads University, or even to a protected part of Beacon Hill Park.

La Destination

Our destination? Fisherman's Wharf Park.

The Long March was a sight to behold: about 200 people dressed in white, carrying tables, chairs and picnic baskets. Tourists kept stopping us, asking if we were part of a wedding party or something.

We joined forces with a Scottish couple who were having trouble carrying their heavy table, and as luck would have it were assigned a table spot right next to them. We spent the whole night talking and laughing with our new friends.

Here's the view from Row M:

Le Dîner

As for the food, I assembled a multi-course gourmet picnic including ingredients from Charelli's and Patisserie Daniel:

1. Baguette with rabbit liver pâté, cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes
2. Yam and feta quiche with spinach salad
3. Fruit tarts
4. Cheese
5. Coffee with homemade cashew milk
6. Nougat

We had more courses than most people around us. It was fun opening up our retro picnic basket with a flourish and a French accent, announcing yet another course. Naturally we shared.

But my $50 groceries budget? Blown to smitherines. More like $90.




Le Disco

There was live music at the beginning of the evening, a small group singing French folk songs. Later on, Le DJ took over:



La Vidéo

Can't wait to see aerial footage from the drone that kept flying over us:

Les Femmes

It was obvious that Diner en Blanc attracts two types of people: couples and single women.

Note to single men: get on the waiting list for next year! It's a perfect place to meet people.



Les dommages

We ordered a bottle of white wine in a prudent effort to keep our whites looking white. Others were not so sensible:



La future

Now that we've spent a small fortune accumulating all the required elements for Le Dîner en Blanc (read about our preparations here), it will be much easier and affordable next time around.

We loved meeting Robyn and Blair, our new Scottish friends who were also Dîner virgins. Hooray for new friendships.

On a related note, our friends Tami and Marcin, who were bussed in from across town, were assigned a table spot only FOUR tables away from ours in the same row. Incredible.

We sincerely hope that the organizers pick a more sheltered spot for the Victoria picnic next year. I understand that they want maximum visibility for the Long March, but many people were grumbling about it.

Ah well. At least it didn't rain. Vive le pique-nique!