Yesterday Larissa and I went to Fan Tan Alley in downtown Victoria’s Chinatown, which claims to be the oldest Chinatown in Canada. (It may also be the smallest, but there’s some cool stuff there.)

We bought some paper lanterns for wedding decorations and also found a cute little white basket for the flower girl.

While we were downtown we stopped by a board game store to look at Ticket To Ride. A couple of nights ago we played Ticket To Ride Europe for the first time with some friends, and it was awesome, so we were curious how many different versions there were and how much it cost. Turns out it’s like $60. Seems like a lot for a board game, but when I compare it to a new video game, it sounds much more reasonable. I think I know what I’ll be asking for when my birthday rolls around…

Over the weekend I also watched the NHL All-Star skills competition and game. Seeing Michael Grabner win fastest skater and Daniel Sedin win the accuracy competition was pretty cool. I didn’t pay full attention to the game, though. Patrick Sharp won MVP by fan vote, mostly on account of a strong first period. He didn’t seem to do as much in the second and third, but first impressions are powerful. But it doesn’t really matter. It’s not like any NHL All-Stars really need to win a $25,000 car. They earn that much in a game or two. It’s basically a feather in their cap, and I think feathers look silly in men’s caps, as a general rule.

The rest of this week looks pretty routine, other than my book release. Oh, and my cousin’s getting married on Saturday. Yay!