This weekend I didn’t do a whole lot. It was nice to relax for a change! Last weekend though, I spent visiting a friend in Winnipeg (and eating waffle sammies, yum). And while that city isn’t exactly a bustling tourist hotspot, I wanted to document the things I liked about it just in case I ever go back there… which I would only do in the summer, BTW.
I had never been before, and it’s pretty obvious why — the winter weather quite frankly sucks, and there’s not much to do. It’s not exactly a bustling tourist hotspot. In fact, I’m quite positive I was the only tourist there that weekend. Thankfully I got lucky as we had really great weather one of the days I was there.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely an interesting place to visit for a couple days. Compared to Toronto it looks like a cute sleepy suburb in most parts of the city, even though you’ve only driven about 10 minutes from the downtown core. And there are trees and deer everywhere.
So if you’re not that into trees or deer, what is there to do in Winnipeg? If you like sports, you could go to a Bombers (football) or Jets (hockey!) game. Otherwise, I hope you like eating and drinking in excessive amounts. There are tons of restaurants, pubs, bars and brunch spots scattered across the city, usually in strip malls. Fun fact: there are more restaurants per capita in Winnipeg than in any other city in Canada.
After eating, there are a couple cultural activities you can check out like the Winnipeg Art Gallery (we went to a Nuit Blanche exhibit on Saturday night… not quite as crazy as what you would have seen in Toronto last night), or the Canadian Museum for Human Rights that just opened a few days before I arrived. If you want to go outside, you can go for a walk through the forest recently renamed the “100 Acre Wood” which is supposedly where A.A.Milne, the author of Winnie the Pooh got his inspiration. There’s also a walking trail along the river at The Forks (a historical site where the Red River and Assiniboine River meet). If the weather is nice you can pick up something to eat at the market there and chill by the water and listen to whatever band is playing in the market plaza.
I’m sure there’s other stuff to do, but those are just the few of the things I got up to that weekend. Here’s a little recap of my weekend in photos:
We started off with brunch on Saturday morning at a Winnipeg chain called Stella’s and it was packed. I ordered the baked eggs thinking I’d have at least one healthy meal… they were just OK. Serves me right for trying to be healthy, haha.
Acting like a serious tourist at The Forks. Notice the guy wearing shorts — the weather was awesome that day!
Dinner and drinks at The Fitzroy. If you like cheese and you happen to go to Winnipeg in the near future, try their cheese toast (hopefully it’s still on the menu, as I hear it changes up quite often). I couldn’t capture it in the photo, but underneath the parmesan and melted cheddar/multiple-cheese mix, there’s another layer of cheesey-garlic paste that sits on top of perfectly toasted french bread. SO good. I dream about it sometimes.
My friend and I shared dessert. I wasn’t so big on their crazy chocolate mousse, marshmallow and toffee dessert creation. However, I’m not a big chocolate person I just ordered it because I knew my friend really wanted to. Yep, #tookonefortheteam.
Checking out the arcade and having fun with kid’s toys inside Sugar Mountain.
Yeah. These are a thing that so far, I’ve only found in Winnipeg. I thought the insides would taste more like birthday cake Oreos but not so much.
Now I need to know. Would you/are you planning a trip to Winnipeg in the near (or far) future?
-C
