Winnipeg

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: Canada is great, but we need some weather, people! It rained on and off all night, but we were lucky enough to have clear skies while we hitched-up in Kenora this morning. Before leaving town, we filled the tank with diesel. 290 litres, $214 Canadian. (Translation: 76.3 gallons, US$158, or $2.08 per gallon.) Our only stop this morning was to the Manitoba Visitor Centre. The land changes dramatically in 150 miles - from rocky crags and lakes, to the Great Plains. We saw turkey and deer on the drive to "The Peg" today.
 
After checking into our campsite just east of town (TV via the satellite, but no internet again), we drove into Winnipeg (population 700,000) and spent the afternoon touring through the interesting neighborhoods. Winnipeg is within a few miles of the longitudinal center of Canada - and it truly is the cross-roads of every culture. Winnipeg has something for everyone - and all signs here are in French and English. First we went to The Forks - where the Red River and the Assiniboine River meet. For 6,000 years this area has been a meeting and trading place and today it is a big marketplace, garden and has several cultural museums.

Winnipeg from the Assiniboine River at The Forks


Inside The Forks Market

Our tour today included the downtown area, the hip and trendy shopping and dining areas of Little Italy and Osborne Village, and Chinatown. Next, we crossed the Red River to tour through St. Boniface and the French Quarter, the largest French-speaking population in Western Canada. In the French section of Winnipeg we visited the tomb of Louis Riel, the founder of Manitoba that rests in the cemetery at the ruins of St. Boniface Basilica. Here all the headstones are in French and date back hundreds of years. We made a side-trip to Mordens Chocolates of Winnipeg - famous for their Russian Mints!

St. Boniface ruins


Winnipeg across the Red River, from the French Quarter

We stopped downtown at a pub and learned the Pub culture in Canada is dying due to the new non-smoking policy. I hate to see a business fail, but it certainly is nice to go to a pub that is smoke-free! For dinner we went back to Corydon Avenue (Little Italy) and had a lovely meal at Mona Lisa Ristorante. Our meals were lovely - they make all of their pasta on-site and they were delicious. We couldn't finish our wine, and Manitoba laws do not allow opened bottles to leave the premises, so we made new friends by sharing our Santa Margherita with the couple at the table next to us. Wine works even better than dog biscuits for making fast friends!

RV Park: Traveller's RV Resort & Campground