Crid's 1999 Grand Tour of Canada

3 weeks travelling by train from Toronto to Vancouver

Day 6 (Thursday) - Winnipeg (Twin Pillars B&B)

Breakfast was great.  Fruit, big croissants (I love croissants), tea and juice.  Lovely.

Walked from the B&B to the river, then along the riverside to The Forks - the area of Winnipeg where the Red and Assiniboine rivers meet.  There are quite a few craft shops in the buildings here, along with several places to eat.  An old warehouse (now called The Johnson Terminal) has been converted into a shopping area on three floors.  Next to that is the market building (called, rather unimaginatively, The Forks Market) with food shops on the ground floor and shops upstairs.  This building also has a tower with a viewing area, which gives a good view of the whole Forks area.

There is also a Tourist Information Centre in The Forks, which was totally packed with people for some reason.  An old engine shed (certainly an old railway building of some description) has been converted into The Manitoba Children's Museum.  I didn't venture in, but it looks like a great place for children.  The old hinged railway bridge (complete with a huge concrete counterweight) has been converted into a pedestrian footbridge.

There wasn't really that much to see at The Forks (apart from shops).  The Manitoba Centre (where the Tourist Information is) had a few exhibits about the various parts of the province and the country, but nothing particularly interesting.  For example, there was a large (about 12' high) model of a grain evelator, with a small piece of text about how Manitoba produces a lot of grain.  Large exhibits with very little real information.  With all the craft shops around, I was expecting to see some people actually doing some craft-type activities.  Perhaps it's just because I'm here out of season.

From The Forks I headed up to the Eaton Centre to do some window shopping.  Winnipeg's Eaton Centre is a lot smaller than the one at Toronto.  I guess the shops are more likely to head for the big out-of-town shopping centres.  The one in Winnipeg seems to be aimed more at office workers.  There is a food court upstairs, and this was full of office staff on their lunchbreaks (I was there around 1.15).

One interesting (and practical) aspect of Winnipeg is that many of the well-used buildings downtown (shopping centres, post office, library, etc.) are connected by covered walkways.  These are above ground level and you can see the traffic below through large windows.  During the winter months, these walkways are undoubtedly vital.

Bought some sports shoes (I have worn out the insides of the heels on my walking boots) and some stamps.  I also had to try out Subway while I was there.  I didn't feel up to a foot-long sub, so I made do with a six-inch barbecue beef sub.  Yum!

I have noticed that I'm not eating much here - I'm just not all that hungry at present.  Considering how far I've walked today, I find that surprising.  (45 minutes each way to get to The Forks, plus all the other walking about).

Got back to the B&B around 4pm and just relaxed.  At around 7 I tried to call Vance (my friend in Edmonton) on the payphone on the corner, but I kept getting a recorded message saying that I couldn't be connected.  Odd.

Visited the local supermarket (I was surprised to find that Safeways exists in Canada too) with the intention of buying a cold meat pie or something similar to eat.  It would appear that such things don't exist in Canada (certainly I couldn't find any).  In the end I settled for some bagels and cheese spread, washed down with some Pepsi.  OK, not the best meal in the world, but I wasn't all that hungry.

People around here certainly take elections seriously.  Back in England, people show their political preferences by putting posters in their windows.  Here in Winnipeg they have big signs which they plant on their lawns!

I've seen quite a few squirrels around the house.  Where as Toronto has black squirrels, Winnipeg only seems to have grey ones.  There are a lot of trees along the road, and there is a park opposite the B&B.  This probably explains why there are a lot of squirrels about.

 

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