Winnipeg

A weekend in Winnipeg.  

Road trips are the best. Snacks, books on tape, puppy in his car seat, and mostly.. I don’t have to drive. My husband, pup and I spent this long, sunny, weekend in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was about a five hour drive from where we live.

We were able to book an Air BnB just across the bridge from downtown Winnipeg. The place was adorable. A two bedroom condo, with a full kitchen, fireplace, washer/dryer, and terrace. The first night we got there, we were just ready to chill. Puppy and I got set up with wifi and TV while husband, went out and found food, and drinks. He returned with a sushi feast from a nearby sushi spot.

We had an appointment to get to at 9:30 the next morning, so we ate, watched Ninja Warrior, and passed out! The next morning we were up and ready to go! We took the puppy to The White Lotus Spa, where he had a consultation for doggy daycare, and a wash and brush appointment at 10:00. The pup did a great job with his consult. I filled out paperwork with information about my pup’s skills and personality. They took him to the back room with all of the pups and the consultation took about 10 minutes. When he came back they said that he did a great job and that he was welcome to stay there anytime. We asked if he could stay there now. They charged $35/day and they closed at 6pm. We left the pup and he wagged his tail and walked away with his “new best friend.”

Hubby and I were now pup less and a little sad. We know that we can’t take him everywhere that we want to go and we also did not want to leave him at the AirBnB all day. First stop, brunch and mimosas. WE BRUNCH SO HARD. We found a cute little hidden gem called Fourth. It had a coffee shop vibe, with a small menu and limited seating. We were able to snag a table outside, two avocado toasts, and two mimosas. So good.

Next we decided to take on the Human Rights Museum. This building was amazing and the contents within it were eye-opening, and at times, heart wrenching. At the time we visited, they were running a Nelson Mandela series that took you through the life and times of Nelson Mandela and his epic role during the apartheid. There were 8 levels to this museum with some of the galleries included Canada’s human rights history, and the Holocaust. Heavy. There were exhibits that made you take a step back and look at the things that you do, the way you live, and how you can be more WOKE. There were activity stations and places to interact. The very top of this museum was called the Tower of Hope. This tower provided a 360 view of the city and gave you a chance to look out and reflect on all of what you have just seen and learned. We took about 2 hours to make it through the museum, we could have stayed longer with all that there was to see and do there. There was a gift shop and a bistro and we decided to stop into the bistro for lunch. I had a Monte Cristo with fries and the hubby had a burger with a fried egg. YUM.

From the museum we decided to head on over to the Assiniboine Park Zoo. There we saw bison, caribou, arctic foxes, wolves, falcons, bald eagles, giant sea birds… so scary. We stopped to grab some ice cream cones and continued our journey through the zoo. We saw the gibbons, camels, kangaroos, a butterfly garden, and my faves polar bears, and a beautiful tiger. We spent around two hours total here until 5pm when the zoo closed.

We were able to go straight from there back to the White Lotus Spa to pick up the pup before the spa closed at 6pm. We got to the spa, got the good report about how our boy did. He came out looking fluffy and clean! He smelled like marshmallows and lavender and he was so so soft! When we finally got back to the Air BnB we were all pooped. Pup passed out on the couch, he had a busy day.

Hubby was in charge of finding the place for dinner, he decided he wanted to find a steakhouse. He found the restaurant, Hy and called to make a reservation. We peeled ourselves off of the couch, and called a cab. There were no Uber or Lyft services here, but there were quite a lot of taxis available. Even without calling them if you stand outside for about 5 minutes, you’ll be able to hail one for yourself. Hy was a pricy place, which we didn’t quite realize until we were already there. We justified splurging a bit, as it is my birthday month so this would count as my birthday dinner! Our waiter Andrew was #1 he was the very best. He made us feel welcome and comfortable. He told us all about the restaurant and the prime Canadian beef that made this place stand out from the other steakhouses in Winnipeg. He gave us his recommendations, and made us feel as if we made the best choices on the menu. I ordered French onion soup as to start and hubs got a prawn cocktail. I am obsessed with French onion soup and let me tell you this stuff was on point! The cheese pulls were so real! Now for the main courses. Personally, I do not like eating steak, but the way Andrew described the Gorgonzola Filet made it hard to refuse. Hubby tried something new, and went with the 60 day dry aged prime rib. Which was described as nutty, and with blue cheese flavors. The steaks came with potatoes and mine came with green beans and a wine sauce. I could have literally cut my filet with a spoon! The flavors of cheese and the sauce were amazing! Husband described his steak as a life changer! This meal was fabulous and we were extremely satisfied. We had planned to stay downtown for a bit and hit up a bar for a drink after dinner. This did not happen. We were happy, very full, and now very sleepy. We called the taxi and went back to our place to sleep.  

Sunday. Today we slept in and took our time to get ready. We found a restaurant with a patio that allowed pups. Buccacino’s. It was an Italian restaurant that just so happened to have a weekend brunch buffet. I was so set on having brunch until we sat down and could smell the Italian food, I changed my mind, it was pasta time! I got Calatalia and hubby got Carbonara. We shared a pitcher of sangria, and decided to walk to the market.

The Forks Market was a 25 minute walk from the restaurant and since it was such beautiful day, and we were so full of pasta, this was a nice walk. Pup had a good time walking and sniffing around. When we got the the Forks Market we saw restaurants and a courtyard with benches, tables and chairs. There were groups of people, families, and dogs all over! There was an indoor food court, and shopping center. I called before we got here and asked if pets were allowed inside here. I was told that as long as the dog was small enough to stay in a purse or held, that he would be able to go inside. AWESOME. So we brought our little puppy sling, and headed inside. There were many food stalls from hot dogs, burgers, empanadas, fish and chips, Asian, Tapas, all kinds of goodies. We started at The Commons brewery with flights of beer. The puppy slept on my lap while the hubby and I enjoyed tasting different brews and discussing our time in Winnipeg. We walked around the shops and food vendors. We decided to try the mini donuts, which were heavenly…. we don’t even like donuts! These were so good we went back for more! We grabbed some coffees, and poutine, and headed outside. Here in the middle of the courtyard there was a free Zumba class going on! I ate my fries with cheese and gravy while watching people workout! Then I jumped in right on time for the cool down! We grabbed a cab, and headed back to the condo! I loved that place, it felt like home. Cozy and comfortable. We all got snuggly, turned on the Lego Movie, and everything was awesome. 

Monday. We had checkout at 11am. We were able to wake up, make coffee, and get packed up. We bought some tasty coffee from the coffee shop at Forks, Fools & Horses Coffee and still had some mini donuts leftover. Whenever we stay in an AirBnB I always try to make sure to leave it as close to how we found it as possible. I do the dishes if we made any, collect and take out the trash etc. Because not only can you leave a review for your AirBnB place, and host, but they also leave reviews for you as a guest. We got out of there at right around 10:45 and were hitting the road for home. 

Winnipeg for the weekend was a great idea! There were lots of things to do and it was a human, and pet friendly city!