# Winnipeg/now Toronto



## Mr. B. Scott Robinson (Jan 16, 2017)

I have a pheasant shoot in South Dakota scheduled for the week prior to Thanksgiving. My wife,
who has never visited Canada, would like to take a few days prior to the shoot to visit the “Great White North”. 

Our local in the Dakotas makes a 6-7 hour drive up to the Winnipeg area an easy reach. She likes spa resort type activities and we both enjoy the outdoor activities. 

Budget would be $750 USD per night, give or take, depending on amenities.

Any suggestions?

Cheers,

BSR


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## Peak and Pine (Sep 12, 2007)

^

Vibrant member @Winhes2 is in Winnipeg (and began the thread near this one.) Check with him perhaps. I drove through Winnipeg a few times on the way to here or there in Canada, always at night, always in the 70s and remember nothing about it. Sorry.


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## Winhes2 (Jun 29, 2011)

Thanks for the notice Peak and Pine.

I'll respond this evening or tomorrow evening with some ideas.


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## Winhes2 (Jun 29, 2011)

Winnipeg, eh?

Average temperatures for November are Highs 31 Fahrenheit, Lows 15. December 17 and 0.

Average snowfall November: it snows 8.5 days and drops 8 inches, December snows 11.5 days and drops 9 inches

So, bring a couple of sweaters : )

Hopefully we will have enough snow by then to have it look pretty, although it might just be enough to make the city look dirty from dirty snow beside the streets.

Tricky time for outdoor activity. Not enough snow for cross country skiing or snow shoeing. Hopefully, the outdoor rinks will be frozen in case you like to skate. Of course, there is hockey all year indoors if you like to "skate".

I've lived here most of my 59 years and I would have to say that if you are looking for outdoor activity, especially scenic ones, neighboring places may be better bets. We are just a small city on a prairie. Not very scenic.

East of here 2.5 hours along the trans Canada highway (which has head on traffic for portions) is Kenora, Ontario. There you are into the beautiful and rugged Canadian shield. In fact, only about an hour and a half east of here is a popular place called Falcon Lake which is the start of the lakes in the Canadian Shield. The tourist things around the lake may be closed by then, but there may be a bed and breakfast in the area. Pretty sure you shouldn't walk on the ice then, though. Actually, they may not be frozen by then. If you head a little north from there you will get to Whiteshell Provincial Park . Kenora is bigger. During the summer there are camps to stay at on the water around Kenora. They too will probably be closed by the time you arrive. If you are coming from the western side of the state, there is Turtle Mountain provincial park which is a park right on the border and closer to Winnipeg is Spruce Woods provincial park.

If you are coming up from the west there is also Riding Mountain National Park and, near there, The Elkhorn Resort, Spa and Conference Centre. I haven't been there, but I've heard they are lovely. Here is the Elkhorn Resort Trip Advisor review. If you are coming from the West, it may be as close to you as Winnipeg. According to google, the accommodations near the provincial parks appear to be smaller and unlikely to have spas on the premises. Most appear to be cabins.

Winnipeg has some nice parks in which to stroll, but you have traveled the world and they are not like the nice parks in large cities. Pretty much flat with trees here and there and they are usually on a river with trees along the bank. Not much going on in them that time of year either. Even the leaves will be gone. There is a zoo at Assiniboine Park, but not sure how many of its residents will be strolling around enjoying the weather in November.

Canada has followed an official policy of multiculturalism rather than assimilation. I think our current Prime Minister's father, when he was Prime Minister, used the analogy of a salad rather than a melting pot. Anyway, a friend who taught at a university in a relatively rural community in the northern states used to bring his international studies students up here for a week each year. Those kids were surprised by the racial and ethnic diversity of Winnipeg. Mainly Caucasian from western and eastern Europe, at least I think it is still mainly Caucasian from western and eastern Europe, but many groups have moved here and done well and you will find mainly non-Caucasian neighborhoods populated with people from India and the Philippines respectively. That sort of grouping together may concern some, but it has worked out well here. Just people sharing a culture wishing to enjoy the company of people sharing a similar background. I don't mean to suggest the groups stick to themselves. Everybody works with everybody in their jobs and, recreationally, everybody plays with and against each other in hockey, basketball, soccer, and other sports. I'm sure it is the same with bridge and ballroom dancing, but I play sports, so don't know. Also, the longer a group has been here, the more spread out it becomes as kids grow up with kids of other backgrounds, and move out, meet and marry people of other backgrounds, and move to other neighborhoods in the suburbs to raise families. For example, some of the guys I grew up with were from the Caribbean. Now they are salesmen and judges and principles and teachers and managers and bulldozer drivers and policemen and a variety of other things and live all over town. As are, and do, the guys I grew up with whose parents were not recent arrivals. You can probably find people from most of the countries of the world here in Winnipeg. Certainly all of the continents. Although we have wealthy immigrants arriving through government incentive programs, some people who have arrived recently have fled dangerous places and arrived with very little hoping to build a life for themselves and their children. We also have an indigenous population that has a disproportionate level of poverty. Some in that community have done very well, some in the middle, and some haven't done well. Like every other population, except the numbers may still be skewed unfortunately. As in most cities, I suspect, the poverty is downtown. Here it is also north and west of there. Which brings us to spas. Googling spas in Winnipeg shows four hotels. One is a theme hotel. Mainly for couples looking to spend a romantic and energetic night in the Rome room, or the Jakarta room, or the Japan room. From reading your posts, I got the impression that you and your wife have lived in the actual places. So, I wouldn't recommend it. It is also located in a neighborhood you wouldn't want to walk in after dark. Unfortunately, all of the hotels showing up in that search are downtown in places you wouldn't want to walk in after dark. Two reasons: 1. safety; 2. nothing to see. Our city isn't built for outdoor waking and our downtown has struggled for years without success at getting anything going in the evenings. A new arena was built downtown and it hosts the Winnipeg Jets and a variety of concerts, but most people drive downtown on the night and drive back out when the show is over. It's cold half the year. The few areas where we do have some outdoor cafes are not downtown and all outdoor cafes will be closed that time of year. So, if by spa resort you mean a nice hotel with part of a floor dedicated to massages, heated stones, maybe a steam, swim, sauna, then a few of those hotels listed may have that. But there won't be much else to do after dark. You will have a vehicle, so even if you stay at one of those hotels, you will be able to drive to our excellent food and whatever entertainment we have in town while you are here. Because of our multicultural population, there are plenty of restaurants operated by people who know how to cook the food of various places of the world. But, again, you have already enjoyed that, except in those places.

There is an art gallery. Not very big. There is a museum of human rights. You have been in the diplomatic core, so you may have seen first hand the types of horror and tragedy shown in that museum. Already aware that people shouldn't do those things to each other, I've never been, but I've been told it isn't a happy way to spend an afternoon.

One Winnipeg tradition that I've heard isn't present in most of the rest of the country is "socials". A community club hall is rented because . Family and friends attend and enjoy an evening of drinking, , and socializing, and, about 11:30, food, sometimes of the ethnicities of the happy couple, then more drinking and dancing and socializing. Recent years have seen the addition of silent auctions for which the bridal party solicits donations of items from various sources and for which most social attendees buy tickets to put into paper bags hanging before each combination of items. If your ticket is drawn from the bag, you win the prize. If you decide to come into Winnipeg, and are here on a Friday or Saturday night, let me know and I'll ask around to find you a social to attend.

So, basically, I'm afraid that is about it for Winnipeg at that time of year. The food is excellent if you like to eat. With a $750 US nightly budget, I think you could stay and eat any place you choose in this town.

Anyway, those are my initial thoughts. You will have noticed some prevarication because I'm not an outdoorsy guy. I lead a quiet life with family and friends. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reply here or by private message. If I don't know, my friends may.


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## Peak and Pine (Sep 12, 2007)

^

Wow. You're due at least a Happy Meal from Robinson for all that.


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## Winhes2 (Jun 29, 2011)

I've caught myself using hyperbole: the people from every continent part. Probably not Antarctica. The zoo used to have penguins but apparently they were from South Africa. I'd venture a guess that we probably have someone who has visited the place.


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## Troones (Mar 7, 2018)

I'm not from Winnipeg and regret to say its one of the major Canadian cities i haven't visited (yet.) However could I offer an interesting bit of trivia and related advice? Maybe Winhes2 could comment as well. Winnipeg has the largest population of Filipinos per capita in Canada. Therefore, truly excellent Filipino food can be readily found there. If you're a fan of that cuisine you're going to the right place.

EDIT: Sorry, I see the local Filipino community has been mentioned in his post already.


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## Winhes2 (Jun 29, 2011)

I was unaware we had the largest per capita population of Filipinos in Canada. My wife is a nurse and many of her co-workers are nurses who have settled here. The Christmas parties are incredible because their culture believes in large family gatherings where everybody cooks something. The Christmas parties are feasts accompanied by Karaoke. The Phillipines are home to one of the world's oldest professional basketball leagues. It is big in the community here too. In fact they operate their own recreational league here in town. I think it plays once a week so the kids also play in the city wide community club league or at their local schools. I went to the league's opening day once. There was a formal ceremony during which the 20 or so teams paraded in and in the school's hallway there were tables of the home cooked food. If I could generalize I would say they don't tend to be a tall people, so a lot of guards and small forwards. However, about ten or fifteen years ago and for several years in a row a local high school in a neighborhood with a significant Filipino population with teams mainly made up of Filipino kids dominated and won the provincial championship several times.


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## Mr. B. Scott Robinson (Jan 16, 2017)

Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply. The information is greatly appreciated!!!

I will let you know what we decide to do.

Cheers,

BSR


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## Winhes2 (Jun 29, 2011)

My pleasure. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.


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## Mr. B. Scott Robinson (Jan 16, 2017)

After extended negotiations with my wife, we have opted for Toronto for her first Canadian visit. We will be there Oct 23-27 at The Four Seasons. I haven’t been to Toronto since 2002, so it should be fun. 

Any suggestions on entertainment in Toronto?

Thanks again for the kind assistance. 

Cheers,

BSR


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## Troones (Mar 7, 2018)

Is there a particular cuisine that you and your wife are fond of? I'm sure I can provide some great dining options, from vegan to authentic Mexican and everything in between. There are a lot of AAAC members from the Greater Toronto area. I'm sure you'll get some more recommendations as well.


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## Winhes2 (Jun 29, 2011)

We were in Toronto at the end of August had fun. There you will have many exciting options.


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## Mr. B. Scott Robinson (Jan 16, 2017)

Troones said:


> Is there a particular cuisine that you and your wife are fond of? I'm sure I can provide some great dining options, from vegan to authentic Mexican and everything in between. There are a lot of AAAC members from the Greater Toronto area. I'm sure you'll get some more recommendations as well.


My wife is fond of fine dining, tasting menus with wine pairings.
I find them a bit to much to handle on both the food and drink side of the equation, not to mention the bill, but one does what one must...

We are staying at the Four Seasons and will be sticking close to Yorkville. I was last in Toronto in 2002 during the film festival. I am sure the scene has changed a bit since then.

Cheers,

BSR


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