A Two-Day Whirlwind Winnipeg Tour (Condensed Into One Action-Packed Page)
While looking at a map in the downtown branch of the Winnipeg Library, I came to realize that I am experiencing a whole new personal level of north-ness. I have never been further north than I am right now. I also came to realize that I'm really not that far north at all. I don't think most Americans grasp the fact that our northern cities like Minneapolis and Seattle are not as far north as such European cities as London or Paris. I didn't.
When I think of the Mediterranean beaches of the French Riviera I think of someplace tropical and exotic. I sure don't picture them being at the same latitude as Boston.
Even Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada is nowhere near as far north as Oslo or Helsinki. I'm just trying to put my north-ness into perspective, and somehow I'm feeling a little less "north" than I did yesterday.
Oh well, there's no need to get depressed about it. Winnipeg is still a foreign city, a Canadian city, a capitol city, and one of the northernmost cities of over a half-million people on the North American continent. I'm also not depressed over the discovery that it does NOT have silvery streets nor castles of solid gold.
It DOES, however, have a 17-foot Golden Boy atop the Provincial Legislative Building. I went into serious tourist mode and rode my bike over to see it.
This Louis Reil dude is quite the hotshot around here. His name is everywhere. Apparently he was some kind of charismatic, Huey Long-type governor of the Province of Manitoba.
Next on my tourist agenda was to visit the historic area known as "The Forks," or "La Foursche." It is named for the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, which is easily the most significant historic and cultural site in Manitoba. Like many U.S. cities, Winnipeg has transformed its most historic area into a tourist attraction with modern buildings, fancy inns, artistic sculptures, trendy restaurants, and "unique" shopping venues.
A pedestrian bridge took my bike, G-2, and me over to the French Quarter. Being that G-2 and I both have 25% ancestry in our respective bloodstreams, we were looking forward to this district most of all. We were not disappointed. The neighborhood was dominated by the old St. Boniface Cathedral, the Universite' de Saint-Boniface, and that Riel dude. There was some great old architecture and all of the streets had French names and the traffic signs and historic markers were either in French or sometimes bilingual. I was already aware that Winnipeg has the largest French-speaking population in North America outside of Quebec, but this area really validated that fact. It was the first place in Canada where I actually felt like I was in a different country.
This is the pedestrian bridge that crosses the Red River from La Foursche to Old St. Boniface--the French Quarter.
I think it's worth another look from a different angle. (By the way, the cathedral has been rebuilt next to the ruins. It was probably worth another photo but, for some reason, I didn't take one.)
I was assured by the tourist literature in my hotel room that Osborn Village would be another "must see" neighborhood. I should have known that "must see" often means "fancy shoppes, eclectic boutiques, fashionable clothing stores, and other forms of shopping." Trendy restaurants too. In one two-block stretch I saw four sushi restaurants.
I don't care too much about shopping, but I broke down and bought some chips and some Winnipeg-brewed beer in the Osborn Village.
I like big cities and there is no better way to explore them than by bicycle. Walking takes too long to get from neighborhood to neighborhood. Driving presents parking problems, and you can't just stop anywhere at any time to admire an interesting piece of architecture or to read a menu posted beside the door of a nice restaurant.
Public transportation eliminates the parking issue, but not the stop-anywhere-you-want issue. And you are somewhat limited by the bus/train/subway schedule. Bicycling solves all those problems.
Winnipeg is not the best cycling city I've seen, but it's not the worst. Some of the streets take nerves of steel to ride on them. Bike lanes do exist, but there aren't many of them. I've seen quite a few cyclists downtown, but they're almost all young people. (My hotel is next to the University of Winnipeg.)
I do have nerves of steel, but sometimes I just have to hop up onto the sidewalk.
Like most cities, there is plenty of ethnic diversity, good food, art and culture, a nice mix of old and new architecture, homeless people talking to themselves on the sidewalk, and the frequent wails of police sirens. I LIKE IT!
Today's ride: 24 miles (39 km) Total: 743 miles (1,196 km)
