Canada 6

Our last day in Winnipeg consisted of us trying to find things to do because one museum I wanted to see, the Costume Museum, had closed it's doors.  So off we go to the Manitoba Visitor's Center.

Our first stop was at The Forks.  It's called such because it is where the Red River and the Assiniboine River meet.  It is a huge shopping and events area.  For Tom and Debbie: take a look at the picture and see if that doesn't remind you a little of Santiago.  It's very similar in that it has your fresh fruit and vegetables and in amongst that they have eating areas.  As soon as Karl and I walked in there we both thought of Liz and our shopping day.

Anyway - The Forks has been a gathering sight for over 6,000 years and has everything - restaurants, shops, food markets, river walkway, sculptures, pictographs and historical items.  It has been (and still is) a railroad center, steamboat docking area, immigrant debarkation point and a stableyard.  Most of the original buildings are still standing and after much renovation, are being used today for Via Rail Canada depot, The Forks Marketplace (once the stables) and boat tours on the river (once the steamboat docks).  A lot of history in that place.

Stop #2 was the Manitoba Legislative building.  Perched on top of the dome is "Golden Boy".  It is a bronze statue covered in gold and represents Mercury holding a bunch of wheat in one hand signifying prosperity and a torch in the other hand signifying the bright future for Manitoba.  They are very proud of that boy.  While we toured inside we were lucky enough to be there during the showing of The Magna Carta.  I'm quoting from the information sheet we got - "The document here displayed is an original Magna Carta - not a copy, but an official engrossment or exemplification of the Latin text, sent out by the royal chancery to Oxfordshire in 1217.  No master prototype has survived from King John's ceremony at Runnymede.  Instead engrossments were distributed to county courts across England by the chancery, both in 1215 and as official reissues another five times before 1300."  This one was brought over on the occasion of the visit by Queen Elizabeth to Winnipeg on July 3 of this year.

Our final stop on our tour was to the Dalnavert Mansion.  It is a beautiful old restored Victorian house.  When we showed up we just missed the start of the tour by about 5 minutes.  So instead of trying to catch up with that group Karl and I were given our own guide and we had our own private tour!  The house was the residence of Hugh John Macdonald, premier of Manitoba and son of Sir John Macdonald, Canada's first Prime Minister.  It was completed in 1895 and was on the cutting-edge in technology in that it had central heat, indoor plumbing, telephones and electric lights!  It was built for around $10,000 and was considered a middle-class house.  When the Canadian Historical Society bought it and restored it in 1979 it cost $500,000.  Most of the work done was donated.

So that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes our tour of Winnipeg, Manitoba.  We hope you enjoyed your time here and please recommend us to your friends.