WALKING IN WINNIPEG

Winnipeg's Exchange District is one of the downtown neighborhoods, easily in walking distance from the Fairmont. I was to meet a guide at Old Market Square for a tour known as Death & Debauchery which explores the dark secrets of the city that was once known as "the Wickedest City in the Dominion".

Old Market Square, once occupied by the city's central fire station, is a popular location that plays host to a variety of events including the Winnipeg Fringe Festival and the Winnipeg Jazz Festival. I noticed that there was some "setting up" going on to later find out that a Reggae happening was the theme for a few days here. In the meantime, the annual Folk Festival would be going on at a location outside of the city.

Matthew Komus conducted this 45-minute tour which basically startsed out with Winnipeg's history as a politician was tarred and feathered for denying the first bid for the city's incorporation. "We don't know for sure," said Komus, "but we suspect hangings were carried out near the stage. It wasn't a public execution, but you could apparently get a ticket from the sheriff to attend."

Some of the other juicy tidbits were: how Frank Mariaggi, who built Western Canada's first European hotel, escaped a lynch mob; Winnipeg's largest unsolved robbery; the scandalous contractor for whom the Kelly Building on Bannatyne Avenue is named; and
what happened in Room 309 of the Royal Albert Arms Hotel.

Exchange District BIZ conduct other walking tours as well. You can check it out on www.exchangedistrict.org

Having a guide book added to the experience as I was later able to read about the history of many of the buildings as well as check out some eateries and small art galleries. I heard that there was a Filipino bakery nearby and so I headed to McDermont Avenue for Jejomar Bakeshop for a sample of a bun with sugar and butter atop.

Being lunchtime and wanting to try out a new restaurant I headed down Albert Street to a place called kimch'i on albert. Korean fare and named kim, for the owner's mother's nee name and ch'i for energy as well as the fermented pickled cabbage.

What's a bit odd about the restaurant is the "space". There are tables in the front near the window and then there is a couch and cushy chairs situated around a large screen television. Free wifi for those who bring there computers and then more seating in front of a sort of deli counter. You basically go up to the counter and place your order and someone delivers it to you.

I tried the Kalbi Special of bbq short ribs, rice, and marinated veggies in a soup. I decided on the Vietnamese Iced Coffee to cool off the kimchee automatically served at the table. It was perfectly hot enough for me and didn't even require a coffee sip to cool.

Now you may ask what's so odd about the space? I left out the part that on the right side sits another business that sells knitting supplies. Yes, you can meet, knit and eat Korean fare. Perhaps the space should be known as a "knitting cafe". Knit+eat/drink+chill = repeat

Next stop, the Manitoba Museum at 190 Rupert Avenue. The museum is both great for history and art. It has eight interpretive galleries including the Hudson's Bay Company gallery and the full-size replica ship Nonsuch,whose voyage in 1668 led to the founding of the Hudson's Bay Company. There is also an example of a young prairie city of the 1920's in the Urban Gallery. www.manitboamuseum.com

DINING AT THE HOTEL

I met Michael Blahuta, the food and beverage manager who gave me the info about the food and Velvet Glove restaurant. It just happened that the few days before arriving I had my favorite Filipino food delivered from Mama Meena's Family Restaurant in Woodhaven. Coincidenctally the feature special menu of the month was "Experience the Philippines". Kyle, the chef of the evening, sent out a more than muse bouche of shrimp and smoked salmon topped with caviar. I ordered an appetizer of Pansit; chicken and shrimp with snow peas, cabbage, celery and carrot in a chicken broth with vermicelli noodles, scallions and sesame oil.

Rellenong Manok, is Cornish hen stuffed with chorizo, olives, raisins, edam cheese and hard boiled egg service with "fresh local market vegetables."

Dessert was a Leche Flan of sweet custard with caramel and fresh berries. I enjoyed this particular flan as it was a bit thicker than usual.

The food was tasty and savory but did not compare to the home-style cooking at Mama Meena's.

Esther and Eunice joined me to partake in the meals and had their photo taken with Kyle.

Lunch is served in their lounge area. I wanted to taste their local fish, pickerel. I had it beer-battered and fried with sweet potato fries.

DAVINCI CODE IN WINNIPEG

There always seemed to be a Unicity taxi cab waiting outside of the hotel. Most of my trips were positive and will tell the tales of others later. I went to the Legislative Building, that's one awesome piece of architecture. I met with Don Finkbeiner who represents Heartland International Travel & Tours for an Hermetic Code Tour. Like cracking the DaVinci code just about everything on the exterior and interior had a hidden meaning. Author Frank Albo wrote a book on this and I later had him on my July 16th radio show. It's all about numbers and the Freemasons.

As I approached the first thing I could clearly see were the columns and the carved figures along the dome as well as a gold figure of what looked to be the Greek god Hermes on the top. When getting a closer look, the naked statue is cast in bronze and plated with 21.5 -karat gold. He is holding a torch in his right hand and sheaf of wheat in his left.

The female figure of Manitoba rests in the middle with the other figures representing agriculture, art, industry and science as well as earth, water, fire and air. An Egyptian Sphinx lines the east and west sides to face the rising and setting sum with inscriptions that are only visible if you have a great pair of binoculars. These hieroglyphs say, "the good god who gives life."

Walking over to the left side rear of the building I could see two winged figures with what appeared to be an Ark of the Covenant in the middle.

Inside, Don pointed out how the numbers 3, 5 and 13 played a role. Things like 13 lights, bronzed bison that stood at the steps like the two lions at the New York Library, being 13 feet tall as well as sets of 13 steps. Up at the top of the stairs I could see a mural that seemed to depict a war. However, looking closely you could see that the wounded soldier appeared as Christ with a halo and a cannon that looked more like a cross. If you looked above that figure hard enough you could clearly see Madonna and the baby Jesus.

At the bottom floor there is a star. If you stand in the middle of the star and talk your voice echoes without and within. What makes it sound so odd is that your voice echoes in musical fifths. Talk loud enough and the entire building can hear your conversation.

We ran into some guy named Greg Selinger who turned out to be the Premier of Manitoba. I'm told that he's equivalent to a Governor.

The puzzle goes on but I don't want to tell all. My advice is to take the tour and then buy the book entitled The Hermetic Code.

A DAY IN WINNIPEG: CHECKING IN

Having visited most of the United States I am also sparked by the provinces of Canada. The Eastern provinces of New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontariohave been taken in as well as British Columbia on the West and Alberta in the middle. This time I decided on the middle again with Winnipeg, the capitol of Manitoba.

When it comes to being pampered at a hotel, I don't think it could have been better than staying on the Gold Floor of the Fairmont Hotel. I know that many of the hotels have a VIP floor with a lounge that sports extras such as a Continental breakfast, perhaps some tidbits in the afternoon and canapes in the early evening. Honor bars, and internet access are the usual amenities as well. However, in many cases the lounge is only open during the week catering to the business clientele.

Instead of checking in on the lobby floor, I was brought directly up to the Gold Lounge. I could immediately sense the warmth and joyousness of the staff but it wasn't until spending a bit of time that I noticed how the other customers were really enjoying themselves.

They have more than just a buffet Continental Breakfast and they seemed to be going for more healthy food and totally fresh. Some of the pluses were: fresh fruit, mozzarella salad, a hot item that involved eggs, and smoked salmon on bilinis. If you happen to stop by in the early afternoon, they had these sort of granola bars made with sesame seeds and topped with chocolate. Although you were always able to prepare your own tea or coffee, someone on the staff was always on hand to take care of that and bring it to your table.

The canapes were brought out at 5 p.m. and again you could tell that nothing was pre-frozen. I should have taken a photo of the spread. There was certainly enough of a variety to have dinner and they didn't bother with the pastry or such dessert items as there was fruit and various cheeses. It was all great except for an experimental canape of a tiny square of watermelon with bleu cheese on the top. Even dipping it in the provided honey sauce didn't help.

Not only were the staff friendly but those staying at the hotel didn't hesitate to strike up a conversation or simple "hello" with "strangers". The lounge had games and CD's available, internet access with a printer even though internet access was free in your room. You'd think that people would simply come into the lounge for breakfast or canapes and leave. There were families or couples playing games and some who would sit in the lounge for hours reading a book and enjoying a cocktail that they made.

The hotel was hosting a Folk Festival and many of the performers as well as those attending were staying at the hotel. Not all were on the Gold Floor. David Koetke the Fairmont Gold Manager, was graciously on hand to assist with everything including concierge service. He even goes out of his way to find out when someone is traveling elsewhere on Air Canada and gets a small gift that they find on board.

Let's not leave out Marie Paz Natividad, Rhosan Estoy and Colleen Bothor, who were never without a smile, good word or assistants on something you might need in your room and yes, they all met Esther and Eunice. As a matter of fact, Eunice was about to take a bite of my plate of desserts waiting in my room.

ROWENAS

I hosted my radio show last night and had two wonderful guests, one of which was Rowena Fullinwider who is the president of Rowenas Jams and Jellies...and sauces, and cakes, and books... I did a tasting of some of her goodies using my own chicken salad. I had cooked the fresh young chicken in a NuWave oven so that it would come out perfect. I sliced up some fresh ginger and threw it into the cavity. Then I coated the chicken with Rowenas spicy peanut sauce. I ate the dark meat and then saved the breast meat for the chicken salad. The peanut sauce on the wings and legs were just enough to give it a great flavor with only a slight kick on the spicy. Keep in mind that regardless of what you do with a chicken it only tastes as good as its freshness.

Okay so the next day I made the chicken salad by simply adding some mayo to the almost-mashed pieces. I divided the salad into four parts and placed more of the Spicy Peanut Sauce on one, Carrot Jam on another, Devilish Mustard Sauce and after mashing in a bit of fresh avocado, I added Lemon Curd to the last. I haven't tried the Curry Sauce as yet but will do so today when I'm making short ribs.

NORFOLK VIRGINIA FINAL DAY

Hand shape a yeasted wheat dough in a small ring, boil it for a short time, then bake it until it results in a soft chewy inside, browned and sometimes crispy outside. What you have is the New York kosher bagel. I was brought to a place called Yorgo's on Colonial Blvd. and 21st to taste test their bagel to see if it compared to NYC bagels. This is the first bagel that I have had outside of New York City, let alone New York State that replicated a true bagel. Too bad they didn't sell a bialy: a chewy yeast roll similar to a bagel, but unlike a bagel, which is boiled before baking, a bialy is simply baked, and instead of a hole in the middle it has a depression, which before baking is filled with diced onions. I ordered a honey wheat bagel with a smoked salmon and cream cheese spread on one half and an olive and cream cheese spread on the other.

Staying in the world of food it was just down the block on W.22nd that Rowena's sat. Creators and producers of gourmet food, Rowena Fullinwider's emphasis is on jams, jellies, curds, bundt cakes and scones. Rowena met Esther and Eunice and fell in love with them immediately. That's because she has some special bunnies.

You can taste just about any of the products on crackers or even on a sample of the bundt cake. Favorite of everyone is the carrot jam. I do understand. The bundt cakes that I sampled were: chocolate, lemon, orange and almond. Will be testing out the lemon curd and a few others to combine for cooking.

A loved the Tea Room on the premises. You can have a group of adults or even kids partake in a great menu that features tea sandwiches, scones and her regular goodies. Then there were the books that she has written. Cute children type books with recipes. www.rowenas.com

Time to walk off the food at the Virgina Zoological Park. There are sprouting fountains coming from the ground past the entranceway. Kids love to bring their bathing suits and take advantage on those hot days.

The Virginia Zoo is home to 350 animals, on 53 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds. I entered the African area to see: elephants, red pandas, lions, giraffes, mandrills, bongos, kangaroos and a whole lot more. There is a no-smoking policy at the zoo. Great for me and the animals as well.

Although Norfolk does have a separate botanical garden, the landscape encompasses the feel of being in one. The zoo is in a process of building an Asian area. www.virginiazoo.org

Last stop was the Chrysler Museum of Art on West Olney Street and just a few blocks from the Residence Inn. The museum is large but not as vast as one like the Met or MOMA. There are two floors and lots of galleries to explore. The museum describes themselves as, "Housed in an Italianate-style structure facing the picturesque Hague Inlet of the Elizabeth River, the Chrysler Museum of Art is home to an encyclopedic collection of nearly 40,000 objects spanning nearly 5,000 years of history. Highlights include an impressive and comprehensive survey of European and American painting and sculpture, a world-renowned glass collection, a rich photography program, Art Nouveau furniture, as well as African, Asian, Egyptian, Pre-Columbian and Islamic art." And it's free, too. www.chrysler.org

Information on Norfolk can be found on www.visitnorfolktoday.com

NORFOLK DAY CONTINUES

We were going to walk to 219 American Bistro but my legs hurt from standing such a long time on the segway. Yes, I would do it again. Well, they have this free transportation called F.R.E.D. It's a golf cart powered by battery. You simply call about 15 minutes before you need it and they take you door to door anywhere in the downtown area. No tip allowed, either. Now pair this with a shuttle bus that's free as well.

219 American Bistro is on Granby Street. Once again, I ordered fish. Ordered a smoked salmon appetizer and red fish as the entree. I was actually seeking soft shell crabs and oysters but neither were in season.

Doumar's was the next stop. Mr. Doumar invented the first waffle cone and it apparently still tastes great. But that's not the only draw to this diner. Park your car, flick your headlights and a waitress comes out to take your order. Just like in the 50's...as I see it in the movies.

Took a nap, did my radio show and now off to dinner at Press 626 Cafe & Wine Bar on West Olney Rd. Here I indulged in a white wine sangria, clam and sweet corn fritters and crab cakes. Panko encrusted with mango-pineapple salsa over organic field greens finished with a citrus vinaigrette.