Surprisingly Unique Finds in Winnipeg; Dog-Friendly Gardens, Folklorama and more!

On this episode of Traveling with Terriers, we continue our TWT Goes International Series and visit the province of Manitoba. While there, we explore some unique finds in Winnipeg!

Unique Finds in Winnipeg #1: The Leaf Gardens

During our travel research, I was excited to learn how dog-friendly Canada is. Winnipeg was no exception! We were pleasantly surprised that our boys were welcome to hang out with us inside the main area of The Leaf Gardens. They were also very welcome to explore the outside areas. This meant that Danny and I could both explore the garden and the boys could still come along. Before heading into the gardens, we planned to separate. While one of us explored the gardens in the biome (no dogs allowed in there), the other one explored the outside areas with the dogs. It worked out perfectly!

The Leaf is part of the Assiniboine Park Conservancy. Inside the building are 4 different biomes: the Tropical, the Mediterranean, the display house (which contains rotating exhibits) and the butterfly house. The six outdoor gardens encompass almost 30 acres. They include an Indigenous Peoples Garden, Kitchen Garden, Sensory Garden, Performance Garden, Seasonal Garden, and The Grove Arboretum.

Inside the Biomes

Amongst the plethora of beautiful blooms, the Tropical Biome boasts the tallest indoor waterfall in Canada which feeds into a peaceful koi pond. Listening to the falling water and watching the fish swim peacefully away felt so relaxing!

One of our favorite areas of the Leaf sits six stories up in the Butterfly House. I loved watching the variety of colorful butterflies and moths flutter around!

The Gardens at the Leaf

The outside scenery was no less stunning. The boys and I enjoyed meandering through each of the garden areas. We marveled at the size of the zucchini and tomato vines and inhaled the scents of the fresh herbs in the Kitchen Garden. In the seasonal garden we enjoyed the bright kaleidoscope of blooms from all the different flowers and sat in one of the red Adirondack chairs to enjoy the scenery and the peace. Winston also enjoyed sniffing for the bunnies and squirrels that make their home within the trees of the Grove.

Unique Finds in Winnipeg #2: The Rest of the Assiniboine Park Conservancy

While we were in the area, we checked out some of the rest of the Assiniboine Park. The park itself includes a zoo, art galleries, children’s areas, an English garden and a sculpture garden. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to see some of the areas in the park. However, we did take some time to explore the English garden and the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden.

Unique Find #3: Winnipeg’s Unique Treats

After exploring all those gardens, we were ready for a snack. Since Danny loves trying new foods and I figured you can’t go wrong with a French dessert, we stopped at The Frenchway Cafe. After taking a while to look at the many different pastries in their case, we settled on several. All of them were delicious! These are the times when we think we are very lucky to have a mini cooler, and a fridge back at Lost. We can take our treats with us as we go!

Unique Find #4: The Forks Market

My research called this one of the “Can’t Miss Spots” in Winnipeg. I guess Danny and I must be odd types of travelers because this was definitely not one of our unique finds in Winnipeg. Don’t get me wrong, The Forks is a really cool area, especially the area along the river where visitors can hang out, eat, visit and watch the boats and the water flow by.

The Forks Market is not what I was expecting. I thought it would be similar to the Pike Market in Seattle where there are lots of fresh foods for sale. Unfortunately, it mostly featured restaurants mixed with souvenir shops. However, all was not lost- we shopped for some Christmas presents while we were there and found some great bargains!

Unique Finds in Winnipeg #5: Folklorama

Folklorama was definitely one of our favorite unique finds in Winnipeg. We knew nothing about this huge festival before we came to Winnipeg and would have continued to be oblivious if Danny hadn’t decided he wanted to have a “Date Night” and researched what to do in Winnipeg. I am really glad he did because our trip to Folklorama was a highlight of our trip! After researching the 40 different pavillions (countries) that we could visit, we decided upon Scandanavia because part of Danny’s heritage is from a Scandanavian country. After making this decision, we bought our tickets online and were ready to go!

Upon arriving at the pavilion we were greeted by multiple Scandinavians dressed in traditional wear. After scanning our tickets we entered and spent the evening feasting upon Swedish meatballs, roast pork and other delicious treats, watching a program that included examples of Scandanavian music, art, dance and culture, and visiting the exhibit where we learned a bit more about each of the Scandanavian countries. It was truly an informative and enjoyable evening!

One of Our Last Unique Finds in Winnipeg: The Royal Canadian Mint

Our original plan was to actually visit the Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg. Unfortunately, we ran out of time. Instead, we drove by it on the way back to Lost after Folklorama. We arrived right at sunset, which was almost perfect timing to catch the reflection of the sun off the windows of the Mint building. I enjoyed taking picture after picture to capture the beauty of the sunset and the Mint. It was the perfect ending to our day, and the perfect way to end our stay in Winnipeg.

We hope you enjoyed learning more about these unique finds in Winnipeg. For our full Travel-a-Long Adventure, check out the video below.

Our next adventure is in Ontario where we check out some wonderful waterfalls and get rained on. But, that’s a story for a different day! In the meantime, be sure to check out our other Travel-A-Long Adventures, Behind-the-Scenes Blogs, relaxing Drive-A-Longs, and our Top 5 Tips and Tricks. Or visit our Merch Store to find Traveling with Terriers apparel, swag, and our newly released book available now on Amazon! Until next time, happy traveling!