Familiar faces in a familiar place (2)

(cont'd...) We landed at Winnipeg International Airport 30 minutes past five in the afternoon. It is still the same airport that I used to like; it is not as busy, the concourse is short, its parking is ample, and the technology is there, yet I could still sense a hometown feel whenever I looked around. I had the assumption - or at least as what I was told by friends, that soon it may not remain the same as the ongoing massive expansion west of the airport is being undertaken. Good for Winnipeg, I thought.

We were picked up by our friends who's been on the arrival area waiting for us. As I wait for our baggage to show up out in the rotating conveyor (carousel), I glimpsed to my wife who was few feet away from me hugging everyone of our friends with excitement.

 After some picture taking and five minutes of driving (that's how close the hotel is from the airport), we checked in right away at Victoria Inn Hotel. It was a weekend stay that was arranged and paid for by our very good friends. Actually, what my wife and I wanted was stay to any of our friends' place, but everyone was trying to win us and that kind of put us in such difficult situation of choosing a place to spend the night. Accommodating everyone was impossible; consequently, it ended up and was agreed that they provide us hotel accommodation. The suite they chose for us was practical in size - two king-sized beds, a wide and open dining/living room, and later, it served its purpose soon after our bunch of friends came to see us in the hotel.   

It was a night of fun, laughter, and catching-up. Our dinner was filled with Filipino dishes. (Note: if you're ever interested to know what they were, you are welcome to ask me.) You see, ours was more of a 'family-oriented' gathering, so alcoholic drinks and curse words had no place that night. The frequent cracking of jokes by our very facetious good friend Roobee kept the night alive, while all the guys' eyes were fixated at the ongoing basketball game between Jazz and Lakers. It was very late at night when everybody left.

The following morning, we were picked up for breakfast at Delano's restaurant. There, we met more friends that we did not see the previous night. The restaurant offers typical Filipino foods and it specialises in traditional breakfast reminiscent of those ones I liked back in the Philippines.

The "longanisa" (Filipino-version sausage/chorizo) and "tocino" (Philippine tapa) topped on fried rice garnished with fresh tomato was a sell out. A freshly brewed coffee completed the breakfast.

Considering that we only had a short stay and line up of invitations from friends, I decided to pick one place when I was asked where we want to go for a walk. I picked the perennially popular spot in Winnipeg, The Forks. How do I describe it? Let's see...it's located close to downtown area and by the Red River. It is some place sort of a central plaza where big-city event is being held most of the time. There are several interesting buildings that you can visit within The Forks like the Johnston Terminal, the Market, and the newer built suspension bridge with Salisbury restaurant at the centre.  Across at The Forks port on the other side of Red River is a classic Saint Boniface Church with its imposing facade facing the river. TO BE CONTINUED...