Doug & Morri
on
Travel
World Radio,
December 14, 2002
Here are the links to Doug &
Morri's whirlwind tour of Churchill's polar bears,
Winnipeg's Exchange District, Montreal's
underground city, Atlanta, Georgia, and
nearby Stone Mountain
Park.
 Round-trip
VIA 1 rail travel courtesy
VIA Rail Canada:
from Montreal to Toronto overnight on the new Renaissance cars -
with private showers, European styling and fluffy duvets; from
Toronto to Winnipeg on the Canadian in fabulous Silver & Blue
class- with gourmet dining, panorama-car sightseeing, plus films,
games, etc. in the activity cars; from Winnipeg to Churchill on
the Northern Spirit train - a fascinating journey through
prairie, boreal forest to sub-arctic tundra.
 Round-trip
air travel Montreal -Atlanta courtesy of
Air Canada's
new non-stop
Jazz
service (3 round-trips daily.) Air Canada also offers up to 6
Atlanta-Toronto non-stop round-trips daily. Air Canada has again
been voted Best Business Class to
Canada by readers of Business Traveler Magazine.
Polar Bear Season in
Churchill, Manitoba (Canada)
There are
only seven B&Bs, nine small motel/hotels and eight restaurants in
Churchill. During Polar Bear Season, tour companies book almost
everything, so reserve early.
Click here to read all about Doug & Morri's adventures in
Churchill.
Where to Eat
in Churchill
$ Gypsy
Bakery
Kelsey, corner Thompson (204) 675-2322.
This bustling family-run bakery and deli offers good value in
home-style cooking.
$$
Lazy Bear Café
313
Kelsey (204) 675-2969
.
Soups, salads, chilli, burgers and shakes for
lunch; Arctic char and Caribou pepper steak for dinner, in a
cozy, country lodge.
$$$
Reef Café and Dining Room,
Seaport Hotel
Kelsey, corner Selkirk (204) 675-8807. Blackened Arctic
char, prime rib and steak.
Where to Stay
in Churchill
$
Mike and Mykelen’s Bed & Breakfast
51 Selkirk
(204) 675-2773.
Fresh sandwiches on arrival, fresh fruit in room.
Shared bath.
$$
Lazy Bear Lodge
313 Kelsey
(204) 675-2969
www.lazybearlodge.com
Feel like a fur trapper, but with all the
mod-cons, in this new, non-smoking lodge, constructed from
forest-fire cured logs.
$$$
Polar Inn & Suites
153 Kelsey;
1-877-765-2733
www.cancom.net/~polarinn
Studios and one-bedroom apartments with kitchenettes. Gift shop
rents complete winter garb by the day, and sells Polar Adventure™
parkas, anoraks and children’s outerwear.
Must See
Attractions in
Churchill
Parks
Canada Visitors’ Reception Centre
in the Churchill train station.
Open daily during Polar
Bear Season.
The
Eskimo Museum
La Verendrye, corner Thompson (204) 675-2030
Free admission. Donations welcome.
Tour Operators in Churchill
 Tundra
Buggy® Tours
1-800-593-8881
www.wildlifeadventures.com
Full-day guided tundra tour, including lunch:
$195-$250 per person (taxes incl.).
Great
White Bear Tours
1-800-765-8344
Full-day guided tundra tour, including lunch: $225 per person
(plus taxes).
Hudson
Bay Helicopters
(204) 675-2576
www.hudsonbayheli.com Tours from $210 per person (taxes
incl.).
Polar
Bear Lodge 1-888-326-7325
www.sealriver.com
5-day, 4-night all-inclusive
package, from $4,350 per person CDN
(plus taxes).
Wapusk
Adventures,
321 Kelsey. (204) 675-2887. Dogsled rides with a campfire stop
for bannock and tea: $75 per person (taxes incl.)
Shopping
in Churchill
The
Arctic Trading Company
Kelsey, corner Bernier
204-675-8804
www.arctictradingco.com
Northern Images
174 Kelsey (204) 675-2681
Wapusk
General Store
321 Kelsey (204) 675-2887
 Blueberries
& Polar Bears Publishing
1-800-490-2228
www.bbpbcookbooks.com
A series of recipe books of gourmet Northern cuisine created by
local chefs Helen Webber and Mary Woolsey.
Where to Eat
in Winnipeg
With over
900 restaurants, more per capita than any other Canadian
city, Winnipeg boasts an inviting mix of
traditional and creative cuisine,
including specialities drawn from its 45 ethnic communities.
$
Mondragon Bookstore & Coffeehouse:
91 Albert St.; (204) 946-5241.This
funky, radical leftist café and bookstore is a worker-run
cooperative featuring lofty tin ceilings, a cozy reading nook
with gas fireplace and strict vegan cuisine using primarily
organic products. Breakfast on waffles or burritos washed down
with a fruit smoothy, a guilt-free cup of fair-trade java or a
variety of teas. Homemade soups, salads, sandwiches and more
exotic fare like Indian samosas, Salvadoran pupusas and Caribbean
roti round out the lunch and supper menus. Closed Sundays.
$$
Step ‘N Out Eclectic Cuisine: 157 Provencher Blvd.;
(204) 956-7837.
Billed as
Winnipeg’s most romantic restaurant, Step ‘N Out offers unusually
light and delicious contemporary Australian cuisine –
emphasizing
fresh seafood – in a cozy boudoir-like setting. The homemade
lemon cake is outstanding. Open for lunch (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and
pre-theatre dinner (5 – 9 p.m.). Reservations recommended. In
summer 2004, this popular restaurant moved from its tiny Exchange
District locale to roomier premises in St. Boniface.
Elsewhere
$$$
529 Wellington:
529 Wellington Crescent; (204) 487-8325.
www.wowmail.ca
Winnipeg’s most talked-about steakhouse, in a beautifully
restored 1912 Tudor stone mansion, deserves its reputation for
excellent cuisine, service and ambience. Its mahogany panelled,
richly decorated dining rooms are ideal for a leisurely feast on
Alberta Prime Beef, seared to perfection in a special
high-temperature oven. The menu also features veal, lamb and
fresh seafood. From the 25-page wine list, you’re sure to find a
great glass, bottle or “flight”. Open daily for lunch and
dinner.
Where to Stay
in Winnipeg
$
Mary Jane’s Place:
144 Yale Ave.; (204) 453-8104;
www.bedandbreakfast.mb.ca
Whether you speak English, French or Dutch, Mary Jane and Jack
Zonneveld will make you feel more than welcome in their historic
three-storey, Georgian home built by Thos. Kelly, who built the
Manitoba legislative building in 1910. Centrally located in the
upscale community of Crescentwood-River Heights. Full hot
breakfasts, guest kitchen, TV lounge and library.
$$
Canad Inns
are
a Manitoba chain of suburban Winnipeg inns; 1-888-332-2623;
www.canadinns.com When not careening down a 150’
waterslide into Splasher’s indoor pool, kids will love sleeping
in outer space, the Wild West, under the sea or in their very own
castle in any of Canada Inn’s whimsical theme rooms and suites.
For the less adventurous, regular rooms and suites are available.
All rooms have a computer and data port. This family-oriented
chain provides such special touches as a kid’s-only room-service
menu and in-room video games. Canad Inns Fort Gary location (1824
Pembina Hwy.) features Celebrations Dinner Theatre offering a
three-act musical comedy with a four-course dinner.
 $$$
The Fort Garry,
222 Broadway; 1-800-665-8088;
www.fortgarryhotel.com
A
former Canadian Pacific Grand Hotel, the Fort
Garry
now bills itself as
“Winnipeg’s
Bed and Breakfast Hotel” in the
European
boutique-hotel tradition. This restored national landmark
attracts
celebrities, politicians and business moguls
to its 240
spacious,
high-ceilinged
rooms and suites and its luxurious fitness complex. The
domed,
gilt-ceilinged main floor Palm Room doubles as an elegant dining
room and
lounge; Sunday brunches are served in a 7th floor
ballroom.
Must
See Attractions in Winnipeg
The
Manitoba Museum.
190 Rupert Ave.; Info line: (204) 943-313;.
www.manitobamuseum.ca This world-class museum
includes a full-size, walk-on replica of the Nonsuch, a 17th-centry
ketch that sailed into Hudson’s Bay in 1668.
Winnipeg
Commodity Exchange.
400 Commodity Exchange Tower, 360 Main St.; (204) 925-5000;
www.wce.ca View the trading floor of Canada’s only
agricultural futures and options exchange.
Tree
Children Sculpture by Leo Moll.
Richardson Building Plaza, 1 Lombard Place.
Celebrating the spirit and
energy of youth, this 16-ft. tall bronze statue overlooks Portage
and Main, Canada’s windiest street corner.
The
Pantages Playhouse Theatre.
180 Market Ave.; (204) 989-2889;
www.pantagesplayhouse.com This is Canada’s grandest
surviving Vaudeville theatre.
The
Mandarin Building
(King St. & James Ave);
www.winterpeg.com/Town/Chinatown.htm At the entrance to
Chinatown, view a replica of the Nine Imperial Dragon Mural, a
statue of Guan Yin and a bronze Buddha.
The
Forks National Historic Site:
(204) 983-6757;
www.parkscanada.gc.ca/forks This 13.6-acre park at
the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers is rapidly
becoming Winnipeg’s favourite public gathering place, host to
more than 100 festivals and community events.
Winter Events
in Winnipeg
 River
Trail, at The
Forks, until Feb. 15; (204)
943-7752;
www.theforks.com
Supervised skating,
cross-country skiing and walking on the
Red and Assinboine Rivers.
Winterfest at the Forks
until Feb 15; The Forks Festival Park;
(204)943-7752;
www.theforks.com Winter festivities, including dog
sled rides.
Le
Festival du Voyageur,
from Feb. 14 – 23, throughout French-speaking St. Boniface; (204)
237-7692;
www.festivalvoyageur.mb.ca
Western Canada’s largest winter festival celebrates the joie
de vivre of fur traders and pioneers.
Performances:
www.tourism.winnipeg.mb.ca Winter is an excellent
time to take in the Royal Winnipeg
Ballet, Winnipeg Contemporary Dances, Manitoba Theatre Centre,
Prairie Theatre Exchange, Manitoba Theatre for Young People,
Manitoba Opera and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
Cozy Up to Winter in
Montreal, Quebec (Canada)
(Read the article as published in Amtrak's
Arrive magazine)
Must See Attractions in Montreal
Vieux-Montréal
(Old Montreal)
www.old.montreal.qc.ca
Vieux Port (Old Port)
www.oldportofmontreal.com
Atrium
(indoor skating) , Le 1000 de la Gauchetière, (514) 395-0555
www.le1000.com
Marché Bonsecours,
350 Saint-Paul, (514) 872-7730,
www.marchebonsecours.qc.ca
Pointe-à-Callière Montreal
Museum of Archeology and History,
(métro Place d’Armes or Square Victoria), 350 Place Royale, (514)
872-9150
www.musee-pointe-a-calliere.qc.ca
 McCord
Museum (métro McGill), 690 Sherbrooke
Street West, (514) 398-7100
www.musee-mccord.qc.ca
Centre Infotouriste,
1001 Dorchester Square, (514) 873-2015 or 1-877-BONJOUR
Tourisme Montréal www.tourism-montreal.org
Where to Stay and/or Eat in Montreal
Seven luxury boutique hotels have opened
in Old Montreal in the past two years, some just last summer.
Offering extraordinary comfort and unbeatable ambiance, they
range in size from the nine antique-filled rooms and suites at
the quaint Auberge Pierre du Calvet — conveniently
situated across from the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de Bonsecours, whose
Lady of the Harbor statue has been immortalized by Montreal
crooner Leonard Cohen in his song Suzanne — to the ultra-chic,
minimalist 120-room Hôtel St. Paul, where Cube, a
new restaurant specializing in innovative market-fresh cuisine by
chef Claude Pelletier, is garnering a following among the chic
and upwardly mobile. Then there’s the 30-room Hôtel Gault.
So spectacular is its sleek, contemporary décor, in sharp
contrast to its ornate 1871 stone exterior, that Quebec cinéaste
Denys Arcand’s chose it as a location for Barbarians, the
sequel to his highly acclaimed 1986 movie, The Decline of the
American Empire.
Hôtel St. Paul
and Cube restaurant, 355 McGill, (514)
380-2222
www.hotelstpaul.com $200 - $500* per night.
Auberge Pierre du Calvet,
405 Bonsecours, (514) 282-1725
www.pierreducalvet.ca $235 - $265* per night, including
breakfast.
Hôtel Gault,
499 Sainte-Hélène, (514) 904-1616 or 1-866-904-1616
www.hotelgault.com $275 - $700* per night, including
breakfast.
 Hôtel
Le St-James, 355 Saint-Jacques,
(514)-841-3111 or 1-866-841-3111 www.hotellestjames.com
$325 - $5,000* per night.
Le Saint-Sulpice
and S restaurant, 414 Saint-Sulpice,
(514) 288-1000 or 1-877-SULPICE www.lesaintsulpice.com
$249 - $1,299* per night, including continental breakfast.
Purchase price: $194,000 - $240,000 per suite.
Hôtel Nelligan
and Verses restaurant and lobby bar, 106 St-Paul
West, (514) 788-2040 or 1-877-788-2040
www.hotelnelligan.com $195 - $450* per night, including
continental breakfast and evening wine with canapés.
*Low season rates. All
prices in Canadian dollars. Taxes extra.
(Read the article as published
in Montreal's
Forever Young
tabloid)
Must See Attractions
in Atlanta
 Atlanta
History Center 130 West Paces Ferry
Road NW, Buckhead, (404) 814-4000:
www.atlantahistorycenter.com
Fox Theatre
660 Peachtree Street NE, (404) 881-2100,
www.foxtheatre.org
Martin Luther King Jr.
National Historic Site, Sweet Auburn,
www.nps.gov/malu/
Atlanta Preservation
Center
for walking tours of historic areas of Atlanta.
Tour hotline: (404) 688-3350
www.preserveatlanta.com
 Margaret
Mitchell House & Museum
990 Peachtree Street NE (404)
249-7012
CNN Studio Tours
CNN Center, corner
Centennial Olympic Park Drive and
Marietta Street. Advance reservations needed:
(404) 827-2300
www.cnn.com/StudioTour
World of Coca-Cola
55 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, (404)
676-5151
 Stone
Mountain Park This 3,200-acre park
just 18 miles from downtown Atlanta is the premier recreational
destination for Atlantans and visitors alike.
Where to Stay in Atlanta
In Stone Mountain Park
 Evergreen
Marriott Conference Resort,
4021 Lakeview Drive,
Stone Mountain,
(770) 879-9000
www.evergreenresort.com
In Atlanta
Westin Peachtree Plaza,
210 Peachtree St. (404) 659-1400
www.westinpeachtree.citysearch.com Central, downtown
location, with all the usual amenities.
Courtyard by Marriott,
175 Piedmont Ave. NE, (404) 659-2727
www.courtyard.com/atlcd Convenient downtown location,
comfortable, moderately priced. On-site coin-operated laudromat.
The Georgian Terrace Hotel,
659 Peachtree Street, (404) 897-1991
www.thegeorgianterrace.com
An
opulent landmark hotel in the heart of trendy Midtown.
Atlanta
Bed
&
Breakfasts
King, Keith House Bed & Breakfast
(Inman Park), 889 Edgewood Ave., (404)
688-7330
www.kingkeith.com
Gaslight Inn Bed & Breakfast
(Virginia-Highland), 1001 St. Charles Ave., (404) 875-1001
www.gaslightinn.com
Beverly Hills Inn
(Buckhead),
65
Sheridan Drive, (404) 233-8520
www.beverlyhillsinn.com
Where to Eat in Atlanta
Horseradish Grill
4320 Powers Ferry Road NW (in Buckhead), (404)
255-7277
www.horseradishgrill.com Housed in a former horse
barn, this charming establishment serves typical Southern dishes
but with a light, gourmet twist using the freshest of seasonal
produce.
Murphy’s
997 Virginia Ave (corner North Highland), (404)
872-0904
www.murphysvh.com This restaurant, bistro and
wine bar has lots of charm and the cuisine, billed as Comfort
Food, is exquisite. Murphy’s is known as a brunch location, with
one of the most extensive brunch menus in the city. Many tempting
desserts.
South City Kitchen
1144 Crescent Avenue (in Midtown), (404)
873-7358
www.southcitykitchen.com Chef Jay Swift is
well-known for his innovative use of Southern ingredients. A good
example was a starter of sautéed chicken livers, smothered in
caramelized onions, country ham, creamed corn and served on
brioche toast. The corn bread muffins, stuffed full of whole
kernels, were the best we’ve ever tasted.
 Pittypat’s
Porch 25 International Blvd., (404)
525-8228 www.pittypatsporch.com
Old-style Southern Cuisine in a charming Gone With The Wind
setting, conveniently located downtown, across from the
Westin Peachtree Plaza.
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