Pegged

Saskatoon to Winnipeg today, via Regina. We didn't stop much: half an hour for coffee in Brandon was our limit, as we had a goal in mind.

Our day in Saskatoon yesterday was excellent for rest and visits. The weather was warm and the trees in leaf. Unfortunately, the trees often look like this in a prairie spring



and this would be why...



Brunch at the Broadway Cafe with Mari-Lou and Albert was for me a welcome ham and cheddar omelette with nice home fries and good coffee.



Supper at Prairie Ink, in McNally Robinson's splendid store, with Mary included her chicken salad with pineapple,



my cream of asparagus soup



some Jerry's ice cream



and the amazing flowering tea. Followed by some brisk book shopping.



We left this morning in a Saskatoon drizzle



but the light was fabulous



the grain elevators occasional



and only a single teapot on the road.



We crossed into Manitoba which can be very flat indeed.



We were puzzled by a field of hay (in bales) that went on



and on and on and on. Anyone out there know what this was?

But finally, after 10 hours' driving, we reached Winnipeg and had time to check into the hotel, clean ourselves up and scamper down to Dubrovnik, where the menu is pretty swish-standard Canadian, but the quality is exceedingly good, as is the service. We started with an amuse-bouche of seared tuna



and then had Mesclun Greens with goat cheese and fresh raspberries and blueberries,



Ruth opting for escargot with strips of fried portabella mushrooms



followed by poached sea bass with mango chutney



while I had free-range chicken (I hate to ask how free that might really be in a Manitoba winter) with duck mousse and dried cranberry stuffing,



surrounded by lots of interesting vegetables and hiding a nice peppery portion of scalloped potatoes. We couldn't manage dessert, although it looked pretty good, and left without allowing our photographs to join the rogue's gallery of celebrity patrons (Pierre Trudeau, Bill Clinton, Richard Gere, Zsa-Zsa Gabor and all that riff-raff).