Saskatoon

Ten hours in the car, three fill ups, two stops in Lloydminster and one Ukrainian egg, and you have the recipe for our Family Day-Weekend road trip to Saskatoon. In sum, I thought Saskatoon was beautiful. The city is full of historic architecture, beautiful bridges and tree lined streets. You'll immediately be struck by its livability... or at least I was.

Here's my guide to Saskatoon:

Where to Stay: Somewhere on Spadina Crescent. We chose the Sheraton Cavalier, but if your preference is an old Canadian Pacific Hotel, try out the Delta Bessborough. The Cavalier has a fun water park that comes in handy if you're travelling with children, or the young at heart.

Where to Stroll: Around the picturesque University of Saskatchewan campus or along Broadway Avenue.

How to Spend an Afternoon: At the Mendel Gallery on Spadina Cresent. Check out rotating exhibits, including a current display of Joni Mitchell's photography, and sit in the conservatory to take in the beautiful flowers and forget for a moment that it is -20 outside.

What We Wished We'd Packed: Skates to glide on the outdoor rink on the shores of the South Saskatchewan River.

Where to Eat: Calories on Broadway. Though we were offered recommendation after recommendation for Calories, and found out the restaurant is the romantic brain child of our friend Eric's cousin, we didn't make a reservation before leaving Edmonton. Instead, we showed up in the restaurant's foyer smack in the middle of dinner time (6:30 pm) on February 14th, wearing the same clothes we'd driven from Alberta in and inquired about dining. With a huge heaping of luck, the waiter informed us that there was a late dining party and that we could take their reservation. We were very lucky to snag a table. We feasted on a very memorable meal, not soon to be forgotten. The meal tasted so delightful that I forgot I was wearing snow boots while all other women in the restaurant were in stilettos.

For those interested, we were presented with was a six course meal that began with lobster on shitake and a stilton puff with quince paste. We were then treated to a beef consommé. The next plate offered seared halibut cheeks, nori wrapped house smoked trout, ginger soy hollandaise, bok choy & tobiko. After swooning over these culinary delights, we feasted on the main course - black truffle stuffed PVF chicken breast, foie gras poëlé, baby beets, cassava chips & organic chokecherry reduction. The dessert was a delectable carmincello float with dark chocolate mousse on candied fruit & kirsch empress rice.

To repeat, I highly recommend Calories.

What to Drink: A Sex and Candy Martini or The Firefly at 6Twelve on Spadina.

Quirk to Discover: Read the plaque on the Wilfred Laurier-John Diefenbaker Statue on 21st Street. Their chance encounter on Laurier's visit to Saskatoon had a young, paper carrying Diefenbaker chatting with the Prime Minister for a half hour before excusing himself to ensure the day's papers were delivered. As the tale goes, Dief excused himself by remarking, "Excuse me Prime Minister, I can't waste any more time talking to you, I have papers to deliver."