There always seemed to be a Unicity taxi cab waiting outside of the hotel. Most of my trips were positive and will tell the tales of others later. I went to the Legislative Building, that's one awesome piece of architecture. I met with Don Finkbeiner who
represents Heartland International Travel & Tours for an Hermetic Code Tour. Like cracking the DaVinci code just about everything on the exterior and interior had a hidden meaning. Author Frank Albo wrote a book on this and I later had him on my July 16th radio show. It's all about numbers and the Freemasons.
As I approached, the first thing I could clearly see were the columns and the carved figures along the dome as well as a gold figure of what looked to be the Greek god Hermes on the top. When getting a closer look, the naked statue is cast in bronze and plated with 21.5 -karat gold. He is holding a torch in his right
hand and sheaf of wheat in his left.
The female figure of Manitoba rests in the middle with the other figures representing agriculture, art, industry and science as well as earth, water, fire and air. An Egyptian Sphinx lines the east and west sides to face the rising and setting sum with inscriptions that are only visible if you have a great
pair of binoculars. These hieroglyphs say, "the good god who gives life."
Walking over to the left side rear of the building I could see two winged figures with what appeared to be an Ark of the Covenant in the middle.
Inside, Don pointed out how the numbers 3, 5 and 13 played a role. Things like 13 lights, bronzed bison that stood at the steps like the two lions at the New York Library, being 13 feet tall as well as sets of 13 steps. Up at the top of the stairs I could see a mural that seemed to depict a war. However, looking closely
you could see that the wounded soldier appeared as Christ with a halo and a cannon that looked more like a cross. If you looked above that figure hard enough you could clearly see Madonna and the baby Jesus.
At the bottom floor there is a star. If you stand in the middle of the star and talk, your voice echoes without and within. What makes it sound so odd is that your voice echoes in musical fifths. Talk loud enough and the entire building can hear your conversation.
We ran into some guy named Greg Selinger who turned out to be the Premier of Manitoba. I'm told that he's equivalent to a Governor.
The puzzle goes on but I don't want to tell all. My advice is to take the tour and then buy the book entitled The Hermetic Code.
Velvet Glove Restaurant
- I met Michael Blahuta, the food and beverage manager who gave me the info about the food and Velvet Glove restaurant. It just happened that the few days before arriving I had my favorite Filipino food delivered from Mama Meena's Family Restaurant in Woodhaven. Coincidentally the feature special menu of the month was
"Experience the Philippines". Kyle, the chef of the evening, sent out a more than muse bouche of shrimp and smoked salmon topped with caviar. I ordered an appetizer of Pansit; chicken and shrimp with snow peas, cabbage, celery and carrot in a chicken broth with vermicelli noodles, scallions and sesame oil.
Rellenong Manok, is Cornish hen stuffed with chorizo, olives, raisins, edam cheese and hard boiled egg service with "fresh local market vegetables." Dessert was a Leche Flan of sweet custard with caramel and fresh berries. I enjoyed this particular flan as it was a bit thicker than usual. The food was tasty and savory
but did not compare to the home-style cooking at Mama Meena's. Esther and Eunice joined me to partake in the meals and had their photo taken with Kyle.
Winnipeg's Exchange District
- Winnipeg's Exchange District is one of the downtown neighborhoods, easily in walking distance from the Fairmont. I was to meet a guide at Old Market Square for a tour known as Death & Debauchery which explores the dark secrets of the city that was once known as "the Wickedest City in the Dominion".
Old Market Square, once occupied by the city's central fire station, is a popular location that plays host to a variety of events including the Winnipeg Fringe Festival and the Winnipeg Jazz Festival. I noticed that there was some "setting up" going on to later find out that a Reggae happening was the theme for a few
days here. In the meantime, the annual Folk Festival would be going on at a location outside of the city.
Matthew Komus conducted this 45-minute tour which basically started out with Winnipeg's history as a politician was tarred and feathered for denying the first bid for the city's incorporation. "We don't know for sure," said Komus, "but we suspect hangings were carried out near the stage. It wasn't a public execution,
but you could apparently get a ticket from the sheriff to attend."
Some of the other juicy tidbits were: how Frank Mariaggi, who built Western Canada's first European hotel, escaped a lynch mob; Winnipeg's largest unsolved robbery; the scandalous contractor for whom the Kelly Building on Bannatyne Avenue is named; and what happened in Room 309 of the Royal Albert Arms Hotel. Exchange
District BIZ conducts other walking tours as well for about $7 per person. You can check it out on www.exchangedistrict.org.
