Friday Five--Must See!

Willistead Manor

The RevGals theme for the Friday Five this week is Must-Sees--what are the things/places/restaurants/ sights/etc. people shouldn't miss?

This one's easy--there's a lot more than five!

1. Ojibway Nature Trail and Preserve. It's home to wetlands and endangered species, as well as other wildlife. There are some great trails, too--and all on the bank of the Detroit River!

2. Restaurants: What kind of cuisine do you prefer? We probably have it in Windsor! Everything from Ethiopian to Ukrainian, Italian (lots and lots of great ones, and an entire Via Italia) to Tex-Mex, Caribbean to Middle-Eastern (also lots of good ones), Greek, sushi, Thai, Southern BBQ (excellent, by the way)... There's a huge variety of restaurants in Windsor--come explore!

3. Walkerville--the whole area! It was originally a separate town, and the location of the original Ford plant in Canada, as well as the Walker distillery. Some beautiful architecture, great  restaurants (try Twisted Apron, Lorelei's Bistro--for special occasions--Willistead, and Taloola Cafe), a gorgeous historic house, Willistead Manor (owned by the city and a popular wedding venue--I'm officiating a wedding there for the first time next week), Willistead Park (the grounds of the manor, and home to Art In the Park, a fantastic art fair held every June). There are tours of the distillery, and also Rumrunners tours, telling the story of the days of US Prohibition, when a lot of bootleg booze was smuggled across the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair.

4. Sandwich Town--the original British town, settled where the Native Americans had a village. There are also historic homes here and some restaurants, St. John's Anglican Church is nice, and Bedford United Church is built on the interesting Dayton Plan. This is where the early days of the War of 1812 took place, when, as a Canadian friend says, the Americans invaded and said, "We are here to rescue you from the British!" The Canadians replied, "We LIKE the British!" and drove the Americans out.

5. Lunch/dinner on Ouelette Ave. This is the heart of downtown Windsor, and again, there are many excellent restaurants of a wide variety. Sitting out on one of the many patios, enjoying a good meal and beverage of choice, is a wonderful way to spend the afternoon...tempting me right now, in fact! It reminds me of the time I spent in Germany, and how much I enjoyed the sidewalk cafes there--something of the same feel.

It's the Friday Five, and there's five--but I just have to add a couple more.

Riverfront Plaza, on the water, hosts a different festival every weekend from May to October--Blues, Jazz, BBQ cookoffs, the Pride Festival, Carousel of Nations (food of every variety-see #2 above).

The riverfront in general--a park runs for miles along the Detroit River, with benches, playgrounds, sculpture, and a few small bistros here and there. Another wonderful summer afternoon pleasure is sitting and watching all the boats go by--cargo ships full of ore, transport ships with cargo boxes, speed boats from the marina, sailboats, tankers, even a few canoes and kayaks.

Yes, I love living in Windsor!