Chasing the clouds to Winnipeg..
We landed at the airport around 8:30 PM, and honestly, we were so nervous—this was our first time meeting our friend Cess in person. She messaged saying she was already there waiting for us and that we wouldn’t miss her as we came down the escalator toward the baggage claim. But because we were so shy and didn’t know what to expect, we took the elevator instead to avoid the escalator moment. It didn’t take long before we spotted her across the room. We said hi, hugged, and immediately felt relieved—it wasn’t awkward at all, though we were still a little shy. When we got to our Airbnb, we just dropped off our bags and headed back out to grab some drinks and Jollibee for dinner. After getting back, we ate while watching videos on YouTube, started drinking to break the ice, and spent the night laughing and getting to know each other better. We all ended up drunk, passed out, and decided to just sleep together in one bed—we couldn’t get enough of each other’s company.
Our cozy little Airbnb. Loved the character homes and the streets. ♡
For lunch, Cess took us to Mar’s Sisig Filipino Restaurant. We ordered sisig and Kare-Kare. The portions were huge (the sisig alone took us three days to finish!) and everything was so good. It’s definitely a place we’d go back to on our next visit. After lunch, we stopped for a quick snack run and treated ourselves to some dessert at Supreme Ice Cream. We spent a little time hanging out there before heading off to explore the rest of the day.
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around The Forks and taking photos to wrap up the day. The weather was nice—clear skies with a bit of wind, but nothing that could ruin the mood. The whole time, we still couldn’t believe we were actually here together. Just a few months ago, this was something we only talked about on Discord—never imagining it would happen so soon. It felt surreal seeing it all come to life. ❤︎
When we got back to our Airbnb, we kept it simple—just relaxed, put on Good Will Hunting, and had our leftovers for dinner. It wasn’t anything fancy, but we loved every bit of it. ♡ 
The next day, Cess brought us to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights—something Karen had really been wanting to see. We took our time exploring, going at our own pace and reading through as much as we could. It was such a powerful and eye-opening experience, and we were glad we made time for it on the trip.
After the museum, I started craving some good Filipino street food, so Cess took us to 3M Fishball. It was so good—something we don’t have back home in Vancouver, and definitely something we missed. We even ordered Ice Scramble and Sago’t Gulaman—both were perfect and instantly brought us back to our childhood. Honestly, this ended up being one of my favourite food spots of the entire trip.
Since the casino was right across the street, we decided to pop in for a bit. We didn’t win anything, but it didn’t really matter—we were just happy to hang out and make memories together.
Later that night, we headed back to the Airbnb, hung out, and watched horror movies while Cess ordered us bubble teas. We chilled for the rest of the night—listening to good music, sipping our wine, and having deep conversations about life. Time flew by, and before we knew it, it was already 3 AM. It was the perfect way to end the day—just relaxing and enjoying each other’s company.
On our last day, we checked out of our Airbnb just before 11 AM and headed to Grassmere Restaurant for brunch. The food was great and the portions were huge for such an affordable price—definitely a good find! After brunch, Cess thoughtfully bought us some cookies to take home. We still had plenty of time before our evening flight at 9:15 PM, so we spent the afternoon exploring downtown Winnipeg one last time. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans—suddenly it started pouring, and we got completely soaked! With no other choice, we made a run for the car and decided to head back to Cess’s place to dry off and relax for a bit. There, we finally got to meet Yuki—such a cute little pup with a big personality, even though he was a bit shy at first. We spent the afternoon in their basement, doing karaoke, hanging out, and maybe even dozing off for a bit. We also got to meet Cess’s family, who were all so sweet and welcoming. Later in the evening, we couldn’t resist going back to 3M Fishball for one last round (I still couldn’t get enough!). This time we also tried chicken inasal and sizzling pork—though those didn’t quite hit the spot, the street food was still as good as ever, maybe even better the second time around! Finally, it was time to head to the airport and say our goodbyes. No tears though—we all knew this was just the beginning of a great friendship, with many more trips to come. ❤︎
