After a day mostly filled with disappointments, we elected to get a hotel in Regina and just use the evening to calm down a little. We ended up staying at Chateau Regina, so we were quite close to basically everything. After settling down (and realizing the hot tub was out of service...), we made a reservation at the Bodega Tapas Bar for dinner. Although expensive, the food and drinks were exquisite. The setting was very nice, too, as the restaurant is kind of sheltered from the busy street by a tree and a fence, and there were string lights to add to the atmosphere. Great place!
We spent the next morning at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, which was hosting Scotty the T-Rex, the largest specimen of tyrannosaurus rex in the world! It was indeed pretty impressive. The museum was very fun and included a bit of everything. The taxidermy animals looked so lifelike, too! We spent more time there than we originally thought we would (based on the fact that it was admission by 5$ donation). A really nice museum for the price, really! We particularly liked the diorama of a squirrel escaping a predator. 😆
Around lunchtime, we went to the Excalipurr Cat Cafe, where we enjoyed a little drink in the company of some lovely felines. Joel was quite popular with the cats, too! Then we went to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, where we were just in time for a guided tour of the place. Once again, it was quite loose on the security aspect unlike in Quebec, and we were able to enjoy the wonderful architecture of the place. Outside the Assembly was the Trafalgar Fountain and a statue of Queen Elizabeth on her horse. There were also quite a few wild jackrabbits running around!
We then headed to the Warehouse district, where we ate at the Bushwakker Brewpub. We'd heard the portions were huge, and the rumors were true! Just look at that plate of fish 'n chips! 😮 The beers were also very good, and you could see the brewing tanks from the dining room. Pretty cool place, and in a historic building, too!
Finally, we had made reservations for a tour to check out Stone Hall Castle, a European-style castle right in the middle of Regina. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but W-O-W. We were wondering at first why there was no waiting area inside (because you can rent a room in there just like in a hotel), but we realized quickly that that's because our host for the tour, the owner of the place, actually lives there. Yup, makes his own beeswax candles and everything, too! So the exorbitant price for a room is not only because this place is awesome as hell, but probably also because it's a hassle for the guy to go sleep elsewhere... Anyway, we were the only ones on the evening tour, so we ended up talking about a lot of stuff other than just the castle, and learned that the owner played hockey in Germany for years and was actually there when the wall came down. It was a really interesting evening, and the tour ended with him telling Joel that you can't have a lady leave the place without a rose, so I got a rose (my first one... yup) out of the experience, too!
Back at the hotel, we prepared for our last night in Regina before leaving the next day for Moose Jaw, but that's for another blog post! Stay tuned, folks! 💜
TL;DR: We did lots of fun things in Regina, but it's rather small. Definitely recommend the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, visiting the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan and getting a tour in the Stone Hall Castle. The food was great, too, and you'll know your way around the city in no time.
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