I am now a little over two years into being a resident of Saskatoon, and if I’m being completely honest, it feels like I’ve been living here forever (in a good way). When I got a text from my sister asking if I’d be around to play host to her on a side trip to Saskatoon from a conference she was attending in Edmonton, I immediately went into planning mode, determined to show off this great, under the radar city to my sister. I wanted her to like it here as much as do I.

With a list of ideas for restaurants, bars and interesting sites completed, I was partially foiled by the usually spectacular weather here. My sister arrived under grey skies and spent most of her visit exploring an uncommonly rainy and dreary Saskatoon. Luckily for me, I had an ace up my sleeve. A welcoming ambassador greeted her when we arrived home after a short drive from the airport. My sister, a dog lover like me and the rest of my family, got introduced to Chloe. And suddenly the rain didn’t matter. Dog selfie time!

Chloe was the recipient of a gift from my sister’s suitcase. In a nod to our Nova Scotian roots, Chloe now has a new lobster squeaky toy that she absolutely loves thrashing about.

Dog and sister well acquainted and hitting it off fabulously, the next morning I drove us out onto the prairie a bit for an early lunch out at the Berry Barn just outside of town. How can you show someone a good time in Saskatoon without at least one feed of perogies?

My sister is a wine connoisseur, but with no wineries in this area of the country, we did the next best thing and stopped at Crossmount Cider Company a short drive from my home. Many ciders were sampled (by her, I was driving, so she got most of my samples) as we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and grounds.

With my sister being a professor back in Toronto, a tour of the University of Saskatchewan was something she was looking forward to. Very quiet on a Saturday, and one of the most beautiful places in Saskatoon except for all the ground squirrels running around campus.

And no visit to Saskatoon would be complete without some eating around town. We stopped for excellent pizzas at Una on the first night, had some great Indian take out one other night, and in something my vegetarian sister was impressed to find in Saskatoon, we had a late lunch on her last day at Gud Eats. She had a (faux) chicken burger she loved and I though my jerk (faux) chicken tacos were incredible. Had we stopped here night one, we likely would have been back here for every meal until my sister hopped on her plane back to Toronto.

The last stop in showing off the fun of Saskatoon was a stroke of fortune. One of our private liquor stores was doing a formal sparkling wine tasting on my sister’s last night in town. I think she really liked this – first, for a few of the wines that were poured, but maybe mostly because as DD, she was getting most of my wine too….. Whatever it takes to make the visitor fall in love with a city I now love to call home.