Thursday, May 19, 2011

Tale of Two Cities: STP/MIN 5/17-18

Hey all,

 Here's the city that I've been aching to go.  Does it live up to the hype?  Yes.  Unfortunately, since I'm at the mercy of $1 tickets, I only had a day and a half to split between two decent sized cities.  But I've been trained to make the best out of very little (hence, $1 trips).  Here we go.
Yes, you can ride it.  And yes, I did.

Famous diner in St. Paul.  It was in Mighty Ducks!

On the side of Wabasha caves.  Fun, huh?

The Landmark in St. Paul


Minneapolis is the bigger (yet younger) brother of the Twin Cities.  It's very modern and filled with great art and interesting neighborhoods.  You must check out the Walker Art Center, home to the famous Spoonbridge and Cherry, the Walker library, Nicolet Mall, Hennepin Ave, and any lake you can find.  Lord knows there's 10,000 of 'em!  Yuck yuck!  Minneapolis is notoriously cold in the wintertime, so much of the buildings downtown are connected by a skyway, these 2nd story lanes connect buildings so you can walk everywhere downtown in the wintertime and never have to step outside.  Genius!  They also have a greenway: a biking network that avoids downtown traffic.  Ingenious.  Minneapolis in the summertime is a treat: great weather, festivals, and beautiful scenery.
Go ahead, figure that shit out.

Dinner party.  Just me and some ladies.

Reunion: I forgot my towel in KC, Nicole brought it back.

The chickens: the black one is named Angela Lansbury.


St. Paul is the older of the two and the capitol is located here.  Not as much to see/do, yet only 30 minutes from Minneapolis so why not?  Check out Wabasha street caves: apparently they have a cave system that has been hollowed out to serve as a restaurant, disco, and now gangster tours.  Unfortunately, the caves weren't open when I went, so I just climbed the mountainside of the cave for excitement.  Looking back, it was pretty dangerous and I don't suggest it to anyone (who's a wimp).  However, neighboring St. Paul we have Bloomington: home to the Mall of America.  I don't care what anyone thinks, I loved this place: roller coasters, unlimited stores, comedy club, and no tax on clothes/shoes.  Definately worth going to if your in either city.  There is a light rail that takes you right there, and if you're crafty, you don't even have to pay.

My company:  I actually stayed with a couchsurfing girl who check into my hostel in Chicago a few months ago.  She had 5 roommates (10 counting the chickens) and she hosted a dinner party where I actually brought a guest too: the same girl I couchsurfed with in Kansas City.  The cycle is complete.

Lastly, (sorry this is long), the comedy scene.  Up and thriving (Mitch Hedberg was a native).  Unfortunately, I just happened to be in Minneapolis the wrong day, and the only open mic I could find was in Lilydale.  It was a rough crowd, but here's the best I got.


Just two more cities to go.  See you soon!

1 comment:

  1. Wait, that's a good looking girl for a couch surfing chicken hoarding chick.

    ReplyDelete