May 2023
First of all, don’t go to the lakes when the bugs are hatching. The front of my car looked like I had fought a flying bug army and won. To get into some places, there are two sets of doors so that the bugs hopefully only make it through the first set. I ended up not biking in order to avoid the bugs (well that and it was hot and I was tired). I read that Minneapolis has great cycling but I did not know where to begin and I was not sure whether I would spend my day swallowing the flying creatures so I turned to my friend Dan on where to go and his suggestions filled my day and gave me a good sense of the area (well the cities at least). With the off timing that can happen in travels, on my way south from Minneapolis to Des Moines I met two very cool men from the area, Bill and Brian. They were just finishing up a bike race. Too bad I did not meet them before I completed my Minnesota stint as would have added one more dimension and I would have probably ventured on the bike ride I had originally planned with some guidance (and even better with enjoyable company).
MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL. These two cities are distinctly different. Minneapolis is more big city with good and bad neighborhoods, up and coming hipster industrial areas and tight housing and parking. St. Paul is more suburb like with green space, large homes, historical areas, and nice commercial districts. In Minneapolis, you can start your day in NOLO with two great coffee shop options, one with more outdoor seating and one more inside and very art deco. Then there is the Walker Sculpture Garden and nice shopping areas like Uptown. In St. Paul, there is the Grand-Selby shopping area, the lovely homes near St. Thomas college, and great food options in the West 7th neighborhood, including Cosesetta’s Italian market. I took a photo on my post lunch walk of a beautiful house in a historic area across from a lovely park selling for $490,000.
