Minneapolis

Roses and Fountains

When we were in the Twin Cities earlier this summer, we had some time to walk around the lovely Lyndale Park. I loved their beautiful rose garden:

And also the two fountains we ran across. The spitting turtles at the base of one were especially adorable!

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Basilica of St. Mary

We didn’t get to tour the inside of the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis the way we did the Cathedral of St. Paul, but just seeing the building and walking around the outside of it to get a good view from every angle was a treat! It became the first basilica in the United States around the time the interior was completed in 1926 according the direction of Pope Pius XI.

The Twin Cities are blessed to have such excellent church architecture!

“Untitled” Rocks

My other favorite piece at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden was an untitled set of rocks painted with a cool, shimmering, metallic paint in lovely shades:

Like most art, I can’t tell you exactly why I was drawn to it, only that I was.

Again I was grateful for the rain that had fallen which offered some interesting views reflecting off the puddles!

“Spoonbridge and Cherry”

As promised, here’s a closer look at my very favorite sculpture in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden…”Spoonbridge and Cherry.” Pretty self-explanatory, no?

I especially love that not only is the spoon sitting in the water, the stem of the cherry is also a water feature!

This was a really cool thing to get to see in person, with the city in the background and the cherry standing out against the grey sky!

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

One of my favorite things about our trip to Minneapolis last month was getting to visit the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. It’s a beautiful place, with many interesting pieces of art. My two favorites (which I’ll be looking at in greater detail in the coming days) were “Spoonbridge and Cherry,” which I’m told is a favorite of locals, as well, and at set of shimmering “Untitled” rocks:

There were so many other cool sculptures, too:

We were fortunate to experience only a bit of light rain while we were there, but the rain that had fallen earlier made for some excellent puddle photography!

I love finding cool local places to visit when we travel!

Mid-Century Marvelous Architecture in Minneapolis

One thing I really wanted to see when we were in Minneapolis is the Northwestern National Life Building. I had stumbled across a picture of it online, and I knew I needed to see this mid-century marvelous beauty for myself. I was not disappointed.

I love the way the tall arches contrast with the sharp line of the roof:

The glass is something to behold, too:

And the use of water out front to offer a reflective surface to lengthen the lines of the building is outstanding!

I’m so glad I actually got to see this gorgeous building!

A Brief Getaway to the North–Day Three

On the third day of our trip, we set out to see as many things as possible, beginning with the Cathedral of St. Paul in…well, St. Paul! The skyline of the Minnesota state capital is smaller than that of Minneapolis, but I still enjoyed seeing it, and there was something charming and cozy about the city that I really enjoyed!

The cathedral was absolutely stunning…it reminded me of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis in some ways, and was very different in others.

After we toured the whole cathedral, we drove by the Capitol Building:

And then made our way back to Minneapolis, where we found a good view of the skyline:

And a local landmark, the Witch’s Hat Water Tower:

I really wanted to see the Northwestern National Life Building, which is absolutely mid-century marvelous!

We drove around a bit more, and saw the flagship Target store and the Mary Tyler Moore statue, but it was so busy downtown we couldn’t find parking to get out anywhere. Then we stopped at the Basilica of St. Mary. It wasn’t open for tours, but we did walk all the way around it, and it too is a grand and beautiful building.

We stopped by Lyndale Park where we saw some lovely fountains and flowers:

And enjoyed a meal with friends at D-Spot. I had a burger with cheese curds on it, and there were wings with lavender…such brilliant and unexpected culinary offerings!

One more stop at Caribou:

And then a little excitement back at the hotel. Just as Ryan, Turkey, and Ladybug were ready to leave to see the Sonic Symphony at the Orpheum Theatre (the main reason we chose Minneapolis as the destination for our trip), the power went out, and then the fire alarm went off. There were rumors of flames, and I did smell smoke, but in the end, they allowed us to return to our rooms, and the power came back on not too long after. It was a weird time, with a wedding party in full dress and various motorcycle clubs standing around the parking lot (the two main groups staying at the hotel that weekend), and later on the balconies of the hotel, but there was a nice sense of community about the whole thing…I just wish our room hadn’t been on the 7th floor, because that was a lot of flights to climb down in the mostly dark (and then back up again…we didn’t trust the elevator while the power was out, even though it was operating!).

Anyway, they made it to their concert in the middle of the hotel chaos, and I’m told a good time was had by all.

Up next: An early start for a long drive home!

A Brief Getaway to the North–Day Two

We actually managed to sleep in a bit on the second day of our trip, which is pretty much unheard of for us…but that just meant we were well-rested for our visit to the Mall of America!

My first priority was getting Caribou Coffee…I was not disappointed!

A big highlight of our trip to the mall was visiting the Lego Store:

We even got to see a “Space Brick,” built by the ESA from a meteorite:

The m&m’s store was also really cool…it ended up being one of my favorite stops in the mall!

There’s a whole Nickelodeon theme park in the center of the mall:

I think you can find a Dole Whip just about anywhere these days!

It was just so much fun to walk around a thriving retail space!

Before we left, we stopped for boba:

Five+ hours later, we finally made our way back to the car, and decided since the rain had held off, we would go visit the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

I loved the sculptures and the setting with views of the skyline in the distance!

Up next: A cathedral, a basilica, and a bunch more fun!

Chickadee Thursday

I’ll be doing a day-by-day recap of our recent trip to the Twin Cities starting today, but first, here’s a look at it through Chickadee’s eyes.

On the way north, we stopped in Riverside, IA, to see the future birthplace of Captain Kirk.

We went to the Mall of America:

And the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden:

We toured the Cathedral of St. Paul:

On the way home, we stopped in Madison, WI, and walked around their beautiful capitol building:

And had a meal at Portillo’s!

It was a great trip…stay tuned for the full details!