How I said at the end of my previous post that I was already on another airplane. Well, that was not an exaggeration. I was, in fact, on a plane to Minnesota. Why? I honestly have no idea.
I don’t know if you are all aware, but my sister is a flight attendant. I know she’s cool, it’s fine.
So, she had 2 days of training in Minneapolis this week and asked me a few days before hand: “hey Becca, do you want to leave the nice and sunny weather of California and enter the cold grasp of the Minnesotan winter with me?” Ok she may not have asked it exactly like that, but it was the same gist. Initially, it was a no from me. But then I decided that I had nothing better to do and had never actually been to any part of Minneapolis outside of the airport.
So, I met her in Minneapolis airport and hung out with her for a few days. We frequented the hotel bar and took full advantage of its happy hour.
We also got dinner and drinks with some of my friends that I worked with this past summer in Bemidji, Minnesota.
We went to this super cute restaurant called Lyn65 and met up with my friend Karin who is living and working and doing great things in Minneapolis. Lyn65 is definitely a place to check out for yourself. If I had to describe it in one word it would be: hip. I got a cocktail with liquors that I didn’t understand and smoky Mezcal tequila in it (apparently Mezcal is made in charred barrels, who knew?!) and my sister and Karin both got cocktails that somehow or another had avocado as one of the ingredients. We also got hummus that was ever-so-fancily topped with veal raggu, ricotta cheese and arugula. And my sister got what she called “the best pizza she has ever had.” I don’t know if it was truly the best pizza or that was her talking from the perspective of the last meal she had was a bite of a soggy sandwich on the airplane.
Link to restaurant here: http://lyn65.com/
Then the next day I took the hotel shuttle over to the Mall of America and spent way too much time and money there. I was there from 11am to 5pm and still did not make it through the entire mall. It is huge. It is definitely an experience though. I made a friend at the mall who got happy hour drinks with me and my sister (once she arrived at the mall after her training) while we were waiting for my friend to come pick us up. We got word to go meet my friend in front of Macy’s. So, we paid our bill, I was invited out with my new friend (who’s offer I didn’t take because once I got into bed later I was not about to move), and headed out.
My homie, Alida, had told her mother about my fascination with new foods and my food Instagram (@lilbeefsteak). So, Mama Alida took us to a place called Hola Arepa. Earlier in the day she had asked me if I liked Arepas, and I said sure. Then she asked if I knew what they were, and I said no, but that I was sure I would like them. So, there we were. She also informed me that Minneapolis is a hot spot on the food scene right now (even if it is a cold spot for weather) (NICE JOKE BECCA ! HIGH FIVE !). Anyway, for small plates we got fried cauliflower along with Brussels sprouts and sausage. Then we each got our own arepa (a little Columbian pocket sandwich). I got the shredded beef and plantain areap, because plantains make everything better. This arepa was no exception. Definitely check out this restaurant if you are in the area! The cocktails also have cute names.
Here is the link to the restaurant if you want to read more: http://holaarepa.com/
After dinner, they were kind enough to drive us back to the hotel through the rain (not yet ice nor snow). We said our goodbyes, well a see you later to Alida because I’ll see that chick in Norway at the end of March! Holla!
The next day I took the same 11am hotel shuttle to the Mall of America, but this time, I took the blue line on the light rail into downtown Minneapolis. Honestly, I don’t know if going to downtown was the brightest idea today. When I left the hotel, it was 11 degrees Fahrenheit and when I returned it was 7.
So, I started off by walking and trying to find a café. I did not find one. Because I looked cold and confused, a man stopped me on the street to ask if I was lost. I asked if he could tell me where I could get a cup of coffee that wasn’t a Starbucks. He pointed me in a direction. Then, he proceeded to hit on me and asked to buy me coffee and tell me I had a pretty smile. I declined the offer and kept walking. At a certain point, I was freezing so I went into a CVS and decided that I would just uber to the Walker Museum because I was not about being outside anymore. So that is what I did.
the pic I took in the few minutes that I was outside.
The Walker Museum was cute. I am sure if it were nicer weather, that the gardens around the museum would have been great to walk around in. But that 7°F weather + wind-chill was no joke. It was a pretty neat museum with some interesting art. Their exhibition right now is about Cuban art and the affect that it had on letting the society voice their opinions without being noticed.
After the museum, I wanted food. I asked everyone and their mother in the museum where they would get lunch in the area, and no one had any good recommendations. So I texted Karin. She recommended The French Meadows. It was a mile down the road, so I called and uber and that is where I went. It ended up being Happy Hour when I made it to The French Meadows, so I got a rosemary and potato flat bread, a warm cup of chicken and rice soup, and a Surly beer. Yum. Very good. And happy hour prices should never be turned down.
After eating and people watching out the window a bit, I started my trek home. I had a 24-hour pass for the public transit in Minneapolis. I waited for the bus for about 10 minutes and decided it was not worth it. I ended up calling an uber to take me to the train station. He was a great driver that told me stories about the time that he travelled to California a couple decades ago. He also told me I was brave for braving the public transportation of an unfamiliar city by myself. So, I guess I am brave. He dropped me off at the train station and luckily the light rail train pulled up about 2 minutes later. So, I hopped on that and road it to the Mall of America stop, and from there I waited for the hotel shuttle to come at 6:10pm to take me back to the hotel. It took me two hours to get from The French Meadows to the hotel, so that meant I went immediately to meet my sister at happy hour. Then, after talking with my sister and some of her flight attendant friends over a nice glass of wine, we were off to bed.
Then at 4am, I was up again and off to the airport at 5am for a 7am flight to Phoenix, then back to LA in order to thaw out a bit.
Ready for the -11 Degree Fahrenheit weather to go to the airport.
Can We Go Please? 