Escape to Minneapolis

We packed our bags packed, dropped off our dog and sped down the highway with our Guthrie tickets burning a hole in our pocket.  The snow is falling heavily.  As we continue to drive up Highway 61, we realize the drive will not be our usual quick scoot up to Minneapolis. The roads are slippery.  We slip and slide all the way into the city, my husband gripping the wheel and finally steering us to our hotel. We walk into our hotel room, do a quick and happy scan of the simple, modern cool furnishings and make a quick game plan. There would be no more driving so it came down to how far we were going to walk in a snowstorm.  We put on all of our layers and started forging through the freshly fallen, very messy, very pretty snow-covered sidewalks.

 The snow had fallen so fast that there were city snowblowers cruising all around us as we walked.

The snow and ice took lead roles in our winter, urban getaway.  As tired of winter as I am, the fluffy whiteness tempted me out of the wintertime blues.

Our hotel was right by the Guthrie theatre in the Mill District of downtown Minneapolis. Old renovated industrial buildings sit atop the banks of the Mississippi River. This neighborhood couldn't be more scenic.  Every road trip we take, I imagine us living there...the west side of Madison by the zoo in one of those cute, quaint neighborhoods, a Northwoods life in Hayward, WI, an urban existence in Chicago or Minneapolis eating lots of ethnic food and seeing great music every weekend. I eyed the rehabbed condos with wintery evergreen arrangements in big colorful pots, imagining us living in one of them.

We finally made our way to the North Loop area and a very subtle-looking restaurant. We found it with the help of Yelp, Google Maps and a couple of guys pointing to the front door of this quiet-looking place we were standing 10 feet away from.  We had arrived at The Bachelor Farmer wet, tired and hungry.

You gotta love a place that serves whiskey at brunch. 

This was the best breakfast I've ever had.  The hollandaise was actually light and the vinegar cabbage was a really good contrast with the pork.

So we inhaled our breakfast and then walked the streets.

This retail display at Martin Patrick 3 made me want to move into the store.

  They sold retro decor, $45 candles that smelled like the best vacation you've ever been on, cologne in vintage bottles, very Mad Men style.

We went to see Other Desert Cities at The Guthrie. It was a great play with a set design that featured a rain storm.  We were in the third row and you could feel the humidity. The Guthrie has three stages, bars and cafes around every corner, and a cantilevered bridge that juts out above the Mississippi. This is the view from one of the little 2nd floor bars.

We walked the city a little more the next day.

 Here's the view of the Guthrie, in the background, from the other side of the river.

A little warmup at Wilde Roast Cafe.

And we took our frozen selves home.