I was working on my birthday and was prepared to have a hum-drum day. Silly me. When I got into the office after a morning meeting, a surprise fondue party was waiting for me!
And Jeff! My boss, Wendy had emailed him on the sly to come as a surprise and it was fantastic.
The Mr. Jeffey Hayes comes from Connor, who referred to Jeff that way when he was leaving a couple weeks ago.
The Next Day, Jeff and I went to Minneapolis for our birthdays. We stayed at the Nicolett Island Inn the first two nights and discovered the Nice Ride bikes that are like our Denver B-Cycle, rentable for the day. we had a great time pedaling around the city, and ended up at the Town Hall Brewery where we had THE best mac and cheese, and really delicious beers and ciders.
Still full, we went to the Loring Pasta Bar to listen to Cornbread Harris in a live jazz band. The Loring Pasta Bar was really neat and quirky! Notice the creepy quirk in the backround behind Jeff. Look for it.You may have to zoom in.
Cornbread Harris is in between the sax player and the drummer, sitting at a piano we couldn't see.
We walked back to the hotel through the the campus of University of Minnesota and found some delicious ice cream. College kids have to indulge sometimes too!
This is a little bridge over the Mississippi to our hotel, hidden by the trees, but you can still see how close we are to the water.
The next day, we went to breakfast at Hell's Kitchen and ate in the Far Side Bar with Peach Mimosas! Notice the caption on the cartoon Jeff is sitting next too. I thought it was funny given his profession.
We went to St. Paul to see what was happening there and found a German Festival. We saw some polka dancing, had a Reuben Egg Roll, some World's Strongest Man type competitions, and really delicious ice cream! We found the Left Earth brewery, finally, and had some beer and root beer there. It was in an old brewery just now newly renovated and it was neat to see the structures.
We stopped in at the St. Paul Cathedral where a helpful resident let me know about a plaque that says that JFK sat in the 4th pew with his family, and there is a stone in the sanctuary of St. Theresa from the prison where Joan of Arc was held.
That evening we went to Nye's Polynaise Restaurant, a funky little trans-generational restaurant with polish food. They had sparkly booths and lighting from the 50's and 60's, a piano bar where people of all genre's (Besa Me Mucho, Till There Was You from The Music Man) and ages got up to sing, and the bartenders serve old fashioned drinks. We had a Side Car waiting for our table - more delicious and refreshing than a Margarita and a Nuttini!
The Polish pierogi and cabbage rolls were ok, while Jeff loved the kraut, sausage and spare ribs. But we both loved the steak tip appetizer - so delicious!!
The next morning we tried out the Midtown Global Market, but were disappointed in finding that all the shops were closed. Some of the restaurants were open, and we got some chai and pastries from the Salty Tart. Instead, we went to the Mill City Museum. For a museum about flour mills, it was surprisingly interesting! While we were on our way up in the Flour Tower tour, some kid pulled the fire alarm and we had to go back down. Worked out for us though, as we got to play in the ruins (there had been an explosion years earlier) taking pictures and answering questions for runners doing a scavenger hunt.
This bridge was built in 1883 and is still going strong. It's just a few miles up the river from the steel bridge that collapsed a couple years ago.
Check out that twisty beam! There were two weddings getting their photos taken in the ruins while we were there. The first one got forced out by the fire alarm. Darn kid!
St. Anthony falls, below, are the reason for the booming mill industry and the origins of Minneapolis, as St. Paul was already a full fledged town. They have been altered since their original appearance, but they are still impressive!
That afternoon found us back at the Town Hall Brewery where we were going to watch the US play Portugal in the World Cup, but we decided we'd rather watch from the comfort of our hotel room. Fine by me! We played cards and had a relaxing evening. All this eating and seeing stuff is exhausting!
The last day, we hunted down the cherry in the spoon (famous like our Blue Bear) in the sculpture park.
Good aim on petting the rabbit, Jeff! :)
From there we went to Grand Avenue, poked around in one shop, and got macaroons and hot chocolate in a french bakery. With an hour and a half left before we had to drop off our car at the airport, we headed to the Como Zoo and Conservatory which was a good time.
Their gardens in the Conservatory were outstanding!
Big ears, Jeff!
We had a great trip together and we're already throwing out ideas for the next trip!
And Jeff! My boss, Wendy had emailed him on the sly to come as a surprise and it was fantastic.
The Mr. Jeffey Hayes comes from Connor, who referred to Jeff that way when he was leaving a couple weeks ago.
The Next Day, Jeff and I went to Minneapolis for our birthdays. We stayed at the Nicolett Island Inn the first two nights and discovered the Nice Ride bikes that are like our Denver B-Cycle, rentable for the day. we had a great time pedaling around the city, and ended up at the Town Hall Brewery where we had THE best mac and cheese, and really delicious beers and ciders.
Still full, we went to the Loring Pasta Bar to listen to Cornbread Harris in a live jazz band. The Loring Pasta Bar was really neat and quirky! Notice the creepy quirk in the backround behind Jeff. Look for it.You may have to zoom in.
We walked back to the hotel through the the campus of University of Minnesota and found some delicious ice cream. College kids have to indulge sometimes too!
This is a little bridge over the Mississippi to our hotel, hidden by the trees, but you can still see how close we are to the water.
The next day, we went to breakfast at Hell's Kitchen and ate in the Far Side Bar with Peach Mimosas! Notice the caption on the cartoon Jeff is sitting next too. I thought it was funny given his profession.
We stopped in at the St. Paul Cathedral where a helpful resident let me know about a plaque that says that JFK sat in the 4th pew with his family, and there is a stone in the sanctuary of St. Theresa from the prison where Joan of Arc was held.
That evening we went to Nye's Polynaise Restaurant, a funky little trans-generational restaurant with polish food. They had sparkly booths and lighting from the 50's and 60's, a piano bar where people of all genre's (Besa Me Mucho, Till There Was You from The Music Man) and ages got up to sing, and the bartenders serve old fashioned drinks. We had a Side Car waiting for our table - more delicious and refreshing than a Margarita and a Nuttini!
The Polish pierogi and cabbage rolls were ok, while Jeff loved the kraut, sausage and spare ribs. But we both loved the steak tip appetizer - so delicious!!
The next morning we tried out the Midtown Global Market, but were disappointed in finding that all the shops were closed. Some of the restaurants were open, and we got some chai and pastries from the Salty Tart. Instead, we went to the Mill City Museum. For a museum about flour mills, it was surprisingly interesting! While we were on our way up in the Flour Tower tour, some kid pulled the fire alarm and we had to go back down. Worked out for us though, as we got to play in the ruins (there had been an explosion years earlier) taking pictures and answering questions for runners doing a scavenger hunt.
This bridge was built in 1883 and is still going strong. It's just a few miles up the river from the steel bridge that collapsed a couple years ago.
St. Anthony falls, below, are the reason for the booming mill industry and the origins of Minneapolis, as St. Paul was already a full fledged town. They have been altered since their original appearance, but they are still impressive!
That afternoon found us back at the Town Hall Brewery where we were going to watch the US play Portugal in the World Cup, but we decided we'd rather watch from the comfort of our hotel room. Fine by me! We played cards and had a relaxing evening. All this eating and seeing stuff is exhausting!
The last day, we hunted down the cherry in the spoon (famous like our Blue Bear) in the sculpture park.
Good aim on petting the rabbit, Jeff! :)
From there we went to Grand Avenue, poked around in one shop, and got macaroons and hot chocolate in a french bakery. With an hour and a half left before we had to drop off our car at the airport, we headed to the Como Zoo and Conservatory which was a good time.
Their gardens in the Conservatory were outstanding!
We had a great trip together and we're already throwing out ideas for the next trip!
