DH and I returned 11/16 from Minneapolis. Went for an extended week-end. Had fun visiting with family the first few days. Monday-Wednesday was spent exploring Mineapolis and St. Paul.

We used frequent flyer tickets for the trip so it was an easy one hour flight. Arrived at MSP a little after 8:00 am. Rental car people can be pretty pushy that early in the morning. Headed out to get our bearings and visit the nearby Wildlife Refuge.

Spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday west of town visiting with family. Forgot what big city freeways are like even on week-ends.

Monday we headed to St. Paul since many of the other places we wanted to see were closed on Mondays. Took a tour through the Capital Building, only 4 of us in the group. Even got to go to the roof, what a great view! We walked through the Landmark Building then headed over to the Cathedral. This was an amazing structure. Again got a tour with only 4 people. There are some benefits to visiting in the "off" season.

Monday night we had tickets for jazz at the Dakota. What a wonderful place! We had dinner there, then dessert during the show. It was packed. Amazing for a Monday night. Thanks for the recommendation.

Tuesday we parked at the Mall of America and took the light rail to downtown. A great bargain for only $1.50 and the ticket is good for 2 1/2 hours. We got off at the Metrodome stop and walked over to Mill City Museum. It was worth every penny and another great view. We got back on the train and headed to Nicollet Avenue. Explored the stores and the elevated walkways without getting wet.

Wednesday we visited the Walker Art Center for the Andy Warhol exhibit. If I hadn't wanted to see Warhol, I probably wouldn't have gone to the Walker. It was interesting, just not my cup of tea. My daughter was jealous that we got to see the Spoonbridge. She had learned about it in Humanities class.

Of course we spent time at the Mall of America. Loved the fact that MN has no sales tax on clothing. DH even got a new sports coat and shirt.

We plan to head back during nicer weather and explore the bikepaths and lakes that we saw in the area.

Thanks for posting, Suzie. Minneapolis/St.Paul is great area. Thanks to Tiff we had a wonderful visit there on our way to the "Up North". Looking forward to a return trip soon.

Thanks for some new ideas for our trips to MN. We go there often and have enjoyed every trip. Haven't been to all the places you got to tho and we will definitely try on our next trip, next month.

Hubby and I had fun exploring. He had never been into St. Paul, only drove through on I-94. The only challenge was to find things open on a Monday, also many outdoor oriented places were closed for the season. Another reason to visit in the summer.

SuzieTrue, you are right about visiting in the summer to see everything as we love to walk around the lakes, etc and they aren't much fun (for us) in the winter, but we have found we do like the winter there too (surprisingly since we live in Southern CA. We went to the Holidazzle Parade last year for the first time and that was fun and we enjoyed dinner in downtown Mpls. after that and also love to go to the Dayton's/Marshall Fields 8th Flr Auditorium and tour their whole downtown store. Hope ti doesn't change with Macy's ownership (other than the name, but I am worried it will). Thanks again for all your ideas.