Road Trip Part 3: Twin Cities Day 2

I'd like to theme this day in MSP. Let's call it, signatures of the Twin Cities. Some signatures I knew about before visiting. Others surprised me but did not disappoint. For example, according to our hosts, In the Twin Cities, brunch is not a meal. It's a way of life. In that case, I need to visit more often.

We went to one of our hosts' favorite brunch spots, Al Vento. When I first heard about a brunch buffet I was a little skeptical. I'd been to many brunches in the past and the buffets were spectacular or just over exaggerated continental breakfasts. This one was fell in the spectacular category.

Bottomless cocktails, mini pancakes, panzanella, biscotti, crepes, and a chocolate fountain. Take me back now!

My brunch plate, part one

Part two, just kidding, three. I ate two.

After a fun brunch with our new best friends, we hugged and parted ways. Keeping on the signature track, one cannot mention the Twin Cities without thinking of the Mall of America. This monstrosity is the largest mall in the world. So large that is four stories and each level on its own is larger than our local mall in Champaign-Urbana. Not to mention that the center off the mall, where a stage or carousel of some sort is traditionally placed, is a theme park. If that did not paint enough of a picture for you, Bryan and I spent a total of four or more hours in this place and did not loop around. If you look at an aerial view of the mall, the mall, not including the parking structures, is larger than the terminal for the airport. This place is huge.

I took picture of our parking area so we don't get lost

The mall directory 

Lego store in the Mall of America

Nickelodeon theme park inside the mall

Don't forget the aquarium in the basement.

Aquarium

Moving on. We developed some sore legs and an appetite walking around the mall. We found a little Nook in St Paul famous for a MSP staple called a Juicy Lucy aka stuffed cheeseburger.

The Nook

Guy Fieri eating with us

Catfish nuggets

Juicy (Lucy) Nookie

Next door to the Nook was a new ice cream parlor named Cold Front, cute huh? I spent a few minutes looking over the flavors and the menu items. Ice cream, specialty sodas, floats, shakes, coffee, flights. Wait what? Flights? Of ice cream. I had to, there was no choice.

Ice cream and coffee

My mini ice cream flight, super cute

Back on the road

We didn't get home until 1 am, but it was so worth it. Thanks to our hosts for a fun weekend and to MSP for being a cool place to visit. Hope to see you again soon!

-Akemi-chan

Road Trip Part 2: Twin Cities Day 1

We woke up at 5am to hit the road. Wisconsin is really beautiful on the road up to Miinesota. The scenic hills made a nice back drop to podcast listening. Anyway, we go to Minneapolis around 9 am, just in time for a delicious breakfast at Chimborazo, an Ecuadorian restaurant.

Breakfast for me

Breakfast for hubby

One of MSP's signature attractions is the sculpture garden outside of the Museum of Art. It was a gorgeous day in the sun, perfect for outdoor walks and catching up with old friends. Oh and don't forget the picture opportunities.

Minneapolis sculpture garden

Cherry and spoon

Making our way back into the hustle of the city, we went to Summit Brewery where they brew and bottle the local beer brand. Very cool tour and even though I'm not a beer drinker, the beer was tasty. Cheers to you MSP!

Playing corn hole at Summit

Cheers boys

Checking out the brewery on tour

Food truck time at Filius Blue

Buffalo quesadilla 

After our lunch at the food truck, we drove to the Como Zoo and Conservatory. We only went to the zoo, didn't have enough time for the conservatory. I love zoos and this one had some pretty creative layouts. Sometimes there were indoor-outdoor combinations for the animals, canopy walks to see animals from above, etc. Really neat. So much fun.

 

After a full day of sightseeing, we gathered at a cute little restaurant called Indian Cafe for some spice. I don't really know what we got, but I know it was good.

Dinner time

Lamb, Goat, Chicken, oh my!

We spent the rest of the night hanging out with our lovely hosts, while playing board games and cuddling with their furry little children. Fun day with more MSP exploring coming up. 

-Akemi-chan

Road Trip Part 1: On the Road/ Madison

Hello all! I plan to write a lot of travel posts in the near future. I'm in a very carpe diem kind of mood as of late and I plan on taking advantage of my free time with many Summertime adventures. First up, finishing up my Midwestern tour by heading north.

Bryan has an old college buddy that currently resides in Minneapolis. We made our way up to the Twin Cities from Illinois with another road trip to cross off another state from my to-do list. 

The fortune cookie gods have spoken

On the road

My travel companion 

Minneapolis is a seven-ish hour drive from Champaign Urbana, so we decided to take a pit stop in Wisconsin's capital city of Madison. A beautiful city with many charms. If it weren't for our plans to head further north, I wouldn't have mind staying in Madison for a little longer. 

We found a few little gems while we were in Madison, the first being Graze.

Dinner with a beer

Our view of the capital square

Bibimbap

Graze burger, delicious

Red elephant chocolates ice cream

Night cap at Maduro cigar bar

Madison was very cute and fun. It's a beautiful place and I wish we could have spent a little more time there. But this is a road trip and we're trucking up north. Just a quick sleep in Madison and then on our way to Minnesota. 

-Akemi-chan

Charm City/ Birdland (Baltimore, MD)

This April, Bryan and I made our way to Baltimore. We flew directly from Honolulu, and by "directly" I mean fly from Honolulu, to Los Angeles, to Philadelphia, to Washington DC and then drove to Baltimore. By the time we got to the hotel, it had been 24 hours since left for the Honolulu airport. Whew.

Pit stop while driving to Baltimore

Falafel wrap for lunch, delicious

Spring blossoms

Pizza from Homeslyce

Pomegranate tea

We were so tired, but Bryan had a lot of work to do. I slept while he and his friends worked all night. Yikes. The next day we all went out to lunch together and they continued to their conference. So I got to spend some alone time wondering around the hotel and the nearby spots. Bryan met me for dinner at the ballpark so we could watch an Orioles game.

Crab dip & Old Bay tater tots from Sliders bar

View from the Hilton

Pool time

Camden yards

Blue Jays at Orioles representing Hawaii

Natty Bo!

The next day we went to Miss Shirley's for brunch. It's supposed to be the breakfast destination in Baltimore, and it did not disappoint. I've really honed my love for brunch between three different items: The brunch cocktail, Eggs Benedict and waffles. Luckily for me, Miss Shirley's had regional versions of two of those dishes. For the win!

Old Bay Bloody Mary

Crab cake and fried green tomato Benedict

Yogurt with granola and fresh fruit

Fell's Point

Seagull watching

Blue cheese and steak flat bread from Pratt Street Ale House

Craft brew no more 

Cherry blossom beer

Murals by the bay

Bourdon barrel aged cider

We had a nice time in Baltimore. It's was a nice place to visit with great food options. We left Baltimore only a few days before the riots began. It's very sad to see all the of the hurt and struggle, knowing we were at those very locations only about a week before. Baltimore is beautiful and it's upsetting to know that this city gained national attention in such an ugly way. Baltimore was good to us and I will always remember that. 

-Akemi-chan