Travel to the Twin Cities of Minnesota (St Paul and side trips) – Episode 325

The Amateur Traveler talks to Kirk Horsted in a two-part episode on the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota.

In this second half, Kirk looks at the state capital of Saint Paul, Minnesota. He leads us on a tour through its restaurants, museums, bookstores, hotels, bars, theaters and other attractions. We learn where to see “A Prairie Home Companion”, how to catch a paddle-wheeler on the Mississippi and what time of year to catch the “River’s Edge” music festival. And of course, the capital building and other government buildings can also be found in Saint Paul.

If you have more time in Saint Paul there are some neighborhoods worth checking out. You must take a drive down Summit Avenue. This is where all the historic mansions are and it’s just jaw-dropping. The Maes J. Hill House is open to the public and he is the railroad baron who helped found Saint Paul. Summit Avenue is also where Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald hung out, who is probably better known as F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Then Kirk takes us out to someday trips outside of town like Stillwater on the St. Croix River for water sports, like kayaking or canoeing. This river is wild and beautiful. Stillwater is also the center for Minnesota’s nascent wine industry. Hudson, Pepin, and Stockholm are also worth a visit if you have a car. Stockholm is a town filled with Swedish traditions.

Also, listen to the 1st part of this interview at Travel to the Twin Cities of Minnesota (Minneapolis) – Amateur Traveler Episode 324

right click here to download (mp3)
right click here to download (iTunes version with pictures)

Booking.com

Show Notes

Saint Paul, Minnesota
Rice Park
Ordway Music Theater
Mickey’s Diner
Meritage Restaurant
Minnesota Public Radio’s Fitzgerald Theater
Prairie Home Companion
Prairie Home Companion on Wikipedia
A Prairie Home Companion’s News from Lake Wobegon
Lake Wobegon
Common Good Books
Padelford Riverboats
River’s Edge Music Festival
Minnesota State Capitol
James J. Hill House
Grand Avenue
Lake Minnetonka Online
Stillwater, Minnesota
Stillwater, Minnesota on Wikipedia
Hudson, Wisconsin
Pepin, Minnesota
Stockholm, Wisconsin
Harbor View Cafe
Airbnb
Duluth, Minnesota
Minnesota Point
Bayfront Blues Festival
Scott Alarik
Bob Dylan
Summer Solstice Festival
Mall of America
Lake Calhoun
Can we talk? Face to face, that is – Star Tribune
Twin Cities Peanuts Characters
How to Talk Minnesotan: A Visitor’s Guide
BreakAway
Escapism vs. Reality: Here vs. There – BreakAway

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Community

Jamie wrote:

I have to tell you how excited I was to hear the recent Twin Cities episode! It was amazing and covered everything in Mpls I could think of. Originally from Minnesota and alumni of A little Lutheran college in Minneapolis, the itinerary covered pretty much hit all of the places I took visiting friends to show off the city. Even Lake St and the meat shop. In college, we had a number of international students from Sweden and Norway who shopped there for the things they just couldn’t live without like caviar in a tube…

As long as I’ve “gotcha” I might as well rave about the Kunming/Yunnan episode. I studied abroad there and found the episode did a great job representing the region. I also studied abroad in Namibia, pre Brangelina, and have been meaning to add some comments, but need to double-check my facts and maybe run it by friends from the same Center for Global Education program at next month’s reunion. I also got to use info learned in your Lanai episode at a recent schmoozing event with a bunch of academic Ph.D. engineer know it all types. My amazing Hawaiian experience was great for my husband and I who were both grad students and on a serious budget at the time, but maybe a little scuzzy to share with these colleagues of my husband. Instead, I got to ask really well-informed questions about their day trip to Lanai 🙂