My lovely friend Mary Ivers sends me the most wonderful music via Spotify Tweets. So even though she is far away in London, I feel like she's right here. She sent me this song tonight and I'd thought I'd share it with you. Cheers MareBear, I really miss you.
Friday, 2 November 2012
Tuesday, 30 October 2012
Hometown Tourist
As a quick intro, but I will be writing a separate post that
covers off the move back to America, Matthew and I arrived in Minneapolis back
in July.
Since that time I have found a lovely job, spent time with
friends and family, met some wonderful new people, bought a second had Saab 900
and am now a homeowner. A lot has
happened and it has been a lot of fun.
The topic of this post is about being a tourist in your
hometown. I recently went out to lunch with an old friend who mentioned that they
had been doing some local touristy things recently.
I would say this is something that I was rather good at
before I moved away, the old hometown tourist, but I am really trying to make
an effort now that I am back.
There’s so much to explore and enjoy here in the
Land of 10,000 Lakes. We’ve got a lot going on here and it’s going to be fun to
take Matthew around and show him what’s so super about the cities and the
state.
There’s a bigger piece to this story as well, but I won't get too preachy. I think it’s very
important to support local businesses. These unique places are what make our
city an interesting place to live in. I won’t get on a soapbox now, but we
should really be thankful that people open these businesses and we should our
support by shopping local…
The other day I was at the Target out in St. Louis Park and
I overhear a conversation on the way to my car. One woman was saying to her
friend “It’s so great around here. You've got Target and Noodles and Verizon,
it’s really great.”
Yep, you've got all your big box stores right here in this
strip mall. Not that I am poo pooing Target or Noodles (I am sucker for the mac
and cheese with broccoli and tofu), but it just struck me a sad thing. That
people were exciting by such a generic retail experience.
Anyway…
Before I moved away I made an effort to go to new
restaurants and bars.I have my favorite haunts, but I am a firm believer in
trying new things.
I am big fan of lists and I was at the library going through
the Mpls St Paul magazine and they had an
article about where to get interesting/good food broken out by neighborhood. I thought it would be fun to try and see how
many of these places Matthew and I could get to.
When in doubt, start with a donut!
So I decided to start with donuts, which is a pretty tasty place to start. We went to A Baker’s Wife over on 42nd Street and 28th Ave in the Powderhorn neighborhood in Minneapolis.
The article mentioned that they had a cinnamon sugar donut
that must be experienced, so on Sunday morning we made our way over.
I’ve heard a lot of good things the A Baker’s Wife, but
I just never went there. No reason in particular, just never made it, you know
how it goes :)
A Baker’s Wife is a charming neighborhood spot; there were
lots of cute families going in to get a special Sunday treat. I went for
the cinnamon sugar donut, which was warm and yummy. Matthew had a nice flaky croissant.
I read online that their American tea cakes are to die for, so we’ll have to
try that one next time.
The intersection of 42nd Street and 28th
Ave is an old school kind of place. It feels like old Minneapolis, in a good
way. I found a blog called Twin
City Sidewalks which featured this intersection, I recommend taking a look
at the post and heading over to A Baker’s Wife.
Here’s to being back in a great city and hometown tourism.
Enjoy other posts about A Baker's Wife
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
Just to say that my blogging vacation will soon be over
Posts will include, but won't be limited to:
Riveting insights on what it's like living back in Minneapolis after being away in London for almost 5 years!
P.S. Thanks to all the expat bloggers out there who have sent me messages asking me to write some new blog posts!
Sunday, 22 July 2012
Last night in Bognor
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| Just for the record we didn't fly BA, we flew with United. |
We also only had two days from the time we arrived back from Uganda to get everything ready to go. Originally we thought we were going to be coming back in August, but things changed. We only bought our flights back to MN while we were in Uganda. Thomas, being the kind brother in law that he is let us stay at his house.
We went down to Bognor on the Thursday and the day before we left we had a really nice evening out with friends and family.
We all met up at the local Indian and had a farewell chicken tikka masalas. It wasn't an official leaving do, just a nice dinner with Tristan, Sue, Thomas, William, George and Ryan.
Sue gave Matthew a really lovely present. She had printed out a bunch of photos of Matthew and the Bognor gang. Some real gems from over the years. It was a really touching present.
Since it was our last night in England, that meant a trip to the pub. We went to the Claremont, a pub that can only be described as a hardcore boozer. If you ever find yourself in Bognor and are looking for an authentic local experience head there and tell them Matthew sent you. You'll get a free serving of whelks to go with your pint.
We decided it would be a good idea to leave some packing for after the pub, so that meant we were up until 1am. We had booked a minicab to come collect us at 3:45am so after a brief sleep we were off to the airport.
I am always a bit nervous about taking a taxi at ungodly early times in the morning. Matthew and I had a terrifying experience a few months back when we were on our way to Lithuania.
Long story short, the taxi driver fell asleep behind the wheel and we ended up shouting at him to wake him up. Once he was awake Matthew convinced him to pull over on the motor way and to let him drive to the airport. So, now Matthew can add taxi driver to his CV.
Thankfully our driver was bright and chipper despite the early hour. We had a 90 min drive up to Heathrow that was actually pleasant.
Once we were at the airport all we had to do was check in and make one last trip to Boots* before boarding the plane back to America.
As everyone knows the airline industry has tightened their belts and clamped down on the amount of luggage you're allowed to check in. I used to be able to check 2 bags on an international flight, but that was back in 2009.
Our carrier only allowed us one bag each, although I did look at the website and I could swear it said 2 bags, but I wasn't in the mood to argue at the check in desk. I had also caught a cold the day previous and wasn't feeling too feisty.
The woman on the check in desk was more than happy to point out that we were over the allowed baggage limit and I think she was hoping that I would melt down and be reduced to tears by the news.
I was like, whatever. I am happy to pay the extra fee, it's not a problem.
I am also not ashamed to say that I was secretly pleased with the look of disappointment on her face when I just slide my credit card onto the counter and paid the fee.
We checked in and headed to the lounge. I don't remember too much after that, probably because I was so exhausted. Matthew and "slept" for pretty much the entire flight.
Next thing I knew we were landing in Chicago. Oh yeah, we had to go with a connecting flight. Flights to MN in the middle of the summer aren't as cheap as I had hoped. It was definitely worth saving that $25.00 by having a connection. We also got to recheck our luggage and go through security again!
During the connection Matthew had to present his green card packet to the US Border Authority. That was pretty straightforward. When we came through customs Matthew showed his visa and then we were ushered into a separate office area. We were in and out in 20 minutes.
The flight from Chicago was short and sweet and then we were in Minnesota! I called my friend's dad from a pay phone (yes, you can still find a few pay phones kicking around the place). My friend's parents have had the same phone number for my entire life, which comes in handy.
We collected our baggage and headed out to the pick up area and waited for Dennis to come and collect us.
We were whisked away in a lovely air conditioned car to their house in West St Paul, where family was waiting to welcome us with hugs, kisses and food. That was two weeks ago.
Lots has happened in that short amount of time. I also realize that I haven't blogged about our trip to Africa. Don't worry, I'll be posting shortly. There will be lots of fun posts about life in Minneapolis, because it is great to be back!
*Going to Boots at the airport is an English tradition
Friday, 6 July 2012
Back to Minneapolis
Super quick blog post. Matthew and I just got back from Africa on Wednesday and we are flying out to Minneapolis tomorrow.
The past few days have been a haze of seeing people, packing, moving stuff, sorting out bills and trying to get our heads around the fact that we are going to be in back in the states tomorrow!
Our flight leaves from Heathrow at 7:45 am and today is going to be busy busy busy. So much has been happening and I can't wait to see everyone back home and to spend time with friends and family.
I am sure there will be a whole new slew of blog posts to chronicle what it's like being back in America as well as sharing how Matthew's getting on. As well as sharing what's been leading up to this journey back home.
Here's to a new adventure!
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