Mill City -- Part II

Sunday morning began delightfully with coffee!  Victor's 1959 Cafe was the site of the coffee run, and the coffee was intense.  I sipped on it for a while and it kept me going all day.

We headed from there off to breakfast proper at the Grand Cafe, a delightful little spot that was revamped a year or two ago, and now is a gem.

We started with an order of monkey bread, at our waitress's suggestion -- and she did not lead us astray.  Of course I also had a mimosa to go along with it.  My main was the lobster spaghetti; much as the coffee kept me caffeinated all day, my spaghetti kept me satiated.  We were all happy after our meals!

We spent some time exploring the Uptown Art Fair, then headed off to Target Field to take in a Twins game.  It was an enjoyable and relaxing way to pass an afternoon, and we followed it up with some more relaxation at Lake Harriet taking in a Ticket to Brasil concert and touring the rose garden (but holy cow, the damage the Japanese beetles were doing!).

We were ready to eat again, so headed to Martina for dinner.  We had a whole variety of things, sharing around the table.  I ordered the charred Brussels sprouts salad, but I don't remember now what everyone else ordered, until the dessert -- the panqueque (basically a banana and caramel crepe).  I had a Moon Mama to drink and we all left with full bellies.

Monday we headed off to St. Paul.  Breakfast was at the Colossal Cafe, which has now closed due to the retirement of the owners.  But we got there while it was still open, and the massive portions (for my part: the apple, walnut, and brie flapjacks) fueled us for our day of shopping along Grand Avenue.  We hit the Red Balloon Bookshop, Bibelot, Lovegood, and lots of spots in between.  We toured the pretty houses on Summit, including walking by the home where F. Scott Fitzgerald lived in the late nineteen-teens, at the beginning of his literary career.

We stopped for a snack at Izzy's Ice Cream, swung back by the hotel to pick up our suitcases and take one last look at the music wall, then off to the airport we all went. 

It was a great weekend, and my lovely sisters have all my thanks for planning such a wonderful time!