Blogs from Minnesota, United States, North America - page 55

Believe it or not...no photos! We took the long drive from Door County to Minneapolis on Saturday. Drove across North Central Wisconsin and noticed something interesting. Everyone (and I mean everyone) had a well manicured lawn and flowers around their homes. Even the most rundown farmhouse had a barrel or two of geraniums or a bed of peonies. Our theory is that because the season is so short and winter is so long the people want to enjoy the color as much as they can. The lawn grass in the Midwest is that thin bladed soft variety that you can walk barefoot through and never get bitten by a fire ant. Luxury! Minneapolis is a neat city. We went to the Twins/Brewers game at the Metrodome on Sunday afternoon. It was almost like a carnival outside ... read more

There is so much swirling around in my head and my life right now I'm happy I can figure out which way is up long enough to type! I'm in the process of finishing so many things. The other week I had my last class at the Lehmann Center. All of my students, past and present, were like, "Teacher, teacher, we will miss you! Good luck, Teacher, Thank you, Teacher!!" and they made a card for me that they all signed and gave me a journal that I plan to take with me. I almost cried I was so overwhelmed. And I don't cry at funerals. I'm starting to pack up my apt and give away my stuff. I took a car load to the Goodwill, have had friends lay claim to some things, and have ... read more

Fully paved streets, unexciting but standard chain restaurants and stores, Target and Wal-Mart, people looking seemingly distinctly "Midwestern", skyscrapers - what's old is new again. As you have likely now guessed, I am home! I know I have not written much in the last few weeks, and there is some reason behind it. Some of you who already know I am home will be aware but the reality is that my drive to keep exploring had started to hit a wall. This is, of course, on top of the reality that I was running out of things that I really wanted to see and do before I knew I was originally heading home. That said, I investigated the cost to change plane tickets and discovered that especially in light of what I would spend to be ... read more

Amongst other things the solemn promise of 80 degree sunshine and cloudless skies every day lured me out to Minneapolis to visit Sky, a friend met travelling back in Santiago. Unfortunately, (especially given my frailties and love of hot weather) I arrived during the middle of an unusually cold snap with temperatures virtually identical to those I had left behind in England! If the weather wasn't quite what I was hoping for the rest of the holiday certainly was! I found it a fantastic experience to be visiting a "real" part of the USA, rather than the frequently touristed areas of Florida or San Francisco that I had been to before. I was looking forward to finding out what America is really like for twenty-somethings, rather than relying on half-baked cliches from the latest teen movie! ... read more

Well, I'm getting ready to take-off for Spain for the summer! My flight leaves at 4:40 pm today from MSP International Airport. From there I go to Chicago, taking an overnight flight to London. From London we'll be going to Madrid where we'll stay for two nights before going to Granada. My address while in Granada will be: C/ ANDREA NAVAJEIRO edif. ELVIRA (PARQUE DE LOS INFANTES) I'm assuming I'll have more to add to that and I'll update as soon as I can! Bon Voyage! ... read more