November 2009 - Twin Cities getaway

I have been going to the Twin Cities in late November/early December for a Thurs-Saturday with my mom for about 25 years. It was always a fun opportunity to spend some time staying in a hotel, eating out, and shopping. It was technically a “Christmas shopping” trip, but there was never an obligation to seriously complete the Christmas shopping. The trip was more for relaxation and fun.

When we first began the tradition, it was before I had children. As the kids were born, my husband was delegated to take care of them, get them off to school and activities, etc. while my mom and I did the Minneapolis trip.

For most of the first years, we used to stay at the Bradbury Suites, a hotel on 494 near France Ave with nice, spacious rooms. We liked having a refrigerator in the room for leftovers from eating out every meal. We took advantage of the decent free breakfast in the lobby to start the day.

When the Bradbury changed hands, we continued to stay at their new incarnation, the Park Inn Suites for a couple of years. I was a little frustrated that the coffee with breakfast tasted watered down so that I eventually stopped drinking it altogether and waited til we got to a Starbucks or Caribou to get a decent cup of coffee.

Eventually we branched out and tried a few different hotel options. I usually went on Hotwire to look for good deals, but after two or three mediocre hotel experiences, we splurged one year to stay at the Sofitel where I had gotten some nice specials on trips with Bob. This hotel is so much more plush and comfortable that it is worth a few extra dollars and I wanted my mom to have the experience as well.

In 2008, we extended the trip to a Thurs-Sun to take advantage of a great lodging special at the Sofitel with three nights for the price of two, breakfast included.

In 2009, my mom found herself in the nursing home following an early September fall in her apartment. She was not able to make the trip for the first time, so since the kids are grown, my husband was invited to come along on the annual trip, an offer he quickly accepted. The Sofitel was offering their special again this year, so we planned another Thurs-Sun trip the week before Thanksgiving.

As per tradition, we left on Thursday morning between 8-8:30 am. We drove to the Twin Cities in time for lunch at Café Latte in St. Paul, the usual start to this vacation. We had hearty delicious soups with good bread and shared a piece of flourless chocolate cake for dessert.

We then drove to the Sofitel and checked in to our room before heading to the Mall of America for the afternoon/evening. We walked around the shops at our leisure, covering quite a bit more of the mall than I had been able to do with my mom the last few years when she needed a wheelchair to conquer the massive hallways. It’s not difficult to spend a full afternoon poking around the myriad shops of the mall and time disappeared as we became progressively wearier.

We had planned to have supper at the California Café, one of the original Mall restaurants that we have frequently enjoyed. I was looking forward to their excellent butternut squash soup that was a seasonal favorite this time last year. Unfortunately, the Café no longer exists. We wandered around looking at other options in the Mall before settling on the Napa Valley Grille, another long-term Mall tenant that we had never tried. We didn’t want a full, heavy dinner as we had a big lunch earlier. We ordered wine and appetizer/light menu selections and were very impressed. I was able to get a cup of a delicious pumpkin soup that somewhat compensated for the missed squash soup mentioned above. I snuck a few of Bob’s sweet potato fries – very yummy!

The next morning, we enjoyed a fabulous breakfast in Chez Collette, the hotel restaurant. They have a wonderful selection of entrees, and all come with fresh-squeezed orange juice and perfect French coffee. The wait staff are very cultured and attentive so the breakfast experience here is a wonderful way to start the day. I had the Bananas Foster waffle which was excellent as usual.

We began our shopping day by hitting up a SuperTarget and a huge REI. We made it over to the Galleria mall in time for a late lunch at the Good Earth, another part of the vacation tradition. I enjoy their three-course lunch deal which offers choices to combine soup, entrée, and dessert in small portions at a fixed (reasonable) price. Several restaurants seem to be offering this kind of lunch or dinner option now. I really appreciate the option to try several different dishes in manageable portions. We enjoyed a leisurely postprandial browse at the Barnes and Noble. I was disappointed that they didn’t have a sample of their e-reader to view.

We returned to the Sofitel in the afternoon and took an opportunity to go to the excellent exercise facility again. Their two-room fitness center includes high-quality machines and a variety of free weights and small equipment. They have a table with small 10-oz bottled water free for exercisers. I usually drink four of them in a session. There is also a fruit bowl stocked with fresh apples.

We headed out to Friday dinner at Broder’s Pasta Bar, a great little Italian place that our friends Kurt and Barb had introduced to us a few years ago. We called ahead to get on the waiting list as this is the best way to get a table on a Friday evening; they don’t accept reservations but they keep a list and you don’t need to be in the building to put your name on it. When we arrived, we were able to get glasses of wine to enjoy while waiting. The good red wine came in an elegant thin stemless glass. When we were seated, we were still finishing our wine. We were seated at a small table close to the entrance. At one point, I set my glass on the edge of the tiny table and brushed it with my hand when reaching for something. I tried to grab the glass as it fell and either squeezed it too tightly or bumped the edge of the glass against the edge of the table, but bottom line, the glass shattered and hit the floor. The staff were most gracious and brought me a fresh full glass of wine, cleaning the mess quickly and with minimal fuss. The pasta was superb and the remainder of the evening was blessedly uneventful.

For breakfast on Saturday at Chez Collette, we went for omelettes with hash browns and oven-roasted tomatoes. Again superb. Our friends Kurt and Barb were in town and called to invite us to watch Kurt blow glass at his rented studio. Barb picked us up at the hotel and we were thrilled to watch the glass-blowing process. Bob was especially delighted to be invited to serve as Kurt’s helper for part of the process as the usual helper was not there today. Bob got to hold the long pipe in the oven and then to turn it while Kurt worked the glass to the desired shape.

We returned to the Sofitel to enjoy our chocolate treat, part of the package deal for the weekend. The literature indicated we would have a choice of European hot chocolate and either an éclair, a Napoleon, a rich brownie with ice cream and chocolate sauce or a mousse. In actuality, we received the hot chocolate with a sampler of all the chocolate treats to share. We split an éclair, a Napoleon, a dish of mousse, a chocolate lava cake, and a very dense brownie square. This was lunch!

We hit the exercise room again to undo a little of the chocolate damage, followed by a short nap. We decided to go to church closer to the hotel rather than drive across town to Our Lady of Peace. I had attended this neighborhood church last year with mom. We bought some cookies from a fundraiser to take home.

Kurt and Barb had recommended a new restaurant, Café Agnes? We were able to get in pretty quickly and enjoyed another excellent dinner.

Sunday morning we had arranged with the hotel to apply our breakfast credit toward the most excellent brunch. I had done this last year when I stayed the extra day with my mom; I had never forgotten what a tremendous brunch they served. It is by far the most elegant I have ever experienced. We were seated next to a fireplace and started off with their wonderful coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice. The cold appetizer bar has a selection of beautiful berries and fruit, salads and other delicacies in little individual glasses, and numerous other choices. There are entrees both traditional and unusual, a station for sliced meat or omelettes, and marvelous desserts. We ate our fill at a leisurely pace as we had arranged for a delayed checkout time. It was a wonderful tag to a perfect weekend. This is a trip I begin to anticipate with the first cool days of autumn, and it will be no different next year!