Travels with Tish Girlfriends’ Getaway Guide

It’s not out of the question — you can still fly for the July 4th holiday at great faresl Midwest Airlines is trying to keep flying affordable. Check out Midwest Airlines special offer for this weekend’s holiday. Fares are as low as $218 roundtrip.

Double Savings

Plus — and only on Midewest Airlines — you can save an additional $50 if you purchase tickets with PayPal!

Don’t pass this up! Book now and get your holiday trip going!

Independence Day Special - 20% Off at eBags.com from July 4th through July 6th

Do you need a reason to get away with your friends for a couple of days to Minneapolis?

1. The kids are back in school. Celebrate.
2. Hunting season starts soon. (You’ll probably have to keep the home fires burning over those many weekends!)
3. Christmas is coming. (Shop early; get the best deals now.)
4. You just need a break! (So take one!)

6 Gals Can Splurge on a Budget in Minneapolis
With 6, you qualify for a Midwest Airlines group airfare rate — and that rate has been lowered to $153 roundtrip from Milwaukee or Kansas City. I just checked random fall dates for hotels in Bloomington near Mall of America and downtown hotels. Nice hotels range from $89-$139/night — accommodating 4 per room. Put 3 in a room and that’s $30-$46/person. (So maybe you should ask 2 more gals to join you for your getaway! That would be just $25-$35 per person.)

No Rental Car Needed.
Minneapolis visitors are blessed with a new Light Rail system that is fast, clean, efficient and very economical. Take it from the airport terminal to the Mall of America and surrounding hotels or all the way downtown to Nicollet Mall and the Metrodome. Just $1.50.

What You Can Do in Minneapolis

• Shopping. Beside the Mall of America and downtown’s Nicollet Mall, you can cab it over to 50th & France in Edina for specialty shopping/dining with a French influence.
• Theatre at The Guthrie. Fall performances include Jane Eyre, The Pillowman, The Home Place, Pen. Plus the Royal Shakespeare Company will perform King Lear and Chekhov’s The Seagull.
• Art Exhibits. Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Weisman Art Museum (on U of Minn. campus), Rosalux Art Gallery. Admission is free to all except the Walker, which offers Thursday evenings and 1st Saturdays free.
• Sports. Minneapolis is a sports lovers delight, featuring pro teams for football, basketball, hockey, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, women’s basketball and women’s football. Go Team!

Pick a Date & Break Loose.
Pick a date this fall to just break loose for a day or two in Minneapolis.

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If you can tear yourself away from the Mall of America, you’ll find an enjoyable shopping area in St. Paul that I’d missed on all my previous visits to the Twin Cities — Grand Avenue. Fact is, I never even looked at St. Paul. But I’m glad I did on my recent trip.

Like St. Louis Park, 50th and France, Uptown and other Minneapolis shopping areas, Grand Avenue is a street of delightful shops, cafes and restaurants. Seems like Twin Cities’ folks enjoy strolling down an avenue rather than going to a mall.

Grand Avenue stretches from the Mississippi River to downtown St. Paul. It covers about 25 blocks and is easy to find — just check for directions on grandave.com.

I think the biggest surprise on Grand Avenue was Restoration Hardware, a store I’ve only seen in malls. That tells me Grand Avenue gets a lot of foot traffic from shoppers. In fact, I saw at least two designer stores — Susan Metzger and Sorrayah Studios. But others have unique fashions, one-of-a-kind gift items, sophisticated footwear and art. Visit Hot Mama, Shu Global Footwear and Bibelot for starters. But don’t miss the Patagonia store, Irish on Grand (Irish products) or Quince. If you appreciate natural fiber fabrics, visit Treadle Yard Goods.

Grocery stores are even interesting on Grand. Whole Foods Market, Penzey’s Spice Shop and my all-time favorite, Kowalski’s Grand Market (it’s way more than a grocery store — it’s a delightfuol place to shop).

We stopped for coffe and something sweet at Bread & Chocolate, but didn’t have time for a meal. Too bad, because I really wanted to try Dixie’s — which features genuine southern cooking. Next time, for sure. But you’ll have close to 3 dozen cafe, coffeshop, bakery and restaurant choices on Grand Avenue.

NEXT: Milwaukee’s Third Ward

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Big doings in Minneapolis recently. Or, more specifically in St. Louis Park, just outside the city. It’s called Doggie Palooza (put on by TC Dog magazine) and is an annual fall day-long event for dog lovers and their dogs held at Wolfe Park. Thousands of them came out to this terrific park, adjacent to an equally impressive town shopping area.

Went up there with Liz and Susie to represent Midwest Airline’s Premier Pet Program – travel options for people who want to fly with their dog. I’m a lifelong dog lover, so this was a very fun trip. I didn’t see or hear a single dog fight. Everyone was on their best behavior.

Also took some time for my blog research. What I discovered was that St. Louis Park offers a very comfortable lifestyle center — condos, apartments, restaurants and shopping in a planned community of sorts on Excelsior Boulevard at Grand. Sidewalk cafes, great little boutique shopping and some impressive shop names like Pier 1, Urban Outfitters, Gap, Borders Books, Talbots. Also some nice specialty stores dotted the street. And just a mile or two down the road is 50th and France – another great little neighborhood upscale shopping area (which I plan to visit on my next trip to Minneapolis).

We stayed at the very nice Millenium Hotel on Nicollet Mall — upscale, but down to earth — very pet friendly. It’s nice to see that option is available to pet owners who prefer to travel with their pet. Apparently, Minneapolis in general is very pet friendly.

NEXT: St. Paul and its Grand Avenue

I’ve usually driven to the Twin Cities, but it’s always been a chore and the traffic there not easy to navigate. It always seemed like the lane I was driving in virtually evaporated without warning and then miraculously reestablished itself further down the road, leaving me scrambling to avoid an exit I didn’t want. So this trip, I decided to fly but skip a rental car. My plan was to see try the new, sleek Light Rail system. I was delighted with the flexibility it gave me and it was a pleasure to ride.

Sandy and I flew into MSP and found our way through the newly renovated Humphrey Terminal to the Light Rail station. First stop, Mall of America. Really quick trip! 500 stores in one place and, by the way, did you know there’s no sales tax on clothing in Minnesota?

From there, we hopped back onboard the train ($6 all-day ticket) and headed to Nicollet Mall – really a major downtown street that has been closed to cars. Another easy trip. There we found Neiman Marcus, Marshall Field’s, Cole-Haan, Saks’ Off-Fifth and other upscale shopping adventures. Of course, Target’s headquarters and two-story store are located there as well, along with a Marshall’s. Expecting the merchandise at that Marshall’s to be in keeping with its upscale neighbors, we went in but quickly left. Not what we expected!

Because I had such a great Sunday brunch there a couple of years ago, I wanted to go back to Hell’s Kitchen on 10th just off Nicollet Mall. We had a late breakfast and it was still serving, as the restaurant bills itself, “damn good food.” Try the lemon ricotta hotcakes or the breakfast bruschetta – walnut bread topped with mascarpone cheese. Both dishes were covered in fresh berries. Look for the little hanging sign with the picture of the crow. Looks a little creepy from the outside, but that’s the charm. Wonderful food, breakfast and lunch only.

By the way, Nicollet Mall is filled with restaurants and sidewalk cafes throughout the summer.

A great way to get an overview of a city is to take a tour. The RiverCity Trolley tour was well worth the $15 (with coupon) to see and hear about different areas of the city. You can get on and off along the way.

To catch our Midwest Airlines flight back to Milwaukee (5 roundtrips available each day), we easily picked up the Light Rail and headed back to the airport.

Get more Info: Request the printed Visitors Guide (complete with coupons) or e-newsletter at Minneapolis.org.

Got a Minneapolis or St. Paul favorite? Share it to help me plan another MSP girlfriends’ getaway. Just leave a comment.

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Oh, yes! The time is perfect for Christmas shopping and I wanted to find a getaway airfare that would make it work for you and your girlfriends. Get just 6 of your friends together and shop New York, Kansas City or Minneapolis – three outstanding getaway/shopping destinations. Pick one, then check out the special blog airfares (arranged just for this blog’s readers) that can make your getaway happen. 

Kansas City. I just can’t say enough about that city, especially Country Club Plaza. Elegant, upscale, interesting, unique and very fun. Hotels and restaurants are also plentiful in this 15-block shopping village – created in grand Spanish architecture with a generous sprinkling of European art. (Read all my KC posts to get an idea of how great that city is!) How about $148 roundtrip? Go for the day or stay longer. Check out my posts on my two recent Kansas City getaways. 

New York. Well, the sky’s the limit on shopping opportunities there. Fifth Avenue? The Garment District? Canal Street on the Lower East Side? TriBeCa or SoHo or Greenwich Village? What kind of shopping do you want to do? Saks Fifth Avenue? Bergdorf Goodman? Henri Bendel? Or are you more into great bargains on knock-off designer purses? Or just discounted real designer goods? Looking for small, one-of-a-kind gifts? SoHo and the Village are great bets. Read my five posts on Lower Manhattan for some shopping ideas. For Tish’s readers, the fare is just $163.63 roundtrip for one-day or multiple day trips. Fly into La Guardia or Newark – you can get into the city easily from either airport. Or just consider Newark and hit the Secaucus outlets!  

Minneapolis. Shop Minneapolis for $92.09 roundtrip!! Mall of America, Ikea, 50^th & France, Nicollet Mall and Grand Avenue in St. Paul. Plenty of hotels surrounding Mall of America – and Ikea is right across the street. Want to go downtown for the upscale stores on Nicollet Mall? Take the very easy to use light rail system. You can cab it from the MOA area to St. Paul’s Grand Avenue or the boutiques at 50th and France — where Minneapolis and Edina meet. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed and you’ll find those special gifts that you’d never find in a traditional mall.

TIP:  How fun would it be to have limo service to and from the airport — for less than a standard shuttle? Check out the offer from Carey Limousine Service.