A WEEKEND IN THE MINNIE APPLE

THE CITIES: When I arrived in Iowa in the late 1980s from Florida to start law school, people would reference “the Cities,” as in “I’m from the Cities.” I was confused briefly until I realized that what most of the world knows as Minneapolis-St. Paul or the Twin Cities is known in the region simply as the Cities. At the time, I thought it more than a little pretentious. But, after several visits, including a recent long weekend, I can honestly say that I don’t find the Cities moniker so pretentious. Regardless of which name you choose to apply, Minnesota’s dynamic duo of its largest city and state capital reign over a vibrant, clean, leafy, friendly, hard-working, well-educated and prosperous region of 3.5 million that is well worth a visit or two. The twins are decidedly different from each other, but that makes any visit twice as fun.

Minneapolis straddles both sides of the Mississippi River; it was established at the natural point of the largest falls along this upper stretch, the St. Anthony Falls. With such an easy source of water power and sitting in the middle of a large agricultural region, Minneapolis grew quickly in the 19th century to become the world’s largest flour milling center. Immediately adjacent to the east is St. Paul, which was founded on the north bank of the Mississippi right at its confluence with the Minnesota River by a priest sent to minister to French Canadian Catholics who had arrived to settle the Minnesota Territory. He established a church named in honor of his favorite apostle, which became the city’s name, as well. When Minnesota entered the union as the 32nd state in 1858, St. Paul was chosen as its state capital. Today, both cities are distinct but complimentary. Minneapolis seems bolder and younger, with a bigger skyline, pro sports venues, more high-end dining and shopping, and the youthful buzz that comes with the nearly 60,000 students at the University of Minnesota.

St. Paul meanwhile is the center of political life in Minnesota. It’s a city of beautiful old neighborhoods and grand public buildings, not the least of which is the brilliantly white Minnesota State Capitol and the nearly-as-grand Cathedral of St. Paul. St. Paul also is home to a number of colleges and universities, including Macalester College, Hamline University and the University of St. Thomas. In addition, there are a number of interesting and diverse suburbs in all directions that offer their own attractions and diversions.

OUT AND ABOUT: I flew in early on a Saturday morning to the very busy Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport, a major hub for Delta Air Lines. My spouse picked me up at curbside, having arrived a day before. We headed out of the airport and past the exits for the famous Mall of America, with its 400 plus stores, branches of Nordstrom, Macy’s and Bloomingdales, and a theme park to boot. On another visit, perhaps. After catching up with friends, we checked into our hotel in the nearby, affluent suburb of Edina. I booked the Westin Edina through priceline.com, so I was happy with the price, but was not sure if we’d like the location. Actually, for being in the ‘burbs, it was perfectly situated. The rooms and public spaces are handsome and comfortable with large bathrooms featuring separate bathtubs and showers. Another nice little perk: you know you’re not on the East Coast when in-and-out valet parking runs $12 a day. On property, there is a McCormick and Schmick’s restaurant and immediately adjacent to the hotel is one of the newest entries on the Twin Cities retail scene. The Edina Galleria features local retailers and such upscale tenants as Crate and Barrel, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Company. With a Starbucks and Caribou Coffee on either side of the hotel, we also were always well-caffeinated.

As a runner, staying in the suburbs can be a challenging and frustrating experience when trying to get that morning run in. Sidewalks can be non-existent, trails often end abruptly and you can find yourself dumped into the middle of car traffic with drivers seemingly oblivious to pedestrians. While I won’t give Edina high marks for having lots of sidewalks, it does get props for its Centennial Lakes Park, a trail that winds through several commercial complexes and along a man-made but beautifully landscaped lake. You can choose either a 3- or 5-mile loop for your workout.

After a late lunch, we met our friends at their home in nearby Bloomington, a comfortable suburb of tree-lined streets that’s also home to Mall of America. We headed to downtown Minneapolis for our theater outing at the famous Guthrie Theater. This striking, blue-glass house of three performance venues was designed by the famous French architect Jean Nouvel, whose other notable works include the 2005 dramatic expansion of the Queen Sofía Arts Center in Madrid. The building sits right near the Mississippi and offers amazing views of the downtown skyline, St. Anthony Falls and the Stone Arch Bridge. There is a great museum store and a hip restaurant, Sea Change, where we enjoyed dessert and drinks after watching an impressive yet slightly disturbing performance of the “Scottsboro Boys.” The production is a minstrel show based on a tragic chapter in the Civil Rights movement when 9 African-American men were falsely accused of raping two runaway white women on a freight train bound from Chattanooga to Memphis. The incident occurred as the train was passing through Scottsboro, Alabama and led to a Supreme Court ruling establishing the right of criminal defendants to effective counsel.

Before the performance, we had a delicious meal at the nearby Sanctuary, a restaurant that describes its menu as New American cooking with Mediterranean and Japanese influences. From the summer menu, I was very well sated by my choices of chilled avocado soup with crabmeat followed by Baja white sea bass with eau de vie of Douglas Fir gastrique, New Mexico pepper crème fraiche and sweet cherries.

The next morning, after a run to work off those complex calories, we headed to Uptown Minneapolis for breakfast, an area centered on West Lake and South Hennepin avenues. On the way in, we passed through some beautiful old neighborhoods surrounding a chain of in-town lakes that includes Lake Harriet, Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles. On this sunny Sunday, Lake Calhoun was full of runners, rollerbladers, dogs on their walks and people lying in the warm sun, all enjoying great views of the Minneapolis skyline. In Uptown, we parked the car and starting looking for a place to eat when we spotted a sign for breakfast on the marquee of the Suburban World Theater on South Hennepin next to the Apple Store. It was our good luck to have stumbled on the theater’s vintage cartoons weekend brunch. We enjoyed eggs, toast and brunch cocktails while our 9-year-old was thoroughly entertained by the continuous loop of Bugs Bunny cartoons. After stops at branches of Urban Outfitters and Penzeys Spices, we headed back to the hotel to meet a law school classmate for drinks at McCormick & Schmick’s. Then, it was off to the home of other friends in Vadnais Heights, on the St. Paul side of town, for a summer cookout.

During this trip, we did not explore St. Paul; however, on prior visits, we have ogled the amazing mansions that line Summit Avenue, a grand boulevard that stretches 30 blocks from the Mississippi to the State Capitol. Along this stretch of impressive homes, there also are plenty of places to shop and dine. One of our delicious discoveries on a prior trip was Dixies on Grand, serving Southern comfort food.

Monday morning arrived and I headed home to Baltimore, but am already looking forward to the next opportunity to visit with friends and further explore the Cities.

SAN FRANCISCO IN AUGUST

AN AMERICAN ICON: It currently is popular among some to separate the United States and its people into completely divided camps of left or right, blue or red, tea or coffee (party and beverage, I suppose). And, there are certain places that do not engender moderate reactions; everyone either loves or loves to hate these places. New York, Miami and Washington come to mind. From a political leaning standpoint, San Francisco, perhaps more than any other American city, is one that is loved and hated, alternatively, for its unapologetic devotion to all things liberal. Still, few visitors, regardless of political view, can deny that the City by the Bay is one of the most spectacularly situated and physically beautiful places in the world. What other city in America causes visitors from Paris to swoon? No matter how brief your visit, you may find yourself joining the ranks of the many who have – as the song goes – left a piece of their heart behind.

It presides over a metropolitan region of more than 4 million, yet the city of San Francisco today ranks just fourth in population among California cities, behind Los Angeles, San Diego and San Jose. Still, the combination of dramatic architecture, vertigo-inspiring hills, user friendly public transit, world-class shopping, dining and culture – all packed into a narrow peninsula at the entrance of San Francisco Bay – makes this one of the best urban settings anywhere. And, when you throw in the fact that desirable, romantic and fun escapes lie in virtually every direction, it’s easy to understand why the Bay Area nearly always ranks near the top of travelers’ favorites.

OF ANOTHER PLACE: When one conjures images of California, sunny and warm probably come foremost to mind, at least when not thinking about ski season in the Sierras. San Francisco can be sunny and it sometimes is warm. But, for much of the year, including August, the city is notorious for its cool and overcast, jacket-wearing days when the marine layer off the Pacific Ocean and the signature fog make it feel much colder than the nearly constant 60-degree temperatures would suggest. I have finally trained myself to pack a hoodie or a sweater no matter what time of the year I travel to San Francisco, less I find myself on a shopping expedition for warmer clothes. Head inland just across the Bay to Oakland and the East Bay communities and it feels as if you’ve entered a completely separate climate with warm sunshine and temps at least 20 degrees warmer.

The other thing that strikes me about San Francisco is that it looks and feels less Californian and more East Coast or even European with its beautiful in-town residential neighborhoods, and a bustling and dense central business district. When I am walking around downtown San Francisco, I am reminded less of California and more of Boston or Chicago or London.

A FEW FAVORITES: There are so many things to see and do, places to dine, and stores to browse, it can be difficult to decide what your agenda should be. On my most recent trip over a weekend, my primary reason for being in town was to present at a Bar association conference with a packed three-day agenda of sessions and programs. I also made plans to visit with family and friends who live nearby. That left me just a few short windows to check out all that San Francisco has to offer. Here’s what I managed to fit in on this visit.

After an early-morning flight from Baltimore, I was checked into my hotel, the Grand Hyatt San Francisco, by Noon. The hotel may be in need of some upgrading and renovation but I was perfectly happy with my lodging and its prime location on Union Square, San Francisco’s retail analog to Chicago’s Michigan Avenue or New York’s Fifth Avenue. My corner room was quiet and comfortable and the hotel lounge, located on the 36th floor, offers great drinks with amazing views of the skyline, the Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower and Alcatraz.

Among its many virtues (distractions), San Francisco is a great shopping city. Within a few blocks of Union Square, a small green space located between Stockton and Powell streets just west of the Financial District, are Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Gucci and other upscale brands. The local flagship location of Macy’s is particularly impressive; there actually are two separate buildings housing women’s and men’s collections. There also are plenty of local stores to tempt you. I spent way more than I could have imagined after stopping at Uomo, a local men’s store on Sutter Street selling amazing Italian-made clothes not easily found back home in Baltimore or Washington. I also found a great store offering all kinds of Scottish products, including kilts, whiskey and wool caps. Next door was a great leather goods shop with really cool messenger bags, jackets and other accessories named Mulholland.

Following a late lunch just off the square and a quick hit visit to the Macy’s men’s store, I met up with local colleagues for drinks at Yerba Buena Gardens, a multi-use complex of park space, outdoor art, fountains, dining options and bars. Adjacent to the Moscone Convention Center and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Yerba Buena’s gardens are elevated slightly above street level, so you feel as if you have escaped the bustle and noise below but the view of the skyline confirms that you still are in the middle of everything. The gardens also are adjacent to two of San Francisco’s worthy museums, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Contemporary Jewish Museum.

GETTING A WORKOUT: The next morning, I headed out early for a run. Choosing the route for your run in San Francisco is really important given the terrain. Fortunately for me and my lungs, I was able to map a flat course from Union Square down Market Street to the Ferry Terminal, along the Embarcadero waterfront promenade and towards AT&T Park (home of Giants baseball) and the Mission District. This relatively painless route was possible because I did not head in the opposite direction from my hotel, which would have taken me up Nob Hill, one of San Francisco’s signature hills. Whenever I make the ascent up Nob Hill, I always feel as if I should be leaning in towards the sidewalk pavement so as not to roll backward like some out-of-control ball. Reaching the top of Nob Hill usually leaves me out-of-breath and perspiring but satisfied.

What awaits you at the top are three of the city’s most famous and luxurious hotels. As I learned on a recent tour of Rosecliff Mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, Nevada silver heiress Theresa Fair Oelrichs and her sister wanted to pay tribute to their beloved, late father who discovered the Comstock Lode. To honor dad properly, the daughters commissioned the building of the Fairmount Hotel on top of Nob Hill. This elegant, turn-of-the-last century property features grand public spaces and commanding views of the city and the Bay. Immediately across the street is the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel, another elegant and, in this case, wedding cake sort of property. One of its signature features is the Top of the Mark, a rooftop restaurant and lounge that offers a glass enclosed panorama of the city. Next door to the Mark Hopkins is the Stanford Court, a Marriott luxury property that opened in 1907 on the site of the former mansion of Leland Stanford, the wildly successful 19th century magnate who founded Stanford University in honor of his late son All three hotels line California Street along one of the city’s famous cable car lines.

SUNDAY PLEASURES: Like most great cities, San Francisco has a signature park that is its official front or back yard and playground. Here, that place is Golden Gate Park, a broad expanse of coastal woods that covers a large chunk of the western part of the city all the way to the Pacific Ocean. On prior visits, I have run a couple of races through the park and visited the Japanese Tea Garden. On this visit, my mission was to check out the latest incarnation of the de Young Museum of Fine Arts, San Francisco’s primary art museum. The new building itself is an interesting combination of red brick and steel and glass that includes a 9-story observation tower. The collection is impressive, featuring the works of 19th Century American artists and the art of Africa, the Americas and Oceana. I visited the museum on a Sunday during a particularly excellent exhibition titled “The Birth of Impressionism,” which offered a rare opportunity in this country to view some of the collection from the world-famous Musee d’Orsay in Paris. Facing the de Young across the street is another of Golden Gate Park’s impressive attractions, the California Academy of Sciences. This kid-friendly museum, aquarium and science center even includes a grass roof on which kids (and their parents) can play.

After a quick cab ride back to the Hyatt, I changed and met my sister-in-law for drinks and dinner. We were disappointed to learn that the famous Harry Denton’s Starlight Room, which sits atop the historical but hip Sir Francis Drake Hotel, was closed on Sunday evenings. We are distant relatives and had hoped to catch a glimpse of this famous and generous host. Apparently, the staff needs time to recover from the well-attended Sunday morning brunch and drag show. So, after drinks at the Hyatt, we made the short walk across Union Square to Farallon, a delicious seafood restaurant that has really cool glass lamps, which appear at first to be jellyfish. The food and service were excellent, as well.

The next morning, I headed back to the airport and home to the summer heat of Washington, but not without leaving a little piece of my heart behind. Until next time, San Francisco.