This is a city full of great art and architecture.

In June we visited Minneapolis. Wow. We had heard great things about the city but the fabulous architecture and public art here go hand in hand with great Museums. On the corner by our hotel were “The Dancers” by Botero. Everywhere we went there was art.

We visited the Minneapolis Institute of Art http://www.artsmia.org/ and enjoyed their Oriental collections great Native American artifacts. We also visited Walker Art Center http://www.walkerart.org/ to see their contemporary collections and the exciting public sculpture garden that features Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen’s “Spoon Bridge and Cherry.”

We also visited the Mall of America. http://www.mallofamerica.com/ Well, why not. It is, after all, the ultimate shopping mall. Understanding that you might need more entertainment than just the 500 shops they also have an amusement park complete with wild rides. They are going to build a second one next to the current one (to open about 2010) with more “upscale stores” and a water park inside instead of an amusement park with rides. Hard to imagine 500 more shops in addition to the current 500!