I've seen very very little information about the cities that we are deciding amongst.
Minneapolis here. I have hotel site visits this week. So far, the top contender is the Crowne Plaza NorthStar, which is offering us $99/night rooms - single to quad occupancy, a complimentary hospitality suite, 11 wheelchair-accessible rooms, & a gorgeous Prom room. They're right downtown (actually, in the same building as my work), and very nice. The biggest drawback is the parking situation - $8.95 per day on the weekend, higher during the week (until 4 p.m. Friday).
What's public transit in minneapolis like, juliana? Would we need to rent cars?
That sounds like a wonderful place! Thanks juliana!
What's public transit in minneapolis like, juliana? Would we need to rent cars?
Public transport is good. Excellent for the size of the city, but not in comparison to New York.
The Light Rail Line will be all the way to the airport by the time the F2F rolls around, so it will be possible for people to fly in, hop the train, arrive in downtown 10 minutes later & be less than 3 blocks from the hotel. Of course, I'll be happy to ferry people around as well.
Field trips out to the Minnesota Zoo or over to St. Paul or the Wabasha Caves would best be accomplished by car or van, but there's also a lot to do right downtown.
Also, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts is a short bus ride away, as is the old Guthrie and the new Walker Arts Center.
When I stayed with juliana in 2002, I took buses all over the downtown area. Very fast, efficient, didn't have to wait more than a few minutes at any given time.
Downtown also has a very nice system of connected skywalks between the buildings and lots of restaurants and bars nearby (Ah, fond memories of The Local.)
lots of restaurants and bars nearby
Even more now. The Dakota Jazz Club has moved in to downtown. Also, two-level Target! (Target is very important here.)
Target is very important here, too.
So are big bookstores. Nilly and I just spent well over two hours in the Barnes and Noble.
(staggering in)
My oven? Completely clean and ready for Nilly to witness the blowtorching on Thursday night. Won't use anything but the stovetop between now and then.
My fridge? Completely cleaned. I took everything out, threw away a bunch of science projects, took all the removable bits out, cleaned them, wiped everything down. It's now frighteningly empty in there. Also, shiny.
My brain? Aspic.
Next up? Carpets, and Kinkos for copies of finished manuscript going off to agent.
Fear me. My house is Nillyfying even as we speak.
