Minneapolis!

I flew from Salt Lake City to Minneapolis, with a three hour layover in Las Vegas. I will try to avoid any layovers in Las Vegas in the future. It was horrible: smoky, loud, dark, limited food selection and a constant influx of roudy gambling types. It is one of the worst airports I have ever been, except for maybe Taipei.

I had a really nice time in Minneapolis. I was pretty tired after having been in the US for over a month, staying with family and lots and lots of kids. Their house sort of has the feeling of a refuge. It is very quiet and relaxed, with a wide, tree-lined street in front and a huge yard in the back. One thing I did not know about Andrew is that he is a really amazing cook. It was so wonderful to wake up every morning and have a big breakfast cooked! It was like being at a Bed and Breakfast or something. He made this yummy french toast with Frosted Mini Wheat remnants as a crispy coating, along with many other things, but I think my favorite was "Giant Big Pancake". Giant Big Pancake is an oven pancake and it was so light, fluffy and delicious! He also made good dinners, and of course, various barbecued items. My favortie dish that he made was a simple orange salad that was made with segments of a Clementine orange that are sprinkled with a little bit of sugar and then marinated with sprigs of thyme and whole vanilla bean pods. It was amazing! The light sweetness with the overtones of thyme and vanilla was a truly delicate and delectable combination. We also had an amazing assortment of cheeses and good bread. Yummy! And smoked salmon and caviar! I was in heaven. Also, they had fresh raspberries growing in their yard and it was glorious.


Andrew and I in a historical Minneapolis Neighborhood 


Fresh Baked Bread to Go with our Cheese Assortment 


Andrew in the Kitchen 


Enjoying a yummy meal!