OH MINNESOTA

Since we were only in Minnesota for a short time we had to jam a lot of things into our day. One thing we wanted to check off our bucket list was visiting a lake. So we drove to Lake Calhoun, which is a fairly big and popular lake in Minneapolis. Although I prefer beaches, it was defiantly a beautiful site to see. There are a lot of people having picnics, running, swimming, fishing, etc. It was a great start to our day.

Before we headed over to the convention center to watch volleyball for 5 hours, we decided to stop for a sweet treat to keep us going. We went to Salty Tart, which is a bakery in Midtown Global Market. I heard from a little bird aka Paula Dean and Andrew Zimmern that Salty Tart has the best macaroons in the world. So I had to get my hands on these babies and trust me they didn't disappoint. This was the best macaroon I ever tasted. It was crunchy on he outside and soft on the inside. To bad I won't be going to Minnesota ever again ... 

So the reason we came here was to watch my sister compete in Junior Olympics. Her team did amazing and got 3rd in the nation. I am super proud of her and how far she has come. 

Between volleyball games we walked to Panera Bread, which was only a couple blocks from the convention center. Panera is one of my favorite mainland chains. I had a cobb salad and french onion soup for lunch. It sure did hit the spot. 

After volleyball was done we finally made it to the Mall of America. It was gigantic and had every store you could possibly imagine. It was a shopaholics paradise! 

After walking around the mall for a couple hours we sure worked up a appetite so we went to The Nook for dinner. The Nook was featured on Triple D for having amazing burgers. I am not a burger person but this was one of the best burgers I have ever had. They make their burgers with the cheese stuffed in the middle. I have no idea why the rest of the world does not put the cheese in the middle of the patty because that is how it should be done. We also splurged a bit and got a chocolate malt. Hey why not, we are on vacation.

But overall, this was a crazy journey to get to Minnesota but once we did it was sure worth it.

xo. Laur