MSP part 2

I know I sounded very affectionate about the Twin Cities in my last post. I would like you to know that it's currently snowing there in early November.
The would have been much less affection if I had not gotten out just in time!

Back to the McCarthy Midwest Tour:
 Throughout the vacation, we got to see and do more than we would on a usual visit. The excuse was these two guys:

Sankey (without hair) and John (with lots of hair) at Como Lake, Saint Paul.

John and (Matt) Sankey came from Hannover to join in for two weeks of our travels. The whole idea started when we went with a group of friends to see the movie 'Nebraska' last winter. It involves a lot of stark but beautiful landscapes, Main Street scenes, and tight-lipped Midwesterners. The film got the guys talking about how it would be cool to see "the real America", as in not Miami or New York or San Francisco. Brian and I happen to be pretty real ourselves, and invited them along on our trip. Of the group, only these two guys came along. And John is from Illinois so he almost doesn't count. But we set out for the 'real America' anyway - the rural, urban, and suburban parts - and Brian and I got to see it too.

While in the Twin Cities, 'real' sightseeing included both downtowns, sports bars, trivia bars, two museums, second hand stores, record shops, Mexican restaurants and the mall (Not THE mall as in the Mall Of America. That's where I draw the line on true Americanness).

Brian and John at the Stone Arch Bridge, Minneapolis

Our old and new worlds collided a little as we showed John and Sankey around, but it felt just fine. Even the ugly highways, the public housing, the flabby arms and big box stores seemed to fit into comfortable corners of my brain. It hasn't been that long, after all. I remembered which buses run down which streets, how to get from East 7th to Payne and how you can see the sun set over the Minneapolis skyline while driving down East Hennepin.

Sankey, who is English, was a little shocked at the aggressive friendliness of the Minnesotans. Minnesota nice is not just a catch phrase. And he wondered at the lack of corner stores. The Cities, while very liveable and bike-friendly by American standards, draw a clear line between where you go to live and where you go to work, shop and eat.  Most people travel from one area to the other by car.

Having him along also confirmed my impression that Americans are wowed by English accents.
Sankey is from Birmingham. His accent is as rough and redneck as they come in England. Yet he could recite instructions for how to operate your blender and, to most Americans, he'd sound cultured and refined. Sankey was our own celebrity, and the excuse for all of us to go to interesting places.