Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Road Trip Day 42
Not since my first three days New York have I stayed in the same place for more than a couple of days. In a move partly due to the strange road schedule of the Minnesota Twins I am spending four days here in Minneapolis, but not in the same hotel.
So, I've stayed in nearly 40 hotels so far and so far, no matter how remote or low cost, they have almost all had a good line up of TV channels. Not that I watch much television, but I like to keep up with the Baseball. I got to my hotel last night, right in the heart of Minneapolis and it turns out they didn't have Fox Sports North, the only channel which carries Twins games.
Frankly, I thought that was pretty poor so, as I had only booked one night, started looking around for another hotel. One which has Fox Sports. I am so glad I did because with a little negotiation I have managed to get a lower price for a much better hotel.
Sweet Suite
I've managed to score a suite with living room, flatscreen TV, bar, dining table, sofa-bed, fridge, microwave and sink and spacious bedroom with it's own TV. Plus, the hotel is in the top of a tower so my 4th floor room in the hotel is actually about the 14th floor of the tower so I have a pretty neat view of downtown.
So, I lost some of this morning transferring from one hotel to another, but it's worth it for the better digs.
Play In The Sunshine
The weather was great again today, very clear sky and not too chilly. Armed with tips from the super-helpful Jamie (from Oregon) on the hotel reception I headed out into Downtown. I had a sneak preview last night, but in the sun the mix of modern and more historic buildings makes Minneapolis a great looking city.
Here's a shot I am particularly proud of. As well two buildings mirrored in the other, there's a plane in the reflection too.
And this vast Gothic (I think) affair is City Hall. It's gigantic and strangely gorgeous. Oh, and the angle I took it from means that the tower at the centre of the frontage actually shields an even taller tower behind it.
Baby, I'm a Star
It took willpower to not got straight to my next stop last night. For me, it's right up there at the top of the places I've seen in the movies list.
1st Avenue and 7th Street Entry is the club at which "The Revolution" and "The Time" battled it out in Purple Rain. Plus, as it's a real venue, Prince has played their many, many times in his career so it's kind of a special place. The picture of me outside it is rubbish, but here's the shot I took from across the street.
On the outside of the club are silver stars with the names of bands that have played there. Here's Prince's with Sheila E's in shot too as well as BB King's.
Welcome to the Pleasure Dome**
At the other end of the compact Downtown area is the giant Hubert H. Humprhey Metrodome, home to the Minnesota Vikings American Football team as well as my beloved Twins.
The dome is very much like any other concrete stadium, save for the gigantic flexible fibreglass roof which is held up by air-pressure from within. The whole building looks like a giant pincushion. I can't wait to see the inside. Today all I saw was the box office where I collected my ticket. I was excited and when I told the guy behind the counter how long I'd been waiting to see a game here, he was pleased as punch.
Walking in the Air***
I went back into town and decided to brave the entirely confusing Skyways which link the downtown buildings above street level allowing you to cross most of the area without going outside into the often brutally cold winter weather.
I got lost and exited to street level.
Paradise Gardens
I wanted to take in some culture this afternoon, so I drove out to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. I do like outdoor sculpture and enjoyed seeing a similar display in Washington DC a couple of months ago (OMG!). There's an array of weird and wonderful, but the star of the show is "Spoon Bridge and Cherry".
Hopefully the rainbow shows up which is formed in the spray which comes from the top of the cherry stalk.
Another installation is made up of about 30 marble benches, each with an engraved piece of social observation or statement. Some are slightly rude, some funny, some almost disturbing and some quite profound. Here's my favourite. I know this is true from first hand experience.
"There is a period when it is clear that you have gone wrong but you continue.
Sometimes there is a luxurious amount of time before anything bad happens."
Paisley Park Is In Your Heart
When Prince hit the big time in the 1980's he ploughed a lot of his money into building his own recording and rehearsal studios. It's a big plus complex in the Minneapolis suburb of Chanhassen. To a Prince fan this is something of a Mecca. There have been occasions where he's held "celebrations" there where fans have been invited along to shows and tours of the facility. I read accounts of these with deep envy.
Today I went to Paisley Park.
Prince didn't answer the door.
It's pretty from the outside and made me smile inside and out.
Goodnight.
Stats - Day Sixty-Eight
Distance travelled - 0.1 miles - South 8th St to South 7th St Minneapolis, MN
State count - 26 + DC + B.C.
Room numbers stayed in - 203, 1, 148, 212, 205, 210, 246, 118, 3, 145, 229, 111, 207, 206, 40, 605, "Cowboy", 35, 11, 18, 262, 216, 208, 430, 216, 59, 226, 115 / 110*, 309, 30, 8, 255, 428
*room switch
**OK, now I've strayed into Frankie Goes To Hollywood song titles
***and Aled Jones' too apparently!
No comments:
Post a Comment