Last weekend I had a blast going on a girl’s weekend trip with two of the ladies I have met while here in Bismarck. I literally went with two of the best people I could have gone with too. Monica had lived in Minneapolis years ago so she was really familiar with the area which was such a blessing. Crystal had driven in the city so she was able to navigate the many confusing freeways! Another huge kudos to you Crystal for driving literally the entire weekend 👏🏻
Below are some of the highlights from our weekend as well as some recommendations on where to go (and most importantly, where to eat! 😂).
Where we stayed: Uptown Magic (AirBnB) **FYI there is no A/C. We learned that last minute in the 100 degree weather 🥵
Theme song for the weekend: Tiesto – The Business
Here’s a summary of some of the things we did while in Minneapolis as well as some of my recommendations on where to go if you are headed there for a weekend:
DAY 1
Prior to arriving in Minneapolis, we made a stop at the Albertville Outlets which is about 30 mins outside of Minneapolis. I was able to score a couple great pairs of jeans (for FREE since I had store cash to use!) and a dress for when we went out.
Once we arrived to our AirBnB we ooh’d and ahh’d at the place which was super cute. It was in the basement of a home which honestly I am grateful for considering there was no air conditioning and it was at least 100 degrees! It was super modern looking with so many cute features including an amazing rain shower head 😍
The first restaurant we went to was Nightingale which was right across the street from where we were staying. We got appetizers and drinks and everything was so delicious! It was a little bit fancy for my taste (our meat platter had liver on it… yeah no thanks) but I loved the crab bruschetta and shrimp sesame toast.
After our appetizers we walked back to our AirBnB and got changed before going to Psycho Suzi’s for actual dinner and tropical drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic available!). Psycho Suzi’s was awesome. It is right on the river and is tiki themed. They have tons of drink options and you can get them in a tiki cup if you want to take it home! We ordered personal pizzas and more appetizers there as well as drinks.
Once we were done with dinner we took an Uber to downtown Minneapolis looking for a spot to hang out for the night. We went to a couple of spots but none of them really had people and they did not match our vibe. We went to Rock Bottom Brewery which gave me a taste of home since there is one in Campbell, CA but it definitely wasn’t happening in terms of people. However, one of the waitresses had a suggestion for a hotel bar to go to. She suggested Constantine which was a bar located inside of the Hotel Ivy downtown. We ended up walking there and we were so glad we did. Constantine was awesome! It was a really relaxed but upscale environment and people there were super friendly and chill. If you are going to check out Constantine I highly recommend putting in a reservation because we almost did not get in since they were at capacity. Somehow Monica talked her way in (she has magic powers, I swear) and we were able to have a great night there.
Day 2
We woke up refreshed and ready to experience another day in the city. We went to Barbette for brunch to start our day. It is a french inspired spot and so yummy! I had a smoked salmon crepe which was fantastic.
After brunch, while Monica got her hair done at Juut, Crystal and I decided to go thrifting. We went to Buffalo Exchange Uptown Minneapolis and I fell in love with a Kate Spade bag with ice cream cones all over it. Best part? Only $45!
I couldn’t resist, I ended up getting it 😍 I have been wearing it ever since too.
Once Monica was done we started off on our next trip: to Mall of America! I was super excited about visiting it, and not just because I love to shop. For those who don’t know, there is an entire theme park inside of the mall. It is HUUUUGE. I spent time in a few stores but really I just enjoyed walking around and seeing everything that the mall has to offer. I went to 4 floors and could not believe how big it was!
I was able to get my first milk tea since I left San Jose too at Cha Time Tea Cafe. I missed taro milk tea so much 😅
After the mall we were exhausted but it was time for dinner already! I was craving sushi so we went to Crave which was had amazing sushi! The rainbow roll practically melted in my mouth. It was that good.
Our last stop of the night after Crave was back to Constantine (we had reservations this time by the way). It was a great end to our night.
Day 3
Prior to hitting the road back to Bismarck (a 6 hour drive), we ate at French Meadow Cafe which was delicious also. Every place we ate at on the trip was amazing. They had a blueberry corn pancake which was divine. I was very satisfied with it, as well as with our trip in general.
The trip home was long but I was on a natural high from the great weekend.
I have always loved to explore. I love that staying in Bismarck, ND has allowed me to explore places like Minneapolis over the weekend.
My final thoughts on Minneapolis: such a beautiful city. There is so much diversity, love for justice, great food, great things to see, and lots of gorgeous sights (such as parks). As I said before, it reminded me of Sacramento in ways. I get to drive through it again on my way to Philadelphia so I am looking forward to checking out some new spots on that drive.
Seas & Statelines 