We had a wonderful time last May visiting Brian and Jenn in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We filled our van pretty full with Jenn’s things and wedding presents from the year before and headed north. Our friends will be interested in clicking on over to our photos of the trip to see some of the fun we had together. We include a few parts of our trip outside of Wisconsin and Minnesota. We enjoyed our stay and our drive up and back.

For any readers planning a trip to the Twin Cities, the rest of this post is about things to do and places to eat in the area. You’d probably enjoy the photo tour, too, to whet your appetite for some of these places.

Things to Do in the Twin City Area

Walk around the sprawling University of Minnesota campus. Check out the architecture of Walter Library and the McNamara Alumni Center. We enjoyed the architecture of the Cathedral of St. Paul and the state capitol. They’re within walking distance of each other.

Ingebretsen’s is a Nordic marketplace. We recommend visiting when it’s not rush hour.

Minnehaha Falls is part of a large park in town. Brian proposed to Jenn near the falls so they wanted us to enjoy the park one afternoon.

Anoka, Minnesota, has some nice trails along the Rum River.

Outside of the Twin Cities

Look for areas surrounding town where the original prairie grasses can still be found.

We visited the Minnesota side of the Interstate Park on the St. Croix river. It was fun to walk around all the glacial potholes.

Cady Cheese is a family-run cheese factory in Wilson, WI.

Places to Eat in Minnesota and Wisconsin

You’ll have plenty of good eating to choose from. These are listed alphabetically by general category.

Casual Restaurants or Coffeeshops

Afro Deli is near the Minneapolis campus of U of M. The menu was unique and delicious.

Bordertown Coffee is also near campus and Jenn’s favorite place to study.

Caribou Coffee is Brian and Jenn’s favorite coffeeshop chain.

Norske Nook has several locations in Wisconsin. We stopped at the original restaurant on our drive north from Florida.

The Watershed Cafe in Osceola, Wisconsin, was a favorite stop.

Sit-Down Restaurants

Machine Shed was not busy on the day we met friends for dinner. The food was delicious.

The Mad Hatter Restaurant and Tea House in Anoka, Minnesota, was a great place to celebrate a special occasion. We visited for breakfast.

Wilde Cafe is named after Oscar Wilde. It’s on the Mississippi River across from Downtown Minneapolis.