It has been a week since I came to Minneapolis, so it’s time for an update.
The first weekend in Minneapolis was almost shocking, I found big shops but there where only a few people walking around. It was really quiet on the streets, in the shops and in the restaurants. Starbucks here closes a 7pm! Minneapolis is a city that comes alive during the week. Especially around the Skyway, this is the best feature of Minneapolis so far. You can walk all around downtown without going out on the streets, very handy when it is very cold outside! Most of the bigger hotels, shops and centers are connected to the Skyway system.
I had some nice meetings with Travis from Orange Parachute, he introduced me to several other people like customers and colleagues. We started off having lunch at “Hell’s Kitchen“, where we discussed a lot of different business opportunities. We both have to look for some extra information on how to make this possible, but we now both have a good idea of the things we can work together on. I think we have some nice opportunities ahead of us.
That same evening Travis invited me to a Riesling tasting dinner at Sage with his wife. The people running this new wine bar are friends of Travis, and they needed some “testing”. We had a smashing dinner at this fine location, with even more amazing wines. They invited their wine specialist from Iowa to tell us about the wines we were tasting. Riesling wines are not new to me, but that’s because Germany is just a 2 hour drive from home.
The next evening Travis invited me to have dinner with some friends at Chino Latino, a nice and busy restaurant in uptown Minneapolis. They some great dishes all around the world, mostly dishes to “share”. So this results in a fusion type of food with the atmosphere of a dim-sum dinner. I didn’t expect it to be such a good match, but it was! And I’m sure I am not the only one, because it was a very busy place. After that we met up with some other friends and had some drinks downtown at a few bars.
The next morning I felt very sick. I thought I had too much to drink, but I was shaking, freezing and was sweating. I couldn’t even keep one little sip of water inside. And wasn’t feeling too good since a few days, so I think the alcohol pushed me over the edge to catch the flu. So I spent one day above the toilet and in bed, and another day mostly in bed. So today I feel a whole lot better, but I’m still careful.
Tonight I am spending my last night in Minneapolis. So Travis invited me again to dinner with another friend he said I had to meet before leaving the city. So I am sure this will be a nice evening. I just have to be careful not to end up having the same conversation with the white guy and the glasses in the bathroom all over again.
Tomorrow I’m flying to New York City again. I am going to spend Thanksgiving in Manhattan. I heard some great stories about the Thanksgiving parade, and all the other festivities. More about that next week!
You can track my flight over here. Lift off is at 12:55PM CST (I guess that is 19:55 Rotterdam time)