The view of Minneapolis from the 35W bridge
I used to go downtown with my grandma like once a week or so when I was a child. Of course there are many place I haven't been in Minneapolis, but I do know Nicollet Mall well enough. There are several districts in Minneapolis like the Warehouse District, the Mill District etc etc. And Nicollet Mall is a shopping area.
Heading into the city
A famous Thai restaurant in a rather old building
An Izakaya with new condos above, maybe I can try it after my diet
In the 60s to encourage people to come back and shop in downtown, Nicollet Mall was transformed into a pedestrian only haven by adding trees, benches, artwork and blocking all traffic besides buses. The city also created the Skyway system which connect 69 city blocks through a series of enclosed pedestrian bridges, typically on the second floor of buildings.
The skyways can be very tricky to navigate, but its perfect for our harsh Minnesota winters. Furthermore, many of the food stalls and restaurants on Nicollet Mall close during the weekend as its more of a place for business workers.
The old train depot to the right
The court house
The shopping downtown is not as glamorous as it was before the 1950s, but there are still several anchor stores and upscale shops. There's Target and Barnes & Knobles, Macy's (which everyone from here remembers as Dayton's). For upscale there's Saks 5th Ave and Neiman Marcus but on the more budget end there is Marshall's and Saks off 5th Ave.
Chanel's beauty counter in Macy's
Missoni dresses in Macy's
We spent most of our time in Macy's as it's the largest one in Minnesota, it has a bridal service, the oval room and the Oak Dining Room. They also have a designer brand area, and carry more mid-level brands than other Macy's.
After we spent some hours browsing Macy's we went to Saks off 5th Ave. I saw some Dior sunglasses there I really liked, so my goal is to save up for them and go back downtown when I have enough haha. But most of the clothing was not my taste, or still too expensive haha! Window shopping at such places is like "Isn't this supposed to be a better deal??" XD
Interesting art
The Crystal Court in the IDS tower
At the end of the trip we went to the Target, which is like the "main" one since Target originated here and the headquarters is downtown too. There's nothing particularly remarkable about the downtown Target, but it has more fashion goods and is two levels. Which means there's an escalator just for carts!
We ate at this interesting food court
A view from a skyway (not Nicollet Mall)
Though we technically could have shopped a few more hours, somehow this day out was very tiring and my legs were sore haha. I saw lots of things, and the clothes seemed endless argh, but I didn't pick out so many things. Here's what I did end up with (though a few are from today when I shopped again...)
I was really excited to get the gold choker necklace and silver cuff, Murua is making the same exact cuff! The Forenza jacket is amazing, though I wasn't looking particularly for a jacket. Same with the Jennifer Lopez shorts, but I already have plans for them haha.
It was fun to go downtown again, I hope I can go again soon and see more parts of Minneapolis too as there's so much to do. Next weekend I'm going to another part of Minnesota so please look forward to more hometown posts!
