  |  For me, being in a city is always intimidating. I feel small and slow. I wonder if city dwellers might have a similar experience in the mountains. Minneapolis is kind and sweet. I made friends with Konbo, an Ethiopian cap driver with eight children. He used to trade coffee beans and travel the world before immigrating to America. Now, his two oldest children are pursuing degrees in civil engineering and medicine, and he has big dreams for eight futures. The picture to the left is of a gated cafe out of service for the season. Winter dreams. |
 | Each morning the sun crested over the horizon and ricocheted brilliantly off walls and windows. This got me thinking about how being in a metropolis creates a pin ball machine effect. Hard surfaces and straight lines bounce me and my ideas around, giving them shape but also boundaries.  |
Then there was the food. . .
| I ate at two notable places. The first was Heyday Eats Restaurant.  The second place was the single most memorable restaurant meal of my life. I only wish I had had Adam and some friends to share it with. Though, as it was, eating at Travail Kitchen and Amusements was like falling down the rabbit hole, in the most delightful way.  | They recommend a four course tasting menu, and I would too. I indulged in:
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There were 19 courses, and I am rendered a bit speechless, even in reflection. Here, I'll let the pictures do more than I could say. The menu is below.
Scenic City
        |         The city is a forest of windows. Strait lines and grids rebel agains the chaos of nature, but even still an irrepressible frenzy bubbles to the blue surface and echoes the tangled furry of a forest floor. |
