Hello all,
Liz and I are moved into our new apartment in St Paul Minnesota. I went for a bike ride around my area today to take some photo's to show you what it's like. I've got a job in downtown Minneapolis which is on the other side of the Mississipi from St Paul. Its about 5 miles or so from our apartment.
This is our apartment block, we have the top right hand apartment in this photo. Its the only one with all the shades open. For some reason other people seem to have an aversion to natural light. Below is our front sitting/dining room. It feels rather huge for only two people.
We need to get around to putting things on the wall, but please note the snazzy red and white chairs around the table that took weeks to 'create'.
I took these photos in the morning when the light comes in nicely. The big oak just outside our windows affords us some nice shade.
Our road is called 'Grand Avenue', pretty impressive eh?! We have a coffee shop a short walk to the right and a pub a short walk to the left. So that takes care of mornings and evenings.
The coffee shop is a real locals place with some people seemingly in permanent residence. At one dollar fifty for a coffee and twenty five cents a refill you can understand why. We spent about five hours there one day (I was a little jittery by the end) and most of the people who had been there when we arrived were still there when we left....
This is the view down Grand Avenue, looking pubwards. Very leafy, not too many people getting 
shot, I promise. You may think from the name that 'Grand' is the Grandest avenue in town. That however is not the case. The street one block north and running parrallel to Grand is 'Summit Avenue'.
shot, I promise. You may think from the name that 'Grand' is the Grandest avenue in town. That however is not the case. The street one block north and running parrallel to Grand is 'Summit Avenue'. Summit is reputedly the longest row 
of restored Victorian mansions in the US. These place are huge rambling complexes that were built, according to one of Liz's lecturers, by railroad tycoons. Most of the palatial ones are broken up into apartments now. Not content with trees in either side of the street, Summit has trees down the middle as well. It leads down to the Mississippi from our place, which is the way I cycled today. Its about a mile to the river.
of restored Victorian mansions in the US. These place are huge rambling complexes that were built, according to one of Liz's lecturers, by railroad tycoons. Most of the palatial ones are broken up into apartments now. Not content with trees in either side of the street, Summit has trees down the middle as well. It leads down to the Mississippi from our place, which is the way I cycled today. Its about a mile to the river. At the end of Summit is a lookout over the river across to Minneapolis.
Thats downtown Minneapolis poking up over the trees. I took a left down the path leading along the river bank and followed another bike path past more big houses.
This one is Tudor style but they come in all shapes and sizes. Tudor, Georgian, Clapboard farmhouses, Spanish Villa's and Frank Lloyd-Wright inspired designs sit side by side. Its a kind of architectural disney world. The Mississippi is relatively narrow at this point, both banks are parkland in this area, so when you are down on the banks, its hard to believe you are in the city. This concludes my tour. I hope you enjoyed it!
