Minnesota - You betcha!

Minneapolis may be one of the top cities I've ever been to. Yeah - no kidding. Though obviously not as big as NY, as exciting as London, or as bustling as Tel Aviv, for a combined Twin Cities populuation that's roughly equivalent to Boston, it certainly offers a whole heck of a lot when you're there on business a couple of days.

I think that there's something about living in a harsh climate that makes people friendly, especially when the temps soar above 60 degrees. While a lot of them have no love for the East Coast (or the people who live there for that matter), for the most part they lived up to their "Minnesota Nice" stereo-type in a Rose Nyland sort of way.

Much like Montreal, the buildings downtown are linked through climate controlled corridors with shops and restaurants on either side. The shopping in the Cities alone is amazing, though a pit stop at the Mall of America in nearby Bloomington was obviously on the agenda. The Twins were in town this week and though I wasn't able to catch a game, I am sad to report that the MetroDome may be the ugliest, nastiest ball park in all of major league baseball. It looks like the Bridgewater Sports Dome BEFORE it collapsed. Rumor has it that there are plans to tear down and build a new stadium in the near future.

If you're looking for a Red Sox road trip, I would put Minneapolis at the top of your list. The street car transit system (called the T - circle around the "T" and all!) makes it fairly easy to get around and there's lot of water activities you can do on nearby Lake Minnetonka. While you will likely be shocked at how little you'll have to spend to entertain yourself, there is one caveat - the lack of direct routes from Boston will jack up your airfare.