As I mentioned in the last post, we thought it would be a good idea to see downtown St. Paul. C and I agreed that due to being so tired, our best option was taking public transportation. We made sure that we took the newer Green Line to Union Station, as Baby Willow loves looking out the windows on the Light Rail Train/Tram. Though I will give a warning that from downtown to downtown takes a long time. The Light Rail is more like the tram in Sheffield, England and not like the tram in Blackpool, England. The tram in Blackpool would be called a trolley or even a street car in the US.

Upon arriving we discovered that Union Station was impressive. It is a good size much like the Union Station in Los Angeles is well massive. This Union Station is not as big or as used, but it has some solid history, and the restoration on it is well done. The attention to detail on the grand scale is quite cool. There were even little podiums with speakers. Each speaker recounted a person remembering experiences at the Union Station during its heyday/prime. There was even one of the original stairways still. It did not get use, but it was cool to see.

I am pleased to see that they invested in public art. There were audio pieces mentioned before and visual pieces. This in addition to the details already in the architecture.

I guess it is important to remember that trains were very much a significant means of transportation in the US not too long ago. C and I like train rides and the like. Hopefully one day we can take Baby Willow on a longer train ride than from downtown to downtown.

Afterwards we walked around the St. Paul Skyway. For those of you that have not experienced a skyway, they are walkways built between buildings on the second floor/first floor (UK) in order to get from place to place without feeling the brunt of the Midwestern freeze. They are also great as you don’t have to stop for street signs. I much prefer St. Paul’s Skyway in that after hours it is still usable. Where as the Skyway in Minneapolis has the issue that much of it closes after work hours. A huge disappointment to say the least. Many buildings for both St. Paul and Minneapolis have beautiful architecture inside that is accessible from the skyways. That will have to be for another time. Skyways for both Minneapolis and St. Paul are very busy during regular business hours and especially lunch time with people getting lunch. Many places to eat along the skyway paths inside of the buildings.

We then finally realized that it was getting late. We stopped at Key’s Cafe, a family owned restaurant, that began in 1973. It is very much a family style restaurant. The food is simple and good. They will allow alternatives for those with food needs. Many places were very quiet that day. This place was no exception. The server was extremely patient and welcoming without being weird. We had a bit of a budget this time so no desserts even for C, our resident sweet tooth. We were both so hungry that we forgot to take photos of our food. I had sirloin steak with mashed potatoes, peas and toast. C had haddock, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas and toast. We were satisfied with our meals. We would definitely go back for another meal. Baby Willow ate food from home.

We then returned home and were happy we took the trip. Baby Willow seemed to enjoy looking around the new surroundings. We hope to have Baby Willow explore more in the future.

Bye for now.