Our first day was devoted to seeing as much of Minneapolis as we could in one day. Our first stop was at the Basilica of Saint Mary, America's first basilica and co-cathedral of the archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. It is built in the classical revival style, was completed in 1914 and has a marble altar located underneath a 50-foot high marble columned baldacchino. We were lucky to be able to hear the organist practicing for the evening service in honor of the new archbishop being installed.

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Stone Arch Bridge is a former railroad bridge opened in 1883 to cross the Mississippi River. Today one can walk or ride a bike across this 2,100-foot, 21 stone arch span. It is the only arched bridge made of stone on the entire length of the Mississippi River.

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Here we are standing on Stone Arch Bridge.

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The Guthrie is a nationally acclaimed center for performance, production, education and professional theater training. It was designed by French architect Jean Nouvel and includes not only three state of the art stages but also this 175-foot cantilevered bridge overlooking the Mississippi River. What an incredible view!

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Grain Belt Beer was originally produced by the Minneapolis Brewing Company which formed with the merger of four smaller brewers in 1891. This landmark porcelain sign, which was built in 1941 but has not been lit since the early 1990's, will again glow during the summer of 2017 after some 800-feet of neon tubing and 1,100 incandescent lamps are replaced with LED bulbs.

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Unfortunately the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is closed for renovation but as we were driving by, we noticed that the iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture by Claes Oldenburg, was still standing in the pond. We were glad we found a way to get close to this whimsical, oversized rendition of a 5,800 pound spoon and 1,200 pound cherry.

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Our last stop for the day was at Minnehaha Falls, made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem The Song of Hiawatha.

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An ornate domed greenhouse shelters exotic orchids, palms, ferns and bonsai in the Como Conservatory which was first opened to the public in 1915.

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Time for a picture with friends at the Como Conservatory.

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One of the many beautiful exotic blooms we got to see inside the Conservatory.

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The Charlotte Partridge Ordway Japanese Garden is a living symbol of the peace and friendship that exists between Saint Paul and its sister city Nagasaki, Japan.

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The Hamm family donated the waterfalls as a memorial garden for William Hamm, Sr., former president of Hamm Brewing Company. Hamm, Sr. was a member of the park board in 1895 and served for many years. The memorial was completed in June 1967 and reconstructed in 2007.

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Bronze statues scattered in the city, honor Saint Paul native, Charles Schultz. For five summers after Schultz's death in 2000, artists all over Saint Paul designed and displayed individual renditions of Peanuts characters.

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The exterior of City Hall has a rather stark and monochromatic look while the interior is designed in the more ornate Zigzag Moderne which is an art deco style derived from a 1925 Paris exhibition. The 60-ton, 36-foot high, Mexican onyx Vision of Peace statue rules the lobby.

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This iconic 1st stands atop the First Bank building in St. Paul.

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One of the most distinctive cathedrals in the United States, St Paul's overlooks the city and features a beautiful copper-clad dome. It is the third largest completed church in the U.S. and the fourth tallest. Unfortunately we were not able to go inside because the actual service installing the new archbishop was taking place.

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We were not able to visit the state capitol building since it was closed for renovations so we drove by it as well as the governor's mansion.

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While visiting Fort Snelling we were able to see the meandering Mississippi as well as the St. Paul skyline.

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Today we decided to explore country rather then city. We went to Taylors Falls to Interstate State Park located on the St. Croix River. Here we were able to see (and stand in) glacial potholes.

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As you can see from the way we're dressed, it was really cold and windy today. So cold that heavy jackets, hats and gloves were in order.

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The oldest existing public schoolhouse, built in 1852, is in the town of Taylors Falls.

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Our last stop of the day was at Gammelgarden, the first Swedish settlement in Minnesota. Here we learned about the immigrant story of perseverance, courage, sacrifice and faith. It was so interesting learning about life on a small immigrant farm during the mid-1800's from our guide.

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