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Page 42 TRAVEL Irish Daily Mail, Saturday, November 30, 2019 Irish Daily Mail, Saturday, November 30, 2019 Page 43 Clockwise from main: The Minneapolis skyline; by DAVE Dave at the First Avenue club; Nickelodeon KENNY Universe; and Prince not miss — the exhilarating Fly- T all started with a Over America. I’ve never experi- strange coincidence. I enced anything like it before. It’s a was eating lunch in my brain-blowing 4D flight simulator A friendly that whooshes you up on an aerial local, Finnegan’s of tour of the US. Seconds after Dalkey, a few days strapping yourself in, you are Ibefore flying out to bombing through the Grand Can- Minneapolis-Saint Paul and state yon, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Rockies… It was so real that one having a chat with Alan of my companions got freaked out the barman. — though that was probably due ‘You’ll never guess where I’m to my incessant whooping. off to tomorrow,’ I said. ‘It’s in After our super flight over Amer- the States.’ ica, we visited the home of an Alan thought for a moment, American who was ‘super fly’... then replied: ‘Wild guess... Prince. This was top of my trip Minneapolis?’ list, and I wasn’t disappointed. I was a bit stunned. It turned Prince’s Paisley Park is a jaw- out that Alan was the only person dropping museum the late singer I’d ever met who had been to of affairs created to celebrate his legacy. It Minnesota. Not only that, he was prescient, as he died aged 57 began giving me tips on where to in 2016. His private estate and go, who to hook up with and told music production complex is me about the state’s Irish connec- huge, a hamlet without the Prince, tions, finishing up with the advice This may sound like the tour if you will. to try Finnegan’s Amber Ale if I equivalent of valium, but it’s far I have a tiny recording studio in came across it. It turns out that from boring. The converted mill my garage and collect instru- my local pub, which once hosted offers a fantastic audio visual ments, so I was in muso heaven. If Michelle Obama, has a beer experience, on board a giant ele- you’re a guitar nerd, you may be named after it in Minnesota. vator which makes ‘stops’ at dif- interested to know Prince’s The pub was fairly empty and I ferent points in the building’s his- favourite axe was a copy of a noticed a couple to my right ear- tory. It’s definitely worth visiting, Fender Telecaster. A copy! wigging. Then things got a little even just to soak up the view of Even if you’re not a huge fan of stranger. The man smiled at me. the St Anthony Falls from the the man, the costumes and mem- ‘Excuse me for eavesdropping,’ rooftop observation deck. And if orabilia and history of the place he said, ‘but I’m from Minnesota.’ you’re still hungry for more MSP will stay in the memory for a long And so began a four-way, very history, then the Walker Arts Cen- time after you leave. You will have enjoyable social history lesson tre is only a short drive away, with to rely on memory as they don’t about the former flour capital of its 13,000 contemporary art pieces let you take photos — although the world (more about that later) including books, paintings, photo- you can pay $10 to have one taken with the only Minnesotan I’d ever graphs and prints. in his recording studio. met until then. If they were all as After a refuelling lunch break at friendly as this chap, it was bound the heavenly Barbette, we trun- to be an interesting trip. dled down to Harriet Island Park to marvel at the beautiful scenery. Minnesota is known as the state ou can even pay to record your vocals on nd it was — starting of ‘10,000 lakes’. Now I don’t know if that’s true, but I can tell you one of his tracks. I with a luxurious busi- didn’t. It felt a bit naff, ness class seat on Aer that you’ll never go thirsty in MSP — it has 13 lakes, the Mississippi, Yto be honest. So I played ping- Lingus’s inaugural wetlands, creeks and waterfalls. pong on his personal table instead Aflight to the Twin Cities. As it’s far (with purple balls). from business class I was reared I, Lake Calhoun is the largest lake in Minnesota and we decided to During our packed three-day naturally, made a pig of tour of the Twin Cities, we barely myself and the nine-hour hire a pedalo — with mortifying consequences: myself and my scraped the surface of this part of journey whizzed by in a the Midwest. I could easily have steady flow of bubbly, fil- equally unfit colleague nearly drifted out of the done a week, not least because of let steak, afternoon tea its greatest feature — its people. and movies. After a city. The area is surrounded by Minnesotans are the most hospi- post-prandial nap on table, friendly and obliging people my chair-bed, we a city park with walking and cycling trails. You can even go all you will meet. We were lucky touched down in Minneapolis St Paul is home enough to be there over the Fourth lumberjack and try log rolling. If MSP to be greeted of July holiday and part of our to a traditional inau- you’re a masochist. After all that fresh air, itinerary included visiting a sum- gural flight water mer fete in Bloomington. Once cannon salute (they reward yourself with a trip to to beautiful lakes, a strong Mall of America. You’ll need you’ve been to an American fire- hosed the plane, that works display, everything else will is, not us). an entire day (or more) to explore this shrine to seem like a couple of lads throw- Once we had squeezed ing a few bangers up in the air. through the media scrum in consumerism. It’s the musical heritage, the largest biggest retail/entertain- We sat on deck chairs on the arrivals (our flight had made the ment complex in the brow of a hill. Strangers came up local news), we drove for about and chatted to us, and when they five minutes to the excellent US, with 520 shops, ranging from bargain outlets heard the accents, got quite four-star Hyatt Regency excited to have visitors from the Bloomington, which was to shopping mall in the US – andto big name designers. Old Country among them. be our base for the next Minnesota is one of the most progressive states in Back at our hotel, still smiling, I few days. After a glass of an exhibition called for Saint Paul. MSP really is a tale learned that we had the best seats the local beer and a selec- wrote The Great America, and cleverly has no First Avenue: Stories of of two cities. Minneapolis is a Gatsby. It was a sales tax on clothes or shoes. on the hill. Why? Because the hus- t i o n o f M i n n e s o t a n locals only too happy to help band of one of our hosts, Pam, had Minnesota’s Mainroom’. First Ave- modern, high-rise metropolis, with nerdy pilgrimage for Americans: it’s not bread, it’s Regretting the fact that I’d only specialties, which included laughing and sluicing through the spent the entire day minding them nue was where the ‘Minneapolis a Scandinavian Lutheran herit- me, as I read all of his work as a muddy Ol’ Man River, watching sponge cake. brought a small suitcase, I bought cheese curds in batter, sound’ was born. Prince was a reg- age, while on the opposite bank of for us. That’s the kind of people and lamb flatbread, I hit youngster. Lump-in-throat stuff. people picnicking on its banks. So, after learning all about yeast a baseball cap and a few souvenirs ular there and filmed Purple Rain the Mississippi, the state capital And what better way to cure a culture, we wound our way to the and we plonked ourselves down in Minnesotans are. the pillow. in its hallowed environs. He wasn’t of Saint Paul has a strong French, But wear a hat or you will get sun- Will I be returning? As they say The next morning, in lumpy throat than with some cold burned and then you’ll need to Guthrie Theater for an evening of the Twin City Grill to nosh on the only megastar to light up its Irish and Catholic German tradi- tummy-busting comfort food. I over there: ‘you betcha!’ I still shorts and T-shirt, we headed beer? We barrelled along to Sham- rehydrate with another beer. beer-free culture. The 2,000-seater stage: others included Dylan, tion. Its architecture is rooted in rocks pub and restaurant to sip a theatre was founded by an Irish- recommend the mac and cheese. have to find that Finnegan’s ale... downtown. Dressing weather- David Byrne, The Ramones, Jerry the late 19th century and ragtime Which we did, at the Surly appropriately is a must here, so cold one and nosh on another man, Tyrone Guthrie, in 1963 and Refreshed, we strolled through Lee Lewis and our own U2. eras, and it is one of the most local delicacy, the Juicy Lucy Brewery on Malcolm Avenue.

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