not so lonely planet

I use Lonely Planet whenever I travel. I traipsed around Europe and the UK for 6 weeks a few years ago with nothing but their awesome books, I took another to Greece this past March as well as my last jaunt to Montreal and I'll more than likely buy one for my trip to Spain next year. The descriptions in their books use really amazing language that make you just want to get out and do stuff. Despite my long history with the LP books, I've never actually looked up what they had to say about the city I'm in love with, Minneapolis. It definitely has its own character and I'm incredibly proud to be from here. So here's what they had to say:

Minneapolis is the artiest town on the prairie, with all the trimmings of progressive prosperity – a cache of coffee shops, organic and ethnic eateries, swank art museums, and enough theaters to be nicknamed Mini-Apple (second only to the Big Apple, New York City). It’s always happenin’, even in winter.

But there’s no attitude to go along with the abundance. It’s the kind of place where homeless people are treated kindly at the coffee shops, where the buses are kept immaculately clean, and where the public workers tell every­one to ‘Have a nice day,’ rain or shine (or snow). No wonder the city recently topped the list as the most charitable place in America.

Hells. Yeah. I love my city. And they got pretty much everything Minneapolitans brag about in two paragraphs. The only thing they missed was the chain of lakes around the city. The local government kept all the shoreline for the public so there's always tons of people outside running, walking, biking, etc.

It's awesome.

You betcha.