Travelog for: Dille

I'm going to Sannah in the USA. Yippieeee! Bye Kamille and Suomi-Girl. I'm gonna miss you.

Well, I'm ready. I will be nice and comfortable in my sleeping bag. And I will bring some souvenirs and my wardrobe too! See you soon, Sannah!

Hi there!

I just wanted to let you know that I have safely arrived at sannah's place! I traveled about 6700km in about 14 days, that is not too bad.

Climbing out of my box, I met Anna Pineapple and Lavender Bear who welcomed me in the USA.



The other girls wanted to see my wardrobe, so we did a little style check ...



This is like an endless slumber party - I am going to have sooo much fun here!

I am going to explore more of Rochester another time.

A short look out of the window told me that it was a good idea to wear my knitted sweater ... I have never seen that much snow before!



I can't wait to go outside and explore the neighborhood!

All the best,
Dille

Hi Dille!

I'm so glad you arrived safely in the USA! I was very worried, you know. But well, that's how big sisters are!
I wish you, your new friends and hostmum Sannah happy Valentine's Day!

BIG hug,

your sister Kamille

p.s. Suomi-Girl, Tigerlily and Emjay send their love too.

Hi there!

In order to have lunch with her hubby on Valentine’s Day, sannah went to downtown Rochester after she was done working. Rochester is home of the Mayo Clinic, a world famous non-profit hospital organization. About one third of the city’s population work there and so does sannah-man.



This was the New Mayo Clinic Building when it was opened in 1928. Nowadays, Human Resources have their offices in here. It is now called Plummer Building and named after the architect who designed it who also was a doctor at Mayo Clinic.



Isn’t that building beautiful?



Have a look at the door!



Without a doubt, it is a lot classier than the other Mayo Buildings. Yes, they are all part of the hospital system: patient care, research, administration. You name it!



Between all those buildings downtown, the Peace Plaza is the closest thing to a pedestrian zone that Rochester has to offer. But only a few people were outside, the majority takes the subway (underground tunnels) or skywalks. Both connect buildings downtown and you don’t have to step into the cold if you want lunch. Here you can see one.



This friendly goose was waiting for visitors. I said hello! Its coat shows supposedly typical Minnesota scenery.



Oh, can you see the tower of the Plummer Building reflected in the Wells Fargo Building?



We went back to sannah-man’s work through the skyway because we were freezing. Therefore we are looking down upon both more typical downtown buildings (instead of the modern high rises) …



… and the Old City Hall which is nowadays an apartment complex. Once a year, Santa Claus is landing on the roof when he is coming to town.



Now you know where I stay. Do you like it?

All the best,
Dille

Hi little sis!

Yes, I like it! I can't believe you have snow! Here it is almost spring 
Have fun and give Sannah a hug for making lovely pictures of you.

Luv you!

Your sister Kamille

Hi sis!

Yesterday and today work was canceled for sannah because of an upcoming Blizzard. At first, there was snow and then lots of wind, close to storm (at around 80km/h).

But in the afternoon, the wind had calmed down a little and sannah took us for a walk in order to get fresh air after having been locked up for nearly two days (which is the most reasonable thing to do).

It was beautiful in this hour shortly before sunset.

Along Silver Lake Drive, cars were driving more careful than usually.



It will take some time before somebody can sit on this bench again:



With the blue sky and the still fresh snow, the atmosphere was extraordinary calm. I loved it! Oh, Silver Lake is hidden somewhere under this plain snow coat.



Isn't mother nature's work amazing?



From the south end of Silver Lake on 7th St NE you have a nice look over downtown Rochester with its highest building (Broadway Suites and Apartments) on the left and the RPU Power Plant on the right. Hidden in between is the remarkable tower of the Plummer Building, can you spot it, sis?



This scenery is pretty romantic, isn't it? The two stone bridges ... It's hard to believe you are in the middle of a city with a population of more than 108,000!



I must admit, it was even more romantic against the sunset ...



Another view of downtown from the northeast Silver Lake. Those small mountains of snow were caused by the storm - blowing snow is a serious traffic danger! Even for those who were walking, because the mostly cleared path was blocked by snow drifts.



One last look ...



... and then we headed back home. Without the sunshine, it was freezing cold!

All the best to you! And don't worry, we stay warm!

Groetjes,
Dille

Hi little sis!

That looks amazing! I'm glad you took your warm sweater with you!

Love you!

Your big sister Kamille

Hi there!

It is slowly, very slowly, getting warmer! And therefore, it is finally warm enough to go out again without freezing instantly. Yay!

Last time downtown I had forgotten to give you an impression of Historic 3rd Street with all its antiques stores and taverns. Here it is:



sannah also wanted me to show you the Government Center for the city of Rochester and Olmsted, but I wasn't patient enough and hopped out of the picture.



On this picture you can see a memorial of the brothers Mayo in front of the Mayo Civic Center,  the local center of Performing Arts.



Walking along the Zumbro River, we had a nice look on Downtown Rochester.



And this is the first time I have seen one of those typical yellow school buses!



As you can see, everything is still covered in snow, but it has finally started to thaw! *yeah*

All the best,
Dille

Hi there!

Snow is thawing, but unlike the Netherlands, spring hasn't really arrived in Minnesota yet.

Nevertheless, we went to see the mighty Mississippi River, still partly frozen.
At first we went to Lake City ...



And then Anna and I continued our trip in the car. The road runs between the river at one side and the bluffs at the other.





We saw more of the Mississippi at our final stop for the day.

All the best, Dille

Hi there!

After our ride along the mighty Mississippi River, we stopped in Winona, MN, a small college town on Minnesota’s eastern border.

If you cross the bridge in the background, you already are in Wisconsin, the river is the border.



Can you see to what extend the Mississippi is still frozen?



Interesting to see what happens when freezing and thawing alternates ...



We really had a great time at the River Promenade. It must be more crowded in summer.





When we finally drove home, it was already sunset.



I hope to show you some spring soon!

All the best, Dille

Hi there!

I just wanted to check in real quick ... Spring has finally arrived and as you can see, the snow has completely melted now.

So I joined sannah on a bike ride on the cleared trails.

sannah and sannah-man are looking forward to making a big trip next weekend. Stay tuned!

All the best,
Dille

Hi Dille!

Great to hear from you! We can't wait to see the next updates!

Big hug,

Kamille & Emjay

Hi Mom!

Together with sannah and her husband, Anna Pineapple and I traveled to the Capital of the United States of America for Easter: Hello, Washington DC!

For better orientation, we started at the Old Post Office Tower. The whole building should have been demolished in the 1970s, but was preserved for its architectural value. And doesn’t it look beautiful?



National Park Service is in charge of access to the tower. We had to pass a security check and then took the elevator to the 9th floor. While waiting in line, I studied an information sheet together with sannah-man.



Another elevator would have taken us up to the 12th floor where the observation deck is. But we decided to take 130 stairs instead and passed the bells of the tower on our way up.



Then we finally arrived at the observation deck and had a nice view over the city with all the important buildings.

Unfortunately, the White House is hidden behind another, not so white building in this picture. Consider the large green area being its front yard.



Hard to miss in this picture is the Washington Monument, the obelisk in the center of the National Mall. In the distance on the right, at the end of National Mall, is the Lincoln Memorial.



Not much to see on this picture … The dome should belong to one of the world famous Smithsonian Museums. sannah definitely needs to come back to see them – she walked by, but did not enter although admission is always free! The weather was way too good to spend time indoors!



Our last look was east towards the US State Capitol Building – it is even impressive from the distance!



On our way back down, we went through a small exhibit advertising the tower and its history.



More to follow soon, Sis! All I can say is: We really had a blast and enjoyed the sunshine. Did you notice that I changed sweaters?

All the best, Dille

Hi there!

Out of the Post Office, we wanted to get closer to the impressive US state capitol building. So we went along National Mall and crossed the Sculpture Garden. There we saw an interesting piece by Miró.



The big building in the back is the National Art Gallery. Something else to explore another time …


Just a few minutes later, we stood at the front of a big pool right in front of the United States Capitol, the legendary home of the U.S. legislature.



We had to head back to our hotel after enjoying the view for a while. On our way along Pennsylvania Avenue, we passed a tiny little park with the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial in the center.



But I must admit I liked the flowers more … Haven’t seen those for a while in snowy Minnesota!

All the best, Dille