If you’ve got today off from class, then good for you.  I’m glad you’re taking this opportunity to watch reality TV marathons and binge eat 100 Calorie Packs.  There’s no shame in that.  But next time you’ve got an extended weekend, perhaps you should round up your besties and hit the road.

Austin is oh-so trendy (in a good way) and boasts delicious culinary treats.  How can you say no to a making s’mores right in a restaurant?  Hit up Boston if you’re in the Northeast.  From potential celeb sightings to swank clubs, Beantown’s got it all.  If you’re feeling stuck in the Midwest, head to Minneapolis to take in some cosmopolitan activities.  And Savannah is great for all you Southern students.  Steeped in history and boasting the most attractive locals this side of the Mississippi, it is not to be missed.

Or maybe you want to take your long weekend in another country?  Toronto could be the city for you.  Oh, and the legal drinking age is 19…bonus!

Fall semester is in full swing and it’s starting to feel like you’re doing the same thing every week. Class. Study. Drink. Hangover. Poor Theme Party Costume Choice. Homework. Switch things up by taking advantage of a long weekend or your fall break (if you’re that lucky) by checking out our Weekend Getaway guides.   We’ve already covered Boston, Toronto , Austin and Savannah. Now, let’s hit up the midwest!

In a non-resident biased opinion, the city of Minneapolis is a diamond in the rough of cornfields and lots of suburbs we know as Minnes-ooooah-ta (yes, the accent exists). But contrary to popular belief, not everyone eats lutefisk and lefsa for dinner and it is only a desolate tundra for four months of the year.

In reality, Minneapolis is a rich destination filled with over 10,000 lakes, 22 regional trails, 330 metro parks, rich cultural amenities, 90,000 miles of shoreline (that’s more than California and Hawaii combined), world-inspired fare and fabulous boutiques.

Why is Minneapolis a perfect destination for fall break? Besides the beautiful assessment of changing leaves, farm-fresh ingredients and no sales tax on any apparel, Minneapolis is a rich city for creative force, entertainment and trendy shops and bars.  Oh, and we have hot dudes on our baseball team like this. Meow.

So tighten up your overalls and let’s start exploring. OK, I’m kidding. Keep your jeggings on and let’s play.

(First and Foremost) Pop Your Minneapolis Cherry: By visiting Walker Art Center museum and taking silly pictures next to the Spoonebridge and Cherry in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.  Spend a leisurely afternoon sightseeing and visit  The Walker Art’s Center 20.21 for great Asian-influenced California cuisine and a quick bite to eat.

Best Neighborhoods to Bar Crawl: An outer city bar neighborhood called Northeast is a fabulous destination for hipsters and is rich in its Polish and German roots.  Bars like The Bulldog serve five different kinds of hot dogs, tots, and 40 different kinds of beer.  A great late night destination in Northeast is Gasthofs -  they have an outdoor tent and a very Midwest-welcoming atmosphere.  The cobblestone streets house horse-and-carriage rides to the Stone Arch Bridge with a beautiful view of the city skyline.  East down the river provides another great neighborhood called Dinkytown.  Since it’s right outside of the new TCF Bank Stadium (home of the Gophers!) you can bask in the college lifestyle and sing karaoke at 20-somethings’ favorite Irish Pub, Blarneys.

And if you want to spend $10 dollars on a cocktail, I have the place for you (and I promise it’s totally worth it).  This gem is called The Living Room and it’s housed downtown under the W Minneapolis. The kicker?  Well, there’s two: 1. They have a drink menu showcasing over 80 cocktails, so you sit with your girlfriends on one of their exclusive glam glam couches amongst the crystals and bubbles. 2. Every baseball team that plays our hometown heroes (i.e. The Twins) comes to this bar on off nights. Um, home run.

Best Neighborhood for Good Eats: My favorite place to get some yummy grubs is most definitely Uptown.  The outer-city community houses so many tasty eateries you will overwhelm yourself.   For a posh and L.A. inspired restaurant, Chino Latino has a great late night happy hour and Chinese-Latin inspired cuisine.   Just down the street from this are two roof top bars called Uptown Cafeteria & Support Group and Stellas Fish Cafe.  They both have amazing views of the city and great food and drink specials. (Side Note: Order the Walleye Fritters at Uptown Cafeteria. Wowza).

Flip a Coin for a Free Beer: In Dinkytown, a lovely bar called Burrito Loco serves amazing tacos (Chipotle style), has a great patio and – best of all – gives out free beer if you win a coin toss every Monday night.  To top it off, they have a couple (open to play) beer pong tables and a spicy college atmosphere.

Shop till You Drop Save: Since Minnesota does not have sales tax on clothes or shoes, you can justify a hefty shopping spree at the Nicollet Mall on how you’re saving almost 7%!  The Nicollet Mall also houses an amazing Farmer’s Market from May-October with local eats.  Downtown Minneapolis offers 3 million square feet  in retail space and warm skyways to get you there, including an eight-floor Macys.  If you feel like venturing out near the airport, The Mall of America simply cannot be ignored.  A taxi should only cost about $10 from the city and the over 400 stores inside and Nickelodeon Universe will make it totally worth it.

Minneapolis Freebies: Como Zoo is a great place to catch up on your animal watching.  The zoo also has amazing bars nearby, and a quaint Minneapolis neighborhood to take a walk through.  You could also hit up the Washington Avenue Minneapolis Central Library for a quiet afternoon.  Yes, I’m a dork.

Best Pad Thai Luncheon Destination: Sawatdee is the yummiest Pad Thai restaurant in the city.  Not to mention, it’s kid friendly – so that makes it pretty safe for college kids as well (teehee).

Land of 10,000 Lakes: The Minnesota license plate does not lie.  Minneapolis is home to many beautiful lakes, rich with gorgeous architecture, clean and busy trails and adorable places to grab something to eat. Lake of the Isles, Lake Harriet, Lake Calhoun (personal fav) and Lake Nokomis are all located in the north west portion of the city.  On the north side of Lake Calhoun, you can rent paddle boats and catch up on your rollerblading.

Major ‘Must Musts’

Go to a Twins game at the brand spankin’ new Target Field. It’s a beautiful new outdoor park. And on Wednesdays, Target Field hosts ‘student night’ and you can get tickets on the cheap.  Before the game, hit up Kiernans for a bomb happy hour (personal favorite, huge glasses full of Blue Moon on tap) and an amazing patio atmosphere.  After the game, downtown Minneapolis is a buzzworthy center for after-game (afternoon) or nightlife.

Patina on 50th and Bryant in south Minneapolis. Patina is my favorite shop for glitzy, whimsical and witty gifts.  It is jam-packed with accessories, jewelry, furniture and Patina’s favorite picks. Make sure to take out a large portion of your day for this trip – I could spend hours in this yummy shop.

Best Place to Shack Up: The Depot Minneapolis is a perfect place to put your head down every evening.  The Depot was originally a train station in the 1800′s (their business peaking in the 1920′s) and now it has been transformed into a beautiful, classic hotel.  Inside, there is a 15,000 square foot water-park and a romantic, beautiful outdoor skating rink for the wintertime.  Simply lovely!

Fall semester is in full swing and it’s starting to feel like you’re doing the same thing every week. Class. Study. Drink. Hangover. Poor Theme Party Costume Choice. Homework. Switch things up by taking advantage of a long weekend or your fall break (if you’re that lucky) by checking out our Weekend Getaway guides.   We’ve already covered Boston, Toronto and Austin. Now, we wanna take you on a road less traveled (unless you’re Paula Deen)…to Savannah, Georgia.

To the young, curious child version of myself, Savannah, Georgia was synonymous with Girl Scouts —the scratchy uniform I hated, the vest that always seemed to have less badges than the rest of the other Brownie Scouts, and, of course, Girl Scout Cookies! Yum, I love those things!

However, that’s only one part of Savannah. Yes, Girl Scouts of America was founded there by Juliette Gordon Low and I’m sure visiting brings back many fond memories to the to former Girl Scout tourists.  But, Savannah is filled with centuries of history, charm, and even some ghosts! If you’re looking to get out of the hustle and bustle of your college campus for a long weekend, head down to the ol’ South and check out quaint Savannah, Georgia!

Touristy Spots:

River Street- Located right on the Savannah River, River Street is one of the most historic areas of Savannah.  The cobblestone streets take you back in time hundreds of years as you take in the historic beauty. There are numerous shops, restaurants, and even street performers that will provide entertainment for hours.  One of my favorite shops is the River Street Sweets candy shop.  Here, you will find the most delicious saltwater taffy, as well as fudge, chocolate, praline treats…you name it, they have it!  Seriously, bring your wallet and your sweet tooth! At the end of River Street is the Waving Girl statue.  According to legend, Florence Martus waved at passing ships, waiting for her own true love to return.  She never missed a ship in the forty years that she greeted the passing ships. Tell me that’s not romantic?!

Take a Tour- Seeing Savannah by tour trolley is the best way to soak in all the history it has to offer.  I suggest Oglethorpe Trolley Tours. For only $15 you can see 90 minutes worth of historic hot spots, beautiful churches, and cemeteries. All tours are narrated by a tour guide, so you’ll learn some interesting facts about historic Savannah. Plus, you can get on and off the trolley and explore on your own. Seriously, this is the way to go—you’ll get the most bang for your buck!

Juliette Gordon Low’s Birthplace- In case you weren’t able to visit as a brownie scout, you must visit now and pay some homage to the lady, Juliette Gordon Low, that made those Thin Mints so famous!  Her southern mansion gives insight into early Girl Scout history, as well as shows some of what daily life was like during the early 1900s.

Restaurants:

Huey’s on the River- Located right on River Street, Huey’s on the River offers some New Orleans’ flair in Savannah.  Expect long waits, but the food will make up for it, especially the beignets, or the gumbo, or the muffalettas. Yum! Order anything on the menu, you can’t go wrong.

The Lady and Son’s Restaurant- Paula Deen. Need I say more?! Paula Deen is my absolute favorite chef, so when I heard that she had a restaurant in Savannah I had to try it! Everything she cooks clogs my arteries makes my mouth water! I don’t know if it’s my butter obsession or because when I eat any of her recipes, calories don’t matter to me, but her food is pure bliss.  And The Lady and Son’s Restaurant is no different!  The food will leave you more than satisfied and the dessert will warm your soul! Lady and Son’s is definitely a must-try!

The Pirate’s House- This restaurant has been in service since 1753.  Originally, The Pirate’s House was an inn for seafarers and offered them food and drink in exchange for stories about sailing the seven seas.  Today, it acts as a restaurant serving only the most delicious food! The menu ranges from seafood to pasta to steaks and burgers. Try any of the jolly ol’ grub and you won’t be disappointed.  A fun fact: the restaurant is claimed to be haunted because of the secret passageways under the restaurant that led to the river. Spooky!

Nightlife:

Oktoberfest- One of the biggest festivals in Savannah takes place on River Street each year.  Enjoy a part of the original Oktoberfest, Savannah style.  Between the Weiner Dog Races, bratwurst, and hundreds of beers from around the world, you can’t go wrong. There’s even a fried beer stand this year! At night, you can enjoy the Fireworks put on annually by Wet Willies Restaurant (also another cool restaurant to try)! Sounds like a good October weekend to me!

Ghost Tour- No history is better than haunted history! Savannah is known for the supernatural occurrences so you MUST try out one of these tours.  There are many companies that offer ghost tours, so pick creepiest one and put your ghost hunting skills to work!

Kevin Barry’s Irish Pub- The good ol’ Irish settled in Savannah, so there’s a huge Irish cultural influence there.  Check out this pub for some delicious Irish-American pub grub, grab a pint and enjoy the awesome performers that will have you singing along to “Molly Malone” all night long. Slainte!

Lodging:

The epicenter of Savannah is River Street. Some recommended hotels are the Hyatt Regency or for a more historic feel the River Street Inn, which dates back to the 1800s.  Both are quality hotels, located right on River Street, and provide you with easy access to numerous historic hot spots, restaurants and shops!

Fall semester is in full swing and it’s starting to feel like you’re doing the same thing every week. Class. Study. Drink. Hangover. Poor Theme Party Costume Choice. Homework. Switch things up by taking advantage of a long weekend or your fall break (if you’re that lucky) by checking out our Weekend Getaway guides.   We’ve already covered Boston and Toronto. Today we’re celebrating Austin.

Austin is somewhere I’m glad to call my home. It’s a city that’s big enough to be exciting, but at the same time small enough to be super friendly. There is always something to do here, making it an optimal destination for Fall Break or a long weekend away from campus.

Why, you ask?

Well for starters, if music is your thing, Austin is definitely the place to be. We didn’t earn the name “Live Music Capital of the World” for nothing. Secondly, we’re far enough south that “Fall” to the rest of the country still feels like summer. Have a cute swimsuit you got at an end of season sale? Bust it out here! Thirdly, the University of Texas, Austin’s major university accounting for 50,000 students, doesn’t have a fall break, so that means NO CROWDS! And, really, Austin is just all around fun. I mean, the slogan for the plethora of funky locally owned business is “Keep Austin Weird!”

If that doesn’t entice you, perhaps this will:

Tourist Spots:

South Congress – More affectionately known as “SoCo,” this, to me, is the best place to shop, eat, and get a great feel of the Keep Austin Weird mentality. More specifically, you can check out Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds; this crazy costume shop that has just about everything imaginable (and we all know that every college student needs to keep a few costumes in her arsenal!). Have a sweet tooth? Check out Big Top Candy Shop, an old fashion candy store that even has a working vintage soda machine! My favorite part of SoCo is the view of the Capital building/downtown skyline. Seriously, bring your camera.

Barton Springs Pool - This natural spring stays at 75 degrees year round. Mmmmmm. One of my favorite parts of Austin is how green and beautiful our parks are, and this is to me the best place to enjoy that. Like I said, it’s still in the 80′s during October, so enjoy the heat before you have to go home to the harsh reality that winter is fast approaching!

Food:

Kerbey Lane Cafe – This 24 hour place is great because it pretty much has everything, and is also vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and friendly to just about any dietary need. What makes is amazing, however, is the pancakes. You have never tasted anything like them. So fluffy, so flavorful, and sooooooo good. And you’re in luck because during the fall they have pumpkin pancakes, AKA the best thing that’ll ever happen to you.

Guero’s Taco Bar – You can’t go to Austin and not get Tex-Mex; it’s just not right. Guero’s has some of the best in town, and also has some divine margaritas. If it sounds familiar, that’s because it’s a favorite of Quentin Tarantino and was even in the movie Deathproof.

The Salt Lick – This is isn’t technically in Austin, but totally worth the 25 minute drive out of town. Located in Driftwood, The Salt Lick is most likely the best barbecue you will ever have the pleasure of eating. The meat is fall-apart-in-your-mouth tender and delicious. But be warned: on a typical Friday night it’s at least an hour wait. Totes worth it, though.

Nightlife:

6th Street – This is where Austin gets interesting. There are more bars on about 5 blocks of 6th Street, aka “dirty 6th,” than is probably in your entire hometown. They shut the street down to traffic just about every night. With all of these bars in close proximity, there is always a good band playing and cheap drinks to enjoy. No wonder Dirty 6th is a haven for the drunken crazy college kids.

Warehouse district – If you prefer a classier bar experience, go two blocks over to 4th street for the warehouse district. Just as many bars but with fewer people puking in the streets. My favorite place to go after a long night of drinking is Halcyon. It’s small, cozy, has interesting local art on the walls, and, get this, you can make s’mores. They bring out a plate of marshmallows, Hershey bars, and graham crackers with a little mini campfire and skewers. You can order a small order for 2 or a larger order for 4, and it’s so much fun!

So there you have it: a long weekend in Austin. If that doesn’t sound like a great trip, I don’t know what does. Hope to see you soon!

Fall semester is in full swing and it’s starting to feel like you’re doing the same thing every week. Class. Study. Drink. Hangover. Poor Theme Party Costume Choice. Homework. Switch things up by taking advantage of a long weekend or your fall break (if you’re that lucky) by checking out our Weekend Getaway guides. You’ve already got a guide to Boston.  Today we’re celebrating Toronto.

For our readers in Eastern Canada, or even in the Northeastern states, Toronto is definitely a city you should consider checking out for a long weekend.  There is a lot to do in the city, and with everything in the downtown close together, you can see a lot in just a few days!  Plus, if you’re coming up across the border, the drinking age is only 19 so you, too, can get a taste of the stellar nightlife.

But beyond that, Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world – you could easily eat or shop your way around the world in only a few hours. It’s also a hub for art, shows, and fashion so there’s something here for everyone. And your money goes a wee bit further than it would in the U.S.A.

So what are you waiting for? Grab your passport and come to Canada!

What to Do

When operational, the Distillery District in Toronto used to be home to the largest distillery in the British Empire.  Now the district is home to 40 historic buildings, making up the most preserved collection of Victorian industrial architecture in North America.  Yeah, I know you might be rolling your eyes at visiting a historic area, but there are lots of restaurants and shops, too!  Like SOMA chocolate – where they sell delicious artisan chocolate. Next I’d recommend checking out the Royal Ontario Museum (commonly known as the ROM). If you’re a shopper, our Rodeo Drive/5th Avenue equivalent is in this area.

Lastly, check out Kensington Market;  there are lots of cool little shops, cafes and bars, making it the perfect stop for an afternoon stroll. If you’re into vintage clothing there also happen to be a TON of shops around there full of fun and funky threads.  Chinatown borders on Kensington so go check it out as well – I highly recommend going to a Chinese bakery while you’re there.

Three places you must eat

1. Smokes Poutinerie
Poutine is a Canadian delicacy, and Smoke’s has quite the variety of specialty poutine dishes

2. Terroni
You have to try pizza at Terroni; it’s delicious.  If you go to the location on Adelaide, it’s in the old Courthouse – a seriously cool atmosphere.

3. Fresh
Want something healthy? Check out one of their three locations.  This vegetarian juice-bar is sure to have you feeling pumped to hit the streets since you’ll be full of nutritional goodness.  And, just an FYI, Toronto is brimming with vegetarian/vegan restaurants for all of you meat-free ladies.

Nightlife

There are lots of places to go out in Toronto.  My recommendations would be to stick these areas, especially if you want to do a little bar hopping: Annex, Queen West, the Entertainment District and Kensington Market.  These neighborhoods tend to skew younger, so you won’t have to worry so much about being hit on by creepy older men. And the Annex & Kensington Market are super close to University of Toronto, so you’ll find lots of students getting their drink on.

Lodging
If you’re looking to save some money, I’d definitely opt for a hostel. Some highly rated hostels in Toronto are the Canadiana Backpackers Inn, Backpackers on Dundas and Global Village Backpackers. If you’re coming up on a weekend or holiday and want more luxurious accommodations, check out the hotels in the financial district – they usually offer reduced rates when it’s not a standard business day.

Yes, there are many up-sides to this little trip: we get a break from all the homework, we get to eat something other then cafeteria mystery meat for a change, and we get to curl up with Scruffy on the couch for a couple of days.

But with the comfort of being home comes a few downers as well. And I’m not talking about being woken up at 9am on a Saturday or having to empty the dishwasher. It’s those little comments from mom and dad that really get under your skin. And no matter how hard you try to be nice, you just can’t help but snap, say something mean and beeline to the car/airport (clean clothes and leftovers in hand, obvi) as soon as humanly possible.

Here are a few of the worst offenders:

“Honey, your pants look a little tight”
Yes mom, I realize that drinking 5 days out of the week and eating delivery pizza has done a number on my waistline. Am I happy about it? No. Do I know it is there? Yes. Is it helping that you pinch the muffin top and poke the underarm flab? Absolutely not!

“Have you found a nice boy yet?”
If by “nice” you mean “a tall pre-med student who considers hanging out in the library fun,” then no, dad, I have not found your ideal son-in-law quite yet. But I have hooked up with a couple of the guys on the football team who can barely form coherent sentences but have 8-pack stomachs you can bounce a quarter off of, if that counts for anything.

“Are you getting straight A’s?”
Don’t you think if I was acing every test I probably would’ve mentioned it to you in our weekly phone calls? It’s the fact that I am failing Bio miserably and barely ever making it to the 9 a.m. calculus lectures that has kept this topic out of our discussions. Maybe next semester. Keep praying, I know I am.

“We’re not just your ATM, you know.”
Ok, so they’re right about that, but between classes and everything else I’m doing on campus (napping?), I just don’t have the time to call and chat every day. Hell, they should be happy they hear from me at all.

“We saw your pictures on Facebook, you look like you are having…a lot of fun”
Get off Facebook! This is not a tool to stalk your children and befriend your old high school classmates and catch up. This is my website where I stalk my ex boyfriends and post sloppy pictures of myself, neither of which I would like you to monitor.

“Why can’t I see your Facebook pictures anymore?”
I have no idea, mom; Facebook must be crashing. It’s been having a lot of issues you know, giving people viruses and stuff. You should really terminate your account.

“We are still trying to plan that visit”
Oh goody. I can cancel all the party invitations for a 4-day weekend filled with quiet dinners, giving campus tours, and being yelled at for living in a pigsty. Wonderful. I’ll just pray you don’t find the handle of rum under my bed, or the textbooks still in their wrapping in the desk drawer.

What else do your parents pester you with over break that drives you crazy?

Sure, it was nice to be home. But I kept feeling like I had to go back to school, like this was more of a temporary sleepover than a homecoming. While the weekend kept me busy from noticing that my house was not exactly home, it also uncovered a new strangeness which college created—meeting up with high school friends.

Most of my high school friends, all of whom I have known for years, go to college within two hours of my hometown. So when a few of us come home for the weekend, we all come home for the weekend. And while I loved being around people who never need an explanation for my random songs or not-funny jokes, it was also startling to see how just a few months have changed us.

I left my friends for the entire summer, and I noticed little change when I came back. But now my friends are not just sitting around their houses or working at the local Dunkin’ Donuts; they’re making friends, testing their boundaries and (some of them) are becoming people who I never would have talked to in high school. When it’s just the few of us watching a movie or walking around town, I can’t entirely ignore the college sweatshirts, new belly-button rings and anecdotes starring new best friends. I can’t pretend that this is last June, when we all just graduated and were ready for something new.

We all desperately needed something different from our perfect little hometown. Well, we got what we wanted. And now, the constant of friends and home have been fogged. When I walked back into my dorm after Fall Break, arms filled with cleaned laundry and warmer coats, a friend leaned over the balcony and said hello. I realized then that while my house and my friends will never be exactly the same as they were, they will still be there for me when I need to escape from college.

But now I don’t need to escape so much. When I enter the dorm, I have people welcoming me home.

[Photo courtesy of danielbowen.com]