Twin Cities

TC is a major misnomer. The term implies that the physically merging Minneapolis and St Paul are more or less twins (ie alike), when they are not. Minneapolis is a major metropolitan city (with everything that goes with it), while St Paul is an overgrown cow-town that no one has heard of. Minneapolis is just like any major city: rectangular blocks with neatly numbered streets, active cultural and social life, ghetto areas, ritz, pizzazz, panache, gravitas, fluff, you get the picture. St Paul (about 8 miles to the east) looks and feels significantly dumpier. The streets make no sense whatsoever, there is much less going on (the city even has a website to promote its 'culture'), except for a few festivals, like the Ice Palace (not exactly a good marketing scheme for a state already burdened by significant cold-related image issues). The town, despite being the state capital and all, has the down-home feel of a ruffled diner serving huge pancakes and diluted coffee.