A weekend in Minnesota and the search for Amalgam

Bill Bryson, in his book The Lost Continent (it's brilliant, and very insightful - I recommend it) talks about his search, on his travels through America, for the town Amalgam - not a real named place, but some small town which is the perfect little small town of his past. He comes to realise that it doesn't exist, but he picks a piece of this town and something from somewhere else to try and create it.

Well, I think I might have found a contender for Amalgam. The Major and I spent this last weekend in Fairmont, Minnesota. The Major's grandfather, who was sent there during the war, is now buried there, and we were having a sort of family reunion around his newly planted gravestone. In the meantime, we got to explore the place, and very nice it was too.

Fairmont is centered around five lakes, which make a pleasant sort of hub for the town, the main part of which is pretty compact, if you discount the ugly sprawl that has started to leach from the edges in the form of Pizza Huts and Travelodges. There's an old-school high street, a fine county courthouse, complete with cupola'd roof, and streets full of pretty houses, many of which face onto one of the lakes. We spent Saturday lazing by the water, baking ourselves then jumping in to cool off. In the late afternoon, we moseyed to the Channel Inn, a modest sort of place on the water's edge, where we saw a bridal party straight from the wedding. The bride, still in her white dress, had donned cowboy boots and was knocking back a beer on the jetty. It was that sort of place. We stayed for dinner, and had burgers and fries and set the world to rights.

I'm aware I probably sound as if I'm drifting off into some kind of idyllic daydream where I'm imagining relocating to Fairmont and sitting on my back porch watching the sun go down. But back to reality: as one distant relation put it, Fairmont is a three-day town. It's fun for the first 48 hours; after 72, you're pretty much ready to get out of there. Because once you've sunbathed, swam, possibly had a boat trip and eaten at the Channel Inn a couple of towns, you're pretty much done. The nearest big city, Minneapolis, is a two and a half hour drive away, and the only big stores are a strikingly ugly JC Penney and a Wal Mart. We all wondered where everybody worked: the answer is that the majority of the population are retired. Most of them are Iowa farmers.

So... not the Amalgam for me. Perhaps I'll start searching for my own. I think my criteria are a bit different from Bill's though. For a start, my Amalgam, at this stage, is probably a city rather than a town. It needs to be walkable (and have residents who walk), have nice architecture and a sense of history. Good restaurants - they don't have to be fancy, but just with decent food - a smattering of independent boutiques as well as the high street stores (I need Gap), a few coffee shops, hosts a decent farmer's market. On water would be nice, and a university or some other intellectual centre is a plus. Culture - an art gallery, theatre, cinema. As I'm writing this, I'm picturing Seattle (still my favourite American city), although admittedly Seattle is rather cold. I'm not averse to rain - I consider it rather good for the soul, in fact, but I'd like it to warm up in the summer if possible. Accessible without being super-expensive. Not too hectic - but not too laid back either. The people need to be nice - without simultaneously being simple. I'd rather not be asked whether I'm from Australia every other day (happens more than you might think), so a sprinkling of cosmopolitanism is a definite bonus.

I'm going back to the UK in two weeks and know I'm not going to be able to check out any potential Amalgams before then - unless you count Toronto, where my plane goes via, which you can't as it's in Canada. Anyone with any suggestions, please make a comment. I'll keep you posted...