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BISCOTTI’S FOR CHRISTMAS ANYONE?

Monday, December 12th, 2011

HillcrestBiscottis

December 12th, 2011 by David Reeck, Amil’s Inn Bed & Breakfast

This past November, my fellow Innkeeper, Jennifer Dunn from The Franklin Victorian Bed and Breakfast in Sparta, Wisconsin and I went on the Lanesboro Inn Christmas Tour in Lanesboro, Minnesota. They were all very delightful and full of decorating ideas.

One of our favorite Inn’s on the tour was the Hillcrest Hide-Away B & B. We commented on the array of plates filled with the different flavors of Biscotti’s served with Cider Wassail. Marv and Carol Eggert were great hosts and kind enough to share the recipes with us.

Last week Jennifer visited Amil’s Inn Bed and Breakfast and we managed to make 5 different Biscotti recipes. For those who don’t know, a biscotti is an Italian cookie baked twice and served with something hot. They are commonly dunked in the hot coffee, tea or hot cider to soften them a little before eating. What makes the biscotti special is the white or chocolate coating on one end which makes them delicious to enjoy with friends and family.

Here is one of the recipes:

Carol’s Almond Biscotti

Tags: biscotti, Christmas, Lanesboro, MN
Posted in Bed & Breakfast, Christmas, Holiday Inn Tour, Lanesboro Local Food & Goods, Local Foods | No Comments »

Lanesboro adorned with holiday lights

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

: Andy, City employee, installs snowflake lights downtown

Lanesboro Minnesota’s historic downtown is decorated for the holidays! Escape the holiday bustle, come and relax in a quiet place with no stoplights or franchises. Lanesboro is a historic village nestled in the Bluffs of the Root River Valley.

Lanesboro-6797 Treat yourself and someone special Romance and Relaxation Package

Posted in America's Prettiest Towns, Bed & Breakfast, Weekend Trips, Winter Vacations | No Comments »

Plan Ahead: Lanesboro for the Holidays

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

BY ELLIE M. BAYRD

Minnesota Monthly.com

There’s something delightfully charming about Lanesboro, which prides itself on being “The bed and breakfast capital of Minnesota”—seriously, there are more than 14 in the area. The town, nestled in the bluffs of the Root River Valley, is a beautiful place to explore and relax no matter the season. Forbes even named Lanesboro one ofAmerica’s Prettiest Towns in 2010.

After Halloween this weekend, the holiday season will be right around the corner. Start feeling festive at the third annual Lanesboro Holiday Inn Tour (Nov. 19 & 20, from 2-6 p.m., tickets limited). On the tour, you’ll see 12 of Lanesboro’s much-loved inns decked out for the holidays (six each day). Tickets run $20 for one day or $35 for both (half-price for guests at sponsoring inns) and include appetizers at the Old Village Hall Restaurant & Pub.

Lanesboro

PHOTO BY TODD BUCHANAN

Just in time for the holidays, don’t miss Parfumerie (Nov. 18-Dec. 20), a romantic comedy about the rivalry of two department store perfume clerks during the Christmas season (think: You’ve Got Mail) at the Commonweal Theatre Company.

Posted in America's Prettiest Towns, Arts & Crafts, Bed & Breakfast, Best of the Midwest Getaway Town, Commonweal Theatre, Getaway Packages, Minnesota Theatre, Uncategorized, Winter Vacations | No Comments »

Country Haven Bed & Breakfast Guests Tell their Stories

Friday, October 28th, 2011

Womeldorf's Photos Country Haven 010 Thank you for making us feel so much like welcome guests, or maybe even like part of the family! We had a very relaxing 3-night stay! Thanks for the evening fires and scrumptious meals and snacks. Visiting with you and discovering so many similarities and connections were an added bonus. We hope to come again sometime. We loved the animals all roaming around – it added to the peace, restfulness and charm of your beautiful “haven.” – Guests from Rochester, MN

Womeldorf's Photos Country Haven 007

Country Haven is a great, peaceful getaway! We loved your wonderful hospitality. You always made us feel at home. We’ll miss the crowing roosters, guinea hens, Tia the dog and the cats. Next time, we promise to interact with the goats more, and maybe get the old John Deere started. Thanks again for a wonderful time. We couldn’t have enjoyed our 25th Anniversary more! – Guests from Plymouth, MN

Womeldorf's Photos Country Haven 015 There is so much to appreciate here in your “country haven.” It shows all your nurturing care you have given it through all the years you have lived here with your family. You clearly love the many choices you have made and your personal stamp is evident everywhere – and now you are sharing it all with people like us. Thank you! We were fascinated and amused by all the animals and their antics and the crowing and bleating as we woke up this morning. He was born and grew up in New York City, so that part was a special treat for him. Your cooking is outstanding! A special treat. – Guests from Prior Lake, MN

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Lanesboro Holiday Inn Tour Nov 19 – 20

Friday, October 28th, 2011

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Marvin Eggert

The popular Lanesboro Holiday Inn Tour is coming soon, and this year it comes with a special twist.

Lanesboro Inn Decorated for Christmas

The Tour welcomes people to visit the Bed & Breakfasts and inns that have made Lanesboro the Bed and Breakfast Capital of Minnesota. This year the Tour will happen over two days: November 19^th and 20^th. Six inns will be open on Saturday November 19^th, and six more on Sunday the 20^th. Each will be decorated for the holidays and will offer a warm welcome to their special homes. The Old Village Hall Restaurant & Pub will also be serving Amuse Bouche (bite-sized appetizers) to all tour ticket holders as part of the tour. Visit the inn tour web site to see the inns participating in the tour. The times of the tour each day are 2-6 p.m.

Tickets purchased in advance are $20 for a one-day visit, $35 for two days. Guests who are staying at any of the sponsoring inns that weekend will receive half-price inn tour tickets.

Enjoy the charm of Lanesboro and the beauty of the decorated B & Bs as a way to begin your holiday festivities. For more information, call 800-944-2670 or 507-467-2696. Advanced tickets—which are limited—can be purchased online at or in-person at the Lanesboro Visitor Center in downtown Lanesboro. Advanced ticket purchase is recommended. Tickets purchased on the day of the tour are $30 for one day and $45 for two days.

Make your visit to Lanesboro complete by dining downtown and attending the holiday play “Parfumerie” at the Commonweal Theatre. See you at the 3^rd Lanesboro Holiday Inn Tour!

Posted in America's Prettiest Towns, Bed & Breakfast, Best of the Midwest Getaway Town, Commonweal Theatre, Getaway Packages, Holiday Inn Tour, Lanesboro Arts, Romantic Getaway Packages, Weekend Trips, Winter Vacations | No Comments »

Minnesota’s vintage river towns offer peek at days gone by

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

By Carla Waldemar October 1, 2011 9:11PM

Chicago Sun-Times

LanesboroEAST Some say Lanesboro occupies the prettiest corner of Southern Minnesota, where brawny limestone bluffs plunge into deep gorges spliced by a rambunctious river. Caught in a hairpin bend in the water is the tiny town (pop. 788).

Its downtown — all two-blocks of it — is lined with brick and clapboard buildings from the 1870s. Following decades of faltering fortunes, they’ve been restored by feisty young entrepreneurs and mellow folks fleeing the city who credit the town’s new lease on life to its burgeoning arts scene, backed by nature’s own palette: the great outdoors.

The Root River Bike Trail bisects Main Street. Called “the Cadillac of trails” for its wide, smooth surface, it follows the rippling river where kayaks and canoes also flourish.

Back in town, Commonweal Theatre Co. stages year-round shows, highlighted by its annual Ibsen Festival. Nearby, the Lanesboro Arts Center celebrates exhibits of regional artists’ creations. Local craftspeople took the hint and set up shops of their own, such as Frank Wright, Spoonmaker, who creates wooden kitchenware, and the contributors of Lanesboro Local, proffering handmade wares from goats’ milk soap to calico aprons and foodstuffs like honey, cheese and lefse. Add a bottle of wine from Scenic Valley Winery, and your picnic is secure.

Enjoy it in nearby Sylvan Park, amid spring-fed ponds, a horseshoe pitch and kids’ playground. It also serves as hitching post for the Amish buggies that clop into town for farmers’ markets.

For a glimpse into the way of life of this tightly knit community, sign up with Bluffscape Amish Tours to chat and shop with half a dozen families who sell leather goods, handmade baskets, baked goods and jellies.

To tour the town itself, pick up a self-guide map at the Lanesboro Historical Museum, where you’ll also pick up the scoop on Buffalo Bill, who stopped here in 1883 to perform his very first show.

Some of the town’s historic edifices have found new life as B&Bs. Premier among them is Mrs. B’s, housed in a limestone building of 1872 right beside the tumbling river.

Information: lanesboro.com

Posted in America's Prettiest Towns, Arts & Crafts, Bed & Breakfast, Best of the Midwest Getaway Town, Biking Root River State Trail, Commonweal Theatre, Lanesboro Arts, Lanesboro Local Food & Goods, Legacy Destination, Local Foods, Locally Made | No Comments »

Lanesborough Ireland visits Lanesboro, Minnesota

Friday, September 23rd, 2011

A family from Lanesborough, Ireland visited the Lanesboro, Minnesota Visitor Center this week. They came on a day trip from Rochester, Mn and the Mayo Clinic. John, Patirica, Amy, Sarah and Baby James enjoyed touring around Historic Lanesboro, MN and exploring the beautiful bluff country area. They said all the bluffs reminded them of the rolling green hills of Ireland!

Posted in America's Prettiest Towns, Bed & Breakfast | No Comments »

Lanesboro – A Great Destination For Road Bikers Too!

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

Marvin Eggert

Lansboro

As home to the Root River Trail, Lanesboro has earned a reputation as a great biking destination. Every summer thousands of bikers visit to enjoy the trail and everything else that Lanesboro has to offer. Recently we had a few guests that took their road bikes to explore the rolling countryside around Lanesboro. Click here to continue reading.

Posted in America's Prettiest Towns, Bed & Breakfast, Best of the Midwest Getaway Town, Biking Root River State Trail, Energy Conservation, Fall Color, Fit City, Getaway Packages, Legacy Destination, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Lanesboro, Minnesota: The belle of bluff country

Friday, August 5th, 2011

www.midwestweekends.com

In southeast Minnesota, tiny Lanesboro pulls in the tourists.

Bluffs hem in downtown Lanesboro on two sides.

In an isolated bluff-country valley, reached only by small, winding roads, lies one of Minnesota’s favorite getaways.

There are no condo resorts here, no wine bars and — heaven forbid — no national franchises. The aroma of manure hangs over downtown on Wednesdays and Fridays, when livestock auctions are held.

Only 750 people live here, and they can’t afford to advertise much, so most visitors come via word of mouth.

Even so, Lanesboro is the town every other small town in the region wishes it could be.

For Lanesboro is right on the proverbial street paved with gold. The beautiful Root River State Trail goes through town, following the looping river and crossing it on dozens of wooden bridges.

Tags: Bed & Breakfast, Root River State Bike Trail
Posted in America's Prettiest Towns, Arts & Crafts, Bed & Breakfast, Best of the Midwest Getaway Town, Biking Root River State Trail, Commonweal Theatre, Fall Color, German Deli, Getaway Packages, Locally Made, Minnesota Theatre, Morel Mushrooms, Romantic Getaway Packages, Uncategorized, Weekend Trips, cross country ski equipment | No Comments »

Canoe Trip Down Minnesota’s Root River

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

by Marvin Eggert

According to www.RiverPaddling.com, “Southeastern Minnesota is a paddlers paradise for both canoeing and kayaking. The Driftless Area of Southeastern Minnesota is quite different than the rest of Minnesota as it contains no natural lakes and the terrain is quite rugged with spectacular scenery.”

North Branch of the Root River

On Saturday, I paddled a section of the North Branch of the Root river northwest of Lanesboro, MN. We put in the river on near Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center. The weather was hot and muggy. But the river was cool and clear. A nice breeze wafted through the valley making for a pleasant afternoon on the river.

The river is great for canoeing and kayaking. The river is shallow and clear allowing us to see bottom for the entire stretch. With extra rain this summer the river is high enough so there is no danger of bottoming out. For a canoe novice like me, the river is just perfect.

The stretch of river surrounding Eagle Bluff is quite scenic with Bald Eagles and Turkey Vultures riding the updraft along the 400 foot bluffs that border the river. Fishing is great along the tributaries of the north branch of the Root River upstream.

Kayaks on the North Branch of the Root River

The Root River’s superlative scenery and characteristics make it suitable for many types of recreation. Family canoe trips are very popular. Those more adventurous can take advantage of the canoe campsites for overnight trips. A map showing camp sites and canoe launches can be found on the Minnesota DNR web site.

Outfitters in Lanesboro, MN offer canoe, kayak and tubing trips on the North and Middle branches of the Root River.

Lanesboro, the Bed and Breakfast capital of Minnesota offers 25 lodging establishments to suit any taste. The historic downtown offers shopping, restaurants, an art gallery, and a live theatre that performs 5 days a week during the summer season.

This blog is edited by Marv Eggert co-owner of Hillcrest Hide-Away B&B in Lanesboro where you awaken each morning to a just-baked loaf of bread delivered to your room. Come mid-week to enjoy the peace and quiet of the river. Stay 2 nights and receive a $10 discount per night on your stay.

Posted in America's Prettiest Towns, Bed & Breakfast, Best of the Midwest Getaway Town, Biking Root River State Trail, Getaway Packages, Uncategorized | No Comments »