I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the metro transit in the suburbs of the Twin Cities (including Bloomington) generally only goes to downtown Mpls and back. You would not be able to take the bus to Mill End. The Sofitel is in an extremely busy part of Bloomington and you will see when you get there that EVERYONE drives everywhere-lots of traffic. I can't really say that it's a bad area, but there is riff raff as in every busy city. I know you said you didn't want to take a taxi, but Mill End really isn't that far up the freeway from the Sofitel. I would definitely check to see if the hotel shuttle would take you there. Mill End is a fun place--lots of fabric both on bolts and folded remnants. They do have a website (
www.millendtextiles.com). The website doesn't say much, but they should have coupons you can print. The current coupon flyer goes from Sept 15 to October 12. When are you coming?
Helen in WI