After only a 1,542 day hiatus...
- Rachel Zalupski
- Feb 26, 2018
- 2 min read
I'm back (!!!!) and ready to share what's new: 2018 travels!
One of my passions in life is to travel - and the only other thing that makes it better is traveling with people I love!
Winter is historically a hard time for me to with all the gloom, cold, and snow, so I typically try to plan to visit some place sunny and hot (think Cabo, Arizona,... essentially anything over 70 degrees, let's be honest). I got to start off the year with not so much heat, but lots of sunshine: Denver, Colorado. My SO suggested this spot as a birthday getaway to explore and get some R&R - and, believe me - it did not disappoint!
Here are a few of my favorite spots over the course of our four days:
We stayed in an area called LoDo (lower downtown) that was perfectly central. Within 15-30 minutes you could walk wherever you were looking to go - Five Points, Curtis Park, etc. My personal favorites:
Snooze (brunch) - This place was SO GOOD we went twice. Their pancake flights are to die for but, honestly, for this foodie, everything had my drooling.
Great Divide Brewing Co. - This place had a great local vibe; lots of beers on tap, easy to do multiple tastings, and tours. Personal faves? Orabelle (Belgian Tripel), Roadie Grapefruit Radler, and the Yeti (Stout).
Corner Beet - This place was truly local - near the Capital. It had incredible avocado toast options (::insert crown emoji here::) and fresh juices. Lovely aesthetic, music, and seating options. Seems like a great lunch spot!
The Cruise Room - Denver's first speakeasy bar post Prohibition. It's right off Union Square so 1) great location 2) tucked away inside the Oxford Hotel and 3) most importantly, great cocktails. Hit up Ian's Pizza for a late night food run.
We also took a day to drive out to Boulder. I mean, look at these skies (below)!
Boulder was filled with the quaintness of Denver but at a much smaller town feel. Each street was lined with local eateries and really unique shops. Take the time to stroll through here for the morning - it's awesome watching it wake up!
Because it was winter, a lot of the trails and mountains we were looking to see, like Rocky Mountain National Park, were closed. However, this gave us a great opportunity to drive through Golden, to Red Rocks, and Chautauqua Park. Careful on the last one though - the altitude and this easy hike made me reassess my personal definition of "athletic"!
All in all, this was the perfect winter getaway to get lost in for a few days. The best part? The people. They were some of the nicest, happiest, most laid back humans I've met in a while - and they're happy to show you around (two locals showed me the Cruise Room on a Sunday night out!)!! If it was this entertaining in the middle of January, I can't wait to come back in warmer months - and you should too.
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