🌻🌿🏔️🍄🪺🌾
…and walk out with plane tickets booked for Denver in just two weeks.
That’s what happened to my friend Julia and I. Her boyfriend, Ivan, is from Denver and went back to the city for work after graduating from Purdue. We were sitting at The Tap, one of Purdue’s campus bars, discussing her upcoming trip to Denver to visit him and she extended an invitation for me and my boyfriend (Avigdor) to join her. I knew she was serious, because us hospitality students don’t joke around about travel, so I eagerly accepted her offer and we started planning.
Avigdor had never been to Colorado before, so this was a special trip for him. I lived there for two years before moving to South Carolina but Colorado is the only state I hadn’t returned to since living there. While I didn’t really have any interest to return before, the opportunity of this trip reignited my memories and piqued my interest in visiting. I spent 7th and 8th grade living on one of the many Air Force bases located in Colorado Springs, and while Denver is about an hour drive away, my family had never done a trip through the state’s capitol city. I was excited to discover both old and new things about one of my home states.
The three of us drove down from Purdue’s campus to Indy to catch our evening flight into Denver mid-day Saturday. Thanks to my noise-canceling headphones, I had a great flight. Unfortunately, Avigdor and Julia did not share such luxuries and fell victim to the horrifying terrors of Frontier Airlines. Screaming children and obnoxious travelers plagued their time in the sky but we landed safe in Denver with Ivan to our rescue.
Dinner was our first request since we were all starving. Being the foodie that he is, Avigdor found us a spot called Work & Class. I was skeptical, they seemed very carnivore focused, selling meat by the pound instead of by portion, so I was expecting a run-of-the-mill, greasy spoon, good-old-fashioned American eatery. I was blown away when we walked into this high-energy, hip establishment with bumping music and flannel clad millennials. We had an excellent meal and ravenously wolfed down everything as soon as it hit our table. Steak, lamb, and brisket were just some of the meats we devoured with a local trout also making an appearance. An ice-cold Coors beer also stopped by our table of course, because we were in the Rockies.
We woke up Sunday morning to hike in the iconic Colorado mountains, shaking off last night’s food coma just in time to stuff ourselves again at Snooze A.M. Eatery. I have to say, Denver is definitely a foodie’s dream (or maybe it’s just because everyone gets the munchies). I enjoyed a pumpkin latte with pumpkin pecan pancakes, and of course, a Denver omelet. The perfect fall food to match the perfect autumn weather! Ivan drove us to his childhood neighborhood where he promised a memorable hike. I must admit, I was a little skeptical. I’m not a huge fan of hiking and as a member of the klutz community, I was nervous for strenuous rock climbing.
Well, I was proven extremely wrong. This hike was perfect, probably one of my favorite’s I’ve ever done. The weather was perfect, sunny but cool with a crisp autumn breeze. While there were unique elements to conquer along the way, they added excitement and weren’t too rigorous. We started our way through a field in the valley of the mountains, giving us beautiful views of the peaks up ahead. There were parts where we were climbing up rocks, not on a set trail, but they were not difficult at all and gave me a rush of adrenaline once completed. We walked across a fallen tree bridge, passed a babbling brook, and through a grove of Aspen trees which had turned a gorgeous seasonal yellow. At the summit, we could look down below at the Colorado valley with a view of Red Rocks and an array of fall foliage.
After, we rested in the car while driving to nearby Boulder. It kind of reminded me of downtown Greenville, South Carolina, where I went to high school. Brick buildings nestle nicely into the mountains, sharing a similar color palette. Stores line the main pedestrian street selling rugged clothing and wares inspired by the local nature. We stopped into Boulder Bookstore, an aesthetic novelty shop filled with books of every kind and ornamental decorations. The rest of our time was spent bobbing in and out of the shops, including a funky record store, before we went back to the apartment to watch Harry Potter for maximum autumn vibes.
Monday was a lot more laid back. Ivan had to work so Julia, Avigdor, and I lounged around before going to Snarf’s Sandwiches, which is apparently a Colorado classic. While their sandwiches are a little expensive, they are pretty good. I had a meeting (for study abroad. coming soon!) then the three of us went out to explore downtown Denver. We started at the Denver Art Museum, a decent museum of art but I’ve definitely seen more impressive ones. I did like how each floor was equally dedicated to the art of a different community. For example, we started on the floor dedicated to indigenous art then made our way up through Hispanic, Asian, and European. I also appreciated how they showed actual artwork from these community voices.
A quick walk through the capitol building was our next stop. It is a pretty cool capital as far as capitol buildings go. Then, Ivan was finally off work so we met him for dinner at Mecha Noodle Bar, a southeast Asian inspired modern eatery. The food was amazing, kind of spicy for my preference but delicious nonetheless. Julia and I tried boozy boba. I was excited but it was fairly strong and made with tequila and I just do not like the way tequila tastes. After enjoying so much food (again) we went back to the apartment for another chill night watching The Nightmare Before Christmas.
One thing I really enjoyed about this trip was how laid back everything was. My style of traveling is very much to pack as much as I can into a trip, and while we had some mornings to sleep in, I don’t feel like we missed out on seeing any part of Denver (except maybe a Dutch Bros run). Our last morning, however, the four of us woke up early at 6:30 am despite our returning flight not being until 11:00. We had decided to go to sunrise yoga at the Denver Botanical Gardens. It was so relaxing, the people were so kind and it’s a very nice facility. I do wish we had time to explore more of the gardens, but alas we had to rush off to the airport. We didn’t want the curse of Blucifer (the blue mustang horse statue which greets visitors of the airport…and killed one of the workers building him!) to catch up with us!
October 19, 2024-October 22, 2024
Leave a comment