Day One
On the descent into Denver there was a beautiful view of the Rocky Mountains. I love flying Southwest Airlines because of their no assigned seating, and I always get lucky and snag a window seat over the wing to catch beautiful views like this one. After picking up my checked luggage from baggage claim I headed to the train.
Say hello to my BFF CLE (Carey Leigh). CLE and met through a teaching program in Charlotte, NC. Our friendship began when we were assigned to be partners during a training exercise and we have navigated friendship through our differnreces to find that we are more the same than different. We’ve celebrated, braved tough times and I am so blessed to get to do life with her.
When CLE lived in Charlotte, NC, bi-weekly nail appointments at our favorite spot was our thing, so it was no surprise that as soon as CLE met me at the train station we headed for manicures and wine at Essence Lounge in Cherry Creek. Because CLE and I were both getting HANGRY, we headed to Central Market where I got a half chicken platter and frozen Pimm’s Cup ALL for $20. Let’s talk about how Denver food was SOOO unexpectedly inexpensive.
The Denver Central Market (http://denvercentralmarket.com) is a gourmet market and food hall that is home to a variety of local vendors. My delicious chicken platter is from SK Provisions.
After our late lunch, we walked around the neighborhood to check out some local spots, but I was amazed by all of the amazing street art. During my entire trip I was usually 100 feet behind CLE because I was trying to catch all of street art.
Day Two
What do you get when you combine a bookstore and a small bar in one place? You get HEAVEN ON EARTH! BookBar only existed in my dreams until CLE and I pulled up to a cute little shop in the Berkeley neighborhood of Denver. The art on the side of the building foreshadowed what amazing adventure await on the inside.
We spent about an hour at BookBar, checking out the book selection, sipping passion fruit lemonade, and nibbling on the cutest pizzria (mini pizza).
I will leave all of the shops details for when you visit, but know that BookBar would be a great place to hangout for the afternoon to get a little work done, or even get lost in a new book. There were so many titles that I wanted to pick up, but for the sake of not going over on my luggage weight limit, I landed on Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing and Morgan Jenkins’ This Will Be My Undoing. Many of the featured titles at BookBar featured a variety of women authors, so if you’re looking for a place that is super cute and can affirm your identity, this is the pace for you, sis!
After BookBar, we took a twenty minute ride to Golden. You haven’t seen VIEWS until you’ve visited Denver. We ate at the Old Capital Grill where I had my first bison burger. Y’all- it was THE BEST burger I have ever had in my 27 years on the planet. All burgers should be bison. After grabbing a post card from the souvenir shop, we visited CLE’s in-laws and spent an evening watching the sunset under blankets on their back porch that had an uninterrupted view that seemed to go on forever. I have never see so much sky in my life.
The best part about traveling to see friends, is that they are usually experts in their city. Stay tuned for the next story where I share how I spent the rest of my adventure in Denver.
May Grace Surprise You Kindly,
Sab
Love this!! Keep up the great work!!
Sabrina, such a great post! You need to take me to Denver so I can go to the bookbar!!!!