Hey all! Remember that time I went to Denver? Yea, me neither. Kidding! First off let me apologize for taking SO long for writing about my most recent trip. The week after vacation is always miserable and mine was particularly a mess due to some recent shake ups at work.  Now that the dust has cleared, I have time to write again instead of sleeping any chance I can get! Hooray!

I kicked off my ski trip to Colorado with an overnight stay in Denver.  After literally the flight from hell (NYC to Denver by way of Charlotte and double flight delays), I made it into the beautiful Mile High City.  I unfortunately didn’t have the energy to do anything when I landed so I crawled into bed and prayed I’d get used to the altitude.  I consider myself relatively in shape and I don’t drink, so I didn’t think I would have a problem adjusting to the altitude but it is definitely no joke.  Just consider this a mild warning if you decide to go, take it easy because the effect is very real.

Saturday morning I woke up to one of the most beautiful days I had ever seen! Clear blue skies with bright sunshine. Fun fact for you, Denver is actually one of America’s sunniest cities because it averages about 300 days of sun a year. Who knew?? Not one to waste a beautiful day, I grabbed all my stuff and hopped in my 94 Bronco (a borrowed car from a friend while I was in town) and hit the road.  I thought I looked completely ridiculous in that GIANT truck but I whipped that thing around town like a pro and even parallel parked it 🙂

First stop was to visit my friend Ryan who is in the process of opening his own Italian restaurant called DiFranco’s.  He currently sells his fresh sauces at the Denver Urban Homesteading Farmer’s Market. I love farmer’s markets so this was a no-brainer for me.  After eating pretty much every sample available and getting a few suggestions from Ryan and his friends for lunch spots, I headed downtown.

Denver is absolutely gorgeous.  The downtown area is very modern and the city itself is surrounded by the Rocky Mountains.  I really appreciated the juxtaposition of skyscrapers with snow-covered mountains as a backdrop.  I’d imagine that view never gets old.  One of the main areas of downtown is the 16th Street Mall which is a pedestrian walkway full of shops and restaurants.  I didn’t have much time, but I walked around and got a feel for the place.  My largest impression from my 10 or so hours in Denver is that it is a really young city.  Most of the people I met were under 35 and super friendly.  People waved to me for absolutely no reason and of course as a New Yorker I thought that was weird, but in reality I probably looked lost and they were just being nice.  I think I’d actually consider living there if I weren’t so freaked out by landlocked states. A few pictures are below and if you make it to Denver in the next few months, be sure to check out DiFranco’s! It’s delicious! Follow them on twitter here: @DiFrancosDenver

Approaching downtown Denver!

Downtown Denver...while at a red light. Shhh don't tell anyone!

16th Street Mall Pedestrian Walkway in downtown Denver

My super fly whip hahahaha. Soccer mom status!

The Denver Urban Homesteading Market on Santa Fe Drive

Inside the market, look at all the goodies!

Handmade soaps. The Lavender tea tree soap stole my heart.

My buddy Ryan and his delicious, fresh Italian sauces

I ate at least 12 of these

Ta daaaaa!

I wish I had more pictures from my stay in Denver but I was only there for an afternoon. Guess that means I’ll have to go back! You should too! Tons of airlines have nonstop flights and its a quick 3.5 hour flight from most east coast cities.  Breckenridge up next!