Three day Denver MIni-Cation

Soooo I blew my PTO on some other vacations this year and have been limited to holiday weekends…OOPS! Which is why for LDW, we decided to head out to Denver for a three day Mini-cation! Super excited to blog about our mini-cation! I’m a bullet point kind of gal, so hopefully this is easy to read.

Day 1:

First stop was the Orange County Airport Bar: $30/2 drinks later, we were buzzed! We landed in Denver ecstatic to see our friends, Neema and Krisella, who recently moved there. I honestly think I could spend the rest of this post writing about how sweet they are and how cute their baby is!

We kept it fairly low key our first night in Denver. This included chowing down on Krisella’s delicious birthday dinner for Neema, hanging out with Baby Eli, and watching the boys…I mean men… play Super Mario. Truth be told, I passed out really early, and I would like to blame it on Denver’s higher elevation, but the reality is I’m a grandma who goes to bed at 9:30pm half the time.

Words of advice:

– If you’re flying Southwest, skip the airport bar (can you say ripoff?) and throw a real party 36,000 feet in the sky with $5 happy hour all day, everyday!

– Once you get to Denver, take the train from the airport. It’s $9 to any stop, including Union Station, which is in the heart of Downtown Denver.

– Drink a lot of water and take it easy if you’re a first timer. The elevation change definitely makes a difference.

Day 2:

We headed to Boulder for a bit, which was a cool little town. Then we went for a hike (which turned out to be a short walk), and ended up in the LoHi area at night for some food and drinks.

– Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse: So worth it! Not only is the food amazing, but the architecture gives lots of picture opportunities. Also, on the weekends there’s a cool Farmer’s Market that is set up right outside! The French Pot de Crème dessert is HIGHLY recommended.

– The Gross Reservoir: Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find the entrance for the hike. So…kind of fail. However, we were super lucky that we saw a sign for a scenic point on the way up, and decided to stop!

– LoHi: This is a very modern neighborhood with small urban restaurants and bars to hang out in. We ended up at Avanti Food and Beverage, which has a selection of food vendors to choose from. It also has a bar downstairs and a rooftop bar upstairs. After, we took a stroll down the block to find the famous Little Man Ice Cream. On a Saturday night, this place had a line that was 2 hours long! Luckily, there’s an express line with fewer selections and the line is only 15-20 minutes, which is the one we stood in. I’m not a huge ice cream fan, but it seemed like everyone enjoyed whatever flavor they ordered, so maybe the 2 hour line is worth it?

Since it was Neema’s birthday, Krisella and I dropped both of them off in downtown to go CRAY and celebrate, while we stayed classy and had a girl’s wine night.

(Note from Akshay: if a bar in Downtown Denver offers you $3-4 vodka or gin shots, the quality is probably less than stellar)

(Note from Akshay #2: dancing in clubs feels much different when you’re 31 and in a stable relationship vs. your early 20s and single)

Words of advice:

– Bring an umbrella. Denver has some bipolar weather, and it’s very unpredictable!

– Look up hikes! Next trip we would love to check out the Rocky Mountain National Park and the Red Rocks Amphitheatre

-Akshay’s (useless) advice – “Tika, there are a bunch of Pokémon in Downtown!!” Thanks, Akshay. You and the 6 year olds can go nuts with that.

Dushanbe Teahouse

Dushanbe Teahouse: Artsy spread of pork belly fried rice, Lapsang Souchong Bulgogi, kid’s chicken noodles, and chai tea

Gross Reservoir scenic point view

Avanti Rooftop bar with downtown Denver in the back

The famous Little Man Ice Cream

Day 3:

Not so hungover Neema made hungover Akshay and I the most delicious breakfast: scrambled eggs cooked Gordon Ramsay style and oven baked bacon. He then dropped us off at our hotel in the heart of downtown (can’t express what great hosts Krisella/Neema/Eli were during our trip). We booked a room using my points at a Category 7 Marriott Renaissance Hotel, which was super close to all the hotspots. Here’s a breakout of our day:

– Denver Microbrewery Tour in the RiNo District: Our tickets were $35 per person, which included 4 breweries and about 2-3 samples per location. It was super hot outside, but the beer was tasty and the area we were in was really cool and exciting to look at. Also, below is a picture of the work done by David Choe, a graffiti artist hired by Facebook to paint some murals. He was offered $60,000 or Facebook stock as a form of payment. Smart man took the stock options and is now a multi-millionare!

– The Rackhouse: After the tour, we walked over for some lunch and MORE BEER! The lunch was a blue cheese sandwich and mac n cheese. We both enjoyed the sandwich more, which was surprising, considering Akshay inhales mac n cheese like you wouldn’t believe.

– Union Station/Downtown area: Ate at Zoe Ma Ma (dimsum), Machete Tequila & Tacos, and Milk Box Ice Creamery. Zoe Ma Ma was forgettable a la carte dimsum, while Machete had decent, if slightly overpriced tacos. At Milk Box (which is inside Union Station), I ordered myself a Dignitary Boozy Shake, which had coconut almond fudge and rum, and it was so good! (Akshay’s note: by good, she means strong)

Words of Advice:

– If you’re into something different, check out Upstairs Circus, a place where you drink beer and make arts and crafts! The hours didn’t work out for us unfortunately, but next time!

RiNo District: work of David Choe

Denver Microbrewery Tour in RiNo District

Tika enjoying her beer a little too much at The Rackhouse

Day 4:

Our last day started with:

–Brunch at Syrup: Wait time was almost an hour–standard in Denver for any brunch spot. We ordered the Maryland Eggs Benedict (crabcakes over tatertots) and the Jalepeno Popper Omelette. Also, ordered a 1 liter Mimosa Carafe for only $12 😀 The Eggs Benedict were good, but the Jalapeno Popper Omelette was really disappointing.

– Terminal Bar: In the Union Station–ordered a $5 beer

– Tattered Cover Bookstore: Nothing too crazy, but it’s a place people have recommended to check out while you’re in Denver.

– Larimer Square: For happy hour and a charcuterie board. The charcuterie was from Osteria Marco, and it was really well put together. It certainly met Akshay’s approval, and he’s the ultimate cheese snob (or cheese whiny baby, I forget which).

– Union Station Waterfountain: Krisella, Neema, and Eli met up with us for one last time. There’s this water fountain right out front that splashes water out of the ground. Eli had so much fun running through the water….gave me some serious baby fever, watching him! (Akshay’s note: crap.)

–Root Down (Terminal C): Highlight is the globe chandeliers. It was pretty good for airport food though!

Final words of advice:

– Airport security only took about 10-15 minutes (Akshay has TSA pre-check, so it took him 5 *rolling my eyes*).

-Akshay’s POV: Denver downtown is interesting. There are a TON of restaurants and bars, but not much else (felt like there was less shopping, less random stuff going on when compared to other big cities.) Take that for what it’s worth. Also, the Downtown is a walkable area, but otherwise, plan on using Uber to get around, because Denver is spread out. Also, if you want to hike, you’ll have to rent a car.

-All in all, our favorite things: Hanging out with our friends, the view from Gross Point, Boulder, the LoHi area, and all the sweet, sweet Pokemon (shut up, Akshay).