Hi lovely readers,

Chase and I got back from our (delayed) honeymoon last week! We had an absolutely amazing time exploring Denver and Colorado Springs. We got to get away for a whole week and came back home so well rested.

A video recap of our trip is below for those of you interested in watching!

OR if you would like to watch it in fullscreen click here. I tried a new platform and edited this video with “Clips” from the App Store on my iPhone but I do not recommend. As you will see, the quality is much lower than some of my other videos in the past. I really miss having free access to Final Cut Pro like I did in high school in college. I should have better videos going forward. That’s what experimenting is all about, right?

I consider myself to be a professional Yelp researcher and food critic at this point ;). We had no shortage of amazing meals and fun things to do so I listed some of our favorite experiences below! These are in the same order that we visited them as well.

Denver

Food

Linger- This is the first place we drove to after getting settled in our Airbnb. The building used to be a mortuary so you will see little hints about it throughout the restaurant like “Denver’s finest Eatuary”. I wouldn’t recommend Linger for picky eaters, but if you are one of my readers that probably doesn’t include you. There are no basic chicken strips and friends here! It is an international food menu split into categories by continent/ type of food. We ordered Indian, Asian, and the Caribbean. They are small portions so order a few!

Snooze- There are quite a few locations, there is even one in Dallas! But it took for us to fly to Denver to get around to trying it. Breakfast food connoisseurs, this place is for you! They have a large menu that has something for everyone, so if you live near a Snooze definitely try it for brunch sometime.

Denver Biscuit Co.- Exactly what it sounds like here. Chase and I had the honor of eating at three restaurants featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives (one of his family’s favorite shows). You can watch their part of the episode here.  All you need to know is that if you love big, flaky, and buttery biscuits you’re in for a treat.

Voodoo Doughnuts- I have been a big fan of Voodoo ever since I got my first donut from the Austin, TX location on 6th street at 2 a.m. one summer. Yes, this place is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. You can find almost any flavor donut you can dream of! Need I say more?

Little Man Ice Cream- All of the food research I did for Denver led me here. It’s true that people in Denver will order it rain or shine. There would still be a line at 8 o’clock at night! Well, I’m happy to say it was worth the hype! They had lots of interesting flavors like brownie ice cream and red velvet to try.

The Post Brewing Co.- Contrary to the name, you’re going to be visiting for the “Nashville Hot” fried chicken, even though their award-winning brews don’t hurt either. Chase was obsessed with this place! Even though we were absolutely stuffed from the chicken he insisted we ordered the warm waffle sundae. They were featured on Food Network as well.

Fun Things to Do

Denver Botanical Garden- To be fair, April is not the best time of year to visit because the flowers were not in bloom yet but we still had a great time taking in the scenery.

Denver Zoo- Some people might roll their eyes and think “zoos are for kids” but we truly had so much fun. The Denver Zoo is definitely larger than most so we spent a good four hours here with walking at a pretty quick pace.

Red Rock Amphitheater- I had no idea that music legends like The Beatles and Willie Nelson as well as current artists like Snoop Dogg perform here. Not only is this natural amphitheater a great place to see some of your favorite artists perform but it is an awesome place to work out. Unfortunately, no artists were there while we were in town but the rock formations are so beautiful it did not matter. Locals come here to jog on the steps but with the altitude change, it was hard for us to come back up the arena!

Colorado Springs

Food

The Penrose Room- Our one big splurge of the week was to have a celebratory dinner at The Penrose Room within the Broadmoor. This is Colorado’s only five-star, AAA five-diamond restaurant. Chase and I have had the luxury of getting to experience quite a bit of fine dining over the years but this was the nicest restaurant I have ever been to in my life. Chase almost shed tears his steak was so delicious.

For those of you who are not familiar, The Broadmoor is a staple of luxury in Colorado. The resort has received a Forbes Five-Star rating (58 years in 2018) and AAA Five-Diamond rating (42 years in 2018). Although we could not afford to stay there (even for one night) we made a point to explore the property after our dinner. I highly recommend walking around the resort as there is no shortage of things to do (and rich people to watch). Hopefully, one day we can come back as proud residents for the weekend. A girl can dream, right?

So Chase was so thoughtful and set-up reservations for us to go on a foodie tour! Through this experience, we got to try several different restaurants in the area with our amazing tour leader, Roger! I’ve listed a few of our favorites below.

Spice Island Grill- Authentic Jamaican cuisine to the max! This was the third place we got to go to that was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. We tried the plantains, jerk chicken, and steamed rice.

The Rabbit Hole- A neat restaurant tucked away underground (hence the name rabbit hole) is such a fun find. They also have fun cocktails and a nightlife scene.

 

Fun Things to Do

Garden of the Gods- Some of our sweet friends got engaged there so we knew it would be worth visiting. We were surprised that is was only a short 15-minute drive from where we were staying. Even though there are a lot of hiking trails they have different routes to accommodate almost everyone. We could not get over the vast beauty that is so close to town!

Shopping in Manitou Springs- Only a few minutes away from Colorado Springs this quaint town is full of adorable mom and pop shops in the downtown area. We spent half of our last day exploring all of the different shops and buying gifts to take back home.

Penny Arcade- I am not kidding when I say Chase’s dreams came true here! Somehow, this hidden arcade in a small town has almost any game you can imagine including vintage as well as modern. They keep the original prices on antique games so you can spend quite a few hours here without breaking the bank. This was an unexpected find that kept us entertained for a while.

We are already wanting to plan another trip to Colorado! What is your favorite city there?

Thanks for reading,

Lauren