colorado – GENA'S ADVENTURE

Dining in Colorado: what are my favorite places?

Hello there! Our latest trip to Colorado was quite an adventure: snowy mountains, layers of clothes after Texas winter, beautiful parks and watching sunsets in Boulder and Red Rocks Amphitheatre. But It was also full of absolutely delicious food in the places that we visit again and again every time we come to Colorado. I also realized that many of them are very hard to find for somebody who is planning to visit for the first time and wants just a simply delicious meal for a reasonable price. So, today’s post is featuring some of my new and old favorite food places:

Kachina Cantina
This place is the first on my list because every time we travel to Denver, we try to stop by this place. And it’s hard to choose just one reason: not only the food is delicious and you can try food inspired by Southwest America and Baja Mexico, but the interior and atmosphere also make us want to come back over and over again. We live in Austin, TX known for its hospitality, but everyone who works at Kachina is always very attentive and helpful. This is where the most delicious guacamole in Denver lives. I used to live in Mexico City, so jokes aside when it comes to Mexican food! 🙂

Sonoda’s Sushi Seafood
First things first: I am a sushi addict, and I can’t stand bad Japanese cuisine. Well, who would? This place is a hidden gem. All I can say is that if you like really fresh fish, the menu that gives you the freedom to choose from, delicious appetizers and the place recommended by Japanese friends – give it a try. I would recommend making a reservation as the restaurant is pretty busy in the evening. They also have lunch boxes and happy hour specials.

Bohemian Biergarten
This place recreates the real atmosphere of Germany by serving authentic dishes, beer, and delicious mulled wine. For some reason, it is not the most popular on Yelp, but let me tell you one thing: if you have been to Berlin or Munich – you will love this place. If you have never been to Germany but would like to try authentic German dishes in good atmosphere – that’s a place to go. Approved by our German friends 🙂

At Nine Thai
This place is relatively new, but the food is really good. They have plenty of vegetarian options, and the service is excellent as well. The food is usually prepared fast and tastes really good. Give it a try when in Colorado, their noodles are to die for!

Kind Coffee
First of all, the name of this coffee shop is already a good reason to pay a visit. It quickly became my favorite coffee shop in Estes Park! They offer a great selection of coffee-based beverages, as well as freshly made smoothies. What really surprises me is the high quality of their coffee beans. And, if you are hungry – every food item is freshly made from scratch.

Ozo Coffee
This coffee shop is hands down the best one in Boulder, CO. Amazing selection of coffee, great atmosphere, dog-friendly, and always delicious! The location makes it easy to find on the famous Pearl Street!

The Market on Larimer Square
I feel like I talk about this bakery every time we visit Colorado. All I can say is that it’s one of the best ones in the USA, and their famous “Spring Fling” cake is adored by locals and tourists.

Honey B’s Macaroons
I am a fan of French macaroons and local shops. This place brings my two loves together. There are so many flavors to choose from, and the staff doesn’t mind to share the story behind the business, their signature creations and take pride in freshness and quality. I liked the macaroons so much, I had to bring a box with me back to Austin!

I hope you’ll have a chance to visit these hidden gems of Colorado!

XX,
Gena.

Best of Colorado trip: 5 things you absolutely cannot miss

Happy New Year friends! Our last adventure of 2018 was our Christmas trip to Colorado. Ironically, the last trip of 2017 was a road trip to Denver, CO as well. The reason is very simple: growing up, I was able to experience the weather of four seasons, so for me personally, white Christmas is a must. And there is no better gift than a gift of traveling. My habits and lifestyle have changed since moving to Austin, TX which I absolutely love, but there is a part of me that needs to experience and bring back those childhood memories around holiday season. I have already shared the posts about Life in Denver and Road Trip to Colorado, but this trip was a little different: every day was an adventure, full of driving around, exploring and getting new experiences.
Today’s post will be a little different – I won’t go into details, but I will share the highlights of our trip. The best and most memorable moments of Colorado trip 2018.
The highlights of the trip:

My first Snowboard Lesson
Let me be honest: ever since my husband bought me a day of snowboard lesson, I was trying to mentally prepare myself. I was looking for the reasons to get out of that, do something else. I was so scared to fall down badly, or break my leg, or not being able to snowboard. Now I think that it was one of the most amazing experiences in my entire life. I would highly recommend it to anyone why hasn’t done it yet.

Sunset in Boulder
Surprisingly enough, Lost Gulch Lookout in Boulder Mountain Park used to be my favorite spot to see sunset when we lived in Colorado. So, it was really nice to visit it this winter during our day trip to Boulder, CO. If there were only three things you could do while in Boulder for the first time, I would say go to Pearl Street, take famous Celestial Tea Tour and watch the sunset at Lost Gulch Lookout.

Authentic German Meal at Bohemian Biergarten
After our summer trip to Berlin, Germany, my husband fell in love with German cuisine. The reason I highlight this place and recommend it to both meat lovers and vegetarians like me is very simple: we were surprised how good and authentic the food tasted at Bohemian Biergarten. In addition, it was approved by our friends in Munich. So, if you’re planning to visit Colorado, add this restaurant to “must try”, and don’t forget about their amazing Mulled Wine this holiday season.

Estes Park
There are so many parks in Colorado, and it was hard to choose just one to visit this time. The plan was to go to Strawberry Park Hot Springs and Rocky Mountain National Park, but due to Government Shutdown, most of the services were limited. Long story short, we were on the way to see Bear Lake and explore Estes Park.

Red Rocks Amphitheatre
No trip is completed without a visit to this absolutely unique place in Colorado. Red Rocks Amphitheatre along with Garden of the Gods is an absolute must go. My favorite time would be in the afternoon, so I am able to walk around, appreciate it one more time and watch a beautiful sunset with the view from Amphitheatre.

Thanks for stopping by!

XX,
Gena

Living in Denver: what’s not to like?

Hello everyone! Just recently I got a reminder that a year ago we made one of our last pictures in our apartment in Denver CO and somehow I never mentioned on the blog that we actually lived there. What a great experience it was! So today I have a pleasure to share our little adventure in Colorado.

How did it begin?

We used to live in San Francisco CA (find out about life in SF here), and as much as we loved the City, it was time to move on with our lives: we couldn’t handle too well the pressure of Golden City and as a new family we needed to save for our future. Hence we were ready to make changes.

If you travel a lot, you know that at some point you just can’t sit still in one place, you gotta go somewhere. The same story happens to us, but we also take all our belongings with us. We had several options in mind and Denver seemed to be the best one. What’s not to like? Gorgeous nature, the city surrounded by mountains, four seasons everything was cheaper than in California. With that being said, our little family was excited to start a new chapter.

Life in Denver.

Turned out that almost everything that I heard about Colorado was true. Even though the lesson I learned from moving across the country: “don’t fully trust what people say, go and see yourself”, I still read all the reviews and feedback. The most beautiful part of life in Denver was its winter: mild with a lot of snow and mountains of adventures. Driving in that season was a challenge, as well as walking (I swear I had to learn how to walk again;)).

We really enjoyed museums, amazing parks, and wildlife. I think now it’s a great privilege to be able to see animals in the parks, having their freedom, and be able to observe it all. I am not even going to start on the winter resorts. If you like camping – you should definitely try it in Colorado as you will find so many amazing spots with breathtaking views.

At this point it seems like I forgot to mention the bad things about living in Denver. The truth about us is that we always find ways to be happy no matter where we live. Otherwise, what is the point? I won’t give you any reasons not to live in Colorado because your experience will always be different from mine. You will never know the truth until you see it with your own eyes. I can tell you that life in Denver was not perfect because we did not know that Colorado would become second-fastest growing state in the U.S. and prices would rise 10 percent in 2016.

Denver is not known as a food city, it never was. But not only the legendary Coors Brewery is there offering free tours, Colorado is generous when it comes to local beer as well. We really enjoyed:

– Avery Brewing Company

– Black Bottle Brewery

– Boulder Beer Company

– Breckenridge Brewery

– Great Divide Brewing Co

– Fort Collins Brewery & Tavern

Talking about attractions:

Garden of the Gods
Pikes Peak
Rocky Mountains National Park
Royal Gorge Bridge
Red Rocks Amphitheater
Elitch Gardens Theme Park
Hanging Lake
Denver Railroad

And then we left Denver.

So why did we move from such a beautiful place? At some point, both of us felt like we were ready for a new chapter. We did not feel like we were home, so after some discussions, my husband convinced me that Austin TX was a place to live. We left Colorado, but so many great memories were created and so many lessons learned. We made new friends, had snow in March and explored more. Together, hand in hand. And who knows where our next adventure will begin!

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it! 😃

XX,

Gena