Denver Ho!

Not the Sleepless in Seattle kind of "ho." I mean like Land Ho! High Ho!

No, I did not sample the "local delicacies." Never have, never will. I just found the phrase funny and decided to run with it. :)

I got back from Denver late last night..and as always the trip was not long enough. Mom and I flew out on Friday night and so basically had 3 full days there. One of these days I'll travel to Colorado and get to stay. :)

We got to do a couple new things while we were there...as well as repeat some old favorites. Since Saturday was the only day expected to have nice weather, we took advantage of it and went to the Denver Zoo (new place!)...after going to The Original Pancake House in Greenwood Village, of course! I couldn't resist getting my favorite (and what I almost always order) - bacon waffles. Mmm, delicious. :) After the zoo we stopped in a couple stores (Crate & Barrel, Orvis, Sur la Table) in Cherry Creek before meeting up with some friends for dinner at Odessy, an authentic Italian restaurant on E. 6th Street. It was amazing and we're so going back. We ended the night by going to see Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, which was a bit disappointing. A few parts were funny, but it lacked the charm and heart of the first movie. And it didn't have nearly enough Eduardo Verastegui. :)

On Sunday we had a relaxing morning, bumming around our hotel room before going to St. Vincent de Paul off of University Avenue for Mass. It's always neat to discover a new church. From there we headed south, battling the rain and arriving alive at the Cave of Winds outside of Colorado Springs (another new stop). We decided to take the Lantern Tour, the "ghost tour" through the Manitou Grand Caverns. On our way back towards Denver we stopped at IKEA (duh!), where I "window shopped" for a couch and fell in love with a library set up (picture below). Before heading back  to the hotel we stopped at Maggiano's for dinner. It was a perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon, since all our plans were indoors, sort to speak. :)

On Monday our plans changed up a bit - instead of driving to Golden (our traditional last stop before heading home), we decided to wander around Denver before heading out at 8:15pm. We took our time packing up and then attended 11:30am Mass at Holy Ghost in downtown Denver. I just love that church. From there we grabbed lunch at a place called North Italia in Cherry Creek. It is now on our favorites list and somewhere we will be visiting again. Everything was great, but the truffle garlic bread (see below) took the cake. I'm always suspicious of truffle oil in things...just seems pretentious...but this was quite possibly the best garlic bread I've ever eaten. We then hit up the mall before flying back to Nebraska. I bought two sets of Christmas present (yes, I'm weird and plan this far ahead), so it was a productive trip! :)

I was trying to find a way to set up a photo album or slideshow, but couldn't pull one together efficiently, so I just posted pics below.

The delicious bacon waffle, bacon and (in the background) blueberry pancakes at the Original House of Pancakes! 

Beautiful metal giraffes at the entrance of the Denver Zoo.

Beautiful metal warthogs at the entrance of the Denver Zoo.

Hyenas at the Denver Zoo. 

This peacock kept circling, his plumage erect...like he was part of the paid entertainment. 

This is the kind of public art we need in Haymarket & the Railyard, instead of disembodied heads. 

A Canadian Goose family garnered quite a crowd.
Mom got a great video of them crossing the road and the babies attempting to hop the curb. So darn cute. 

I'm a huge fan of the Okapi. It was a nice perk to see the amazing Secretary Bird in the same exhibit.

Penguins are pretty much my favorite. I love the look of the dude in the middle of this pic. :)
"What are you lookin' at?"

We met some friends for dinner on Saturday night and tried a new restaurant...the Odyssey on E. 6th Street. I ordered the Butternut Squash Ravioli, which was amazing. I tried the Penne Pasta Bolognese with Fresh Ricotta that one of our friends ordered and would highly recommend that too!

Mom and I visited the Cave of the Winds near Colorado Springs on Sunday afternoon. It worked out really well, since it was rainy and grey outside and we were enjoying the Lantern Tour in the caves on the inside! 

Oh IKEA. I've decided this is my dream library set up...and it will totally happen in my new abode, space permitting! 

No trip to Denver would be complete without a meal at Maggiano's! Bringing leftovers back home with us has also become a tradition! :) 

We found a new favorite restaurant, North Italia in Cherry Creek. It's really close to Duffy's Cherry Cricket. Everything we ordered was amazing, but the kicker was the truffle garlic bread. It was probably the best garlic bread I've ever had. Oh, and the white dollop in the middle isn't whipped cream. It's ricotta cheese. Amazing! :D

Now I'm back in Nebraska, missing the mountains and pines, peace and calm...stores and restaurants. I already have a list of things to do and places to visit for the next trip...including but not limited to touring Celestial Seasonings, checking out Teller Lake in Boulder (the goldfish infested lake), going horseback riding in the Garden of the Gods and walking through Manitou Springs again. Such a neat little town. Chances are that won't be until the fall, but doesn't hurt to plan ahead! :)

Wishing y'all a happy Tuesday and good week!


~ Katie