Surprisingly, out of all the places I’ve been and have plans to go to, Denver has always been at the top of my list. Most likely because all the times I’ve wanted to go none of my friends seemed to be on board. I’ve always wanted to go in the winter for obvious reasons, like I wanted to go skiing and go to a few hot springs. Since January my friends had been asking me what I wanted to do for my birthday and to be very honest I did not even want to think about turning 25, it just sounded terribleeeeee. Dramatic, I know. FYI, 25 isn’t treating me so bad so far. For that reason I put off planning it for as long as possible, but of course because I just can’t stop traveling I decided to take a trip to Denver! I was getting pretty excited as I prepared for the trip and kept checking the weather because snow just kept falling and it seemed like I was going to get to ski after all, even if it was already spring time! But, of course when I got there that was not the case at all. The weather was very similar to Dallas even though it had just snowed the day before, it was pretty warm. Bummer. So, if you’re looking to go skiing or to a hot spring while the snow is out, definitely go before April.

When I first got to Denver my cousin kept warning me to drink a lot of water to the point where I was actually starting to get scared. I mean why was it EXTRA important for me to drink so much water? Then he finally told me because of the high altitudes I could easily feel sick (which I didn’t during my trip, luckily.) But, I’m passing on the warning for you guys because I did get VERY sick the minute I landed back in Dallas! STAY HYDRATED MY FRIENDS.

Denver had such a cool vibe to it! It seemed to be a place where everyone was calm and minimalistic. No one seemed to care as much about looks and material things there compared to many other places I’ve been to, from what I observed at least. Denver also seemed to have a lot of selections for vegetarians. YAY! We went to a few vegan/vegetarian restaurants while we were there which were all so tasty and I’m sure there were plenty more that I didn’t even get to go to. I had never specifically went to a vegan restaurant prior to this. I mean I’ve eaten vegan food but hadn’t gone to nice restaurants specifically for vegan food. On my way to Denver my flight was delayed SO many times that I literally missed out on a whole day of my trip because of it. Of course it would decide to randomly hail on the day of my flight. So that just meant I had to do the MOST on the days I had left there.

Before I went there I made a whole itinerary of things I wanted to do if I got the chance –from brunch to skiing to thrifting at the best thrift stores Denver had to offer. If you’re a planner like me, Pinterest is a great place to find cool things to do ANYWHERE. I usually look up things on Pinterest then check out reviews on Google because of course just because things look Instagram worthy doesn’t always mean it’s as nice when you get there. Just like my blogs can be found on there, you can find many other people’s travel blogs that you probably wouldn’t find otherwise.

We finally made it to Denver after midnight, so we went to one of the few places that seemed to be open to eat which was Choice Market on 17th Street in downtown Denver. It’s open until 3 am, if you’re ever looking for a late night snack and you can order online. I had the Impossible Burger, which was pretty good and filling for $12. On Sunday, which was our first full day there, we decided to head to brunch at ViewHouse Rooftop. I was so excited to see views of Denver from their rooftop, but now that I think of it we spent the most time downstairs because that’s where all the fun seemed to be. We had no idea we would actually make a WHOLE day out of it. We literally stayed at Viewhouse from noon to about 9pm. Crazy, right? I know. After brunch they had something called Sunday Funday which consisted of rooftop drinking, games, free shots, food and music.

We had put off eating during brunch because we really wanted to go have chicken and waffles but the longer we stayed, we obviously had to eat eventually. I ended up getting the pasta and it was far better than I expected. Because this place is primarily a bar I did not have high expectations for the food, but it was actually really good. They offered Mimosa Towers and Bottomless Mimosas. Next time I’ll definitely have to try the Mimosa Tower. I haven’t been anywhere that has offered that before but there has to be at least five people to drink it. Must be huge. During our time at ViewHouse my cousin and I even headed to get pizza around the corner, which was quick to get in and out and the pizza was pretty good. I don’t know the name of the place, but it’s right around the corner from Viewhouse. Our hand had already been stamped for Sunday Funday, so we were able to get back in with no problem. I don’t remember how much anything was there, but I linked their site above if you want to check out their menu.

On Monday, we headed to Indian Hot Springs. I expected the hot spring to be outside, but it wasn’t. And it was about an hour from Denver. The town was very small and had a lot of construction going on, so I guess it’s good that it wasn’t outside. When we got there the people at the front desk could tell we obviously had not been there before because when they asked us which one we were there for we had no idea. They allowed us to walk around and check it out before paying. The hot spring was $18 because it was a weekday and then a few dollars for a towel. But, it’s $20 if you go on the weekend. The hot spring was very nice and relaxing filled with plants everywhere. I was so amazed that someone’s job was just to watch the hot spring and water the plants all day long. It was such a good idea especially after the long day we had the day before. After leaving the hot spring we were SO hot. I definitely don’t recommend staying there too long because it is very hot.

After the hot spring we drove back to Denver and went to get sushi from Happa Sushi. My cousins ordered what seemed like 50+ sushi rolls because apparently they were super cheap during happy hour. I ordered a few myself, but definitely could not eat 50 sushi rolls if I tried. I also got a teriyaki salmon bowl with rice and vegetables. Teriyaki anything is good to me, definitely a go to for me if I’m trying a new restaurant and I’m not really sure of the menu. For dinner that night we went to City O’ City which was a great vegetarian restaurant/bar. We tried a few things but I loved the Vegan Seitan buffalo wings ($12) and the raviolis ($9 and a MUST TRY) those were my favorite. I had the “chicken” (vegetarian) and waffles ($13 ) but honestly I could’ve done without. The chicken was fried cauliflower, which I had never tried before, but it just wasn’t seasoned to my liking. Later that night we drove up the mountain to the casino. This was my first time going to a casino, ever. Driving up the mountain at night could be scary, so please make sure you’re wide awake if you’re taking this drive. Aside from the casino there wasn’t much to see up there so we headed back to the hotel very early in the morning.

Guess what I tried the next day? An underground ramen bar, of course. I swear trying new ramen places has become a part of my travels at this point. The ramen was good as always. Later that day, we decided to go to Red Rocks to see where some of the greatest have performed. It was BREATH-TAKING. (It’s the first video of this blog) The rocks were so beautiful and you were able to see everyone who has performed there in the last few years. After that, we HAD to check out where Chipotle first started. It tasted the exact same and was pretty small. But, it was definitely cool to see where it all began.

I probably will not be back to Colorado for a while considering how sick I got from the altitude, BUT next time I do go I am DEFINITELY going to an outdoor hot spring and skiing. I don’t even care if I have to go by myself in the middle of winter. That’s everything I’ve ever wanted to go to Colorado for.

-theknowledgeableother