Moving On

I think its probably best if I gloss over the journey from Boston to Denver.   Suffice it to say, I am never ever catching a connecting flight again...

So, we arrived in Denver at 10.30 pm, two hours after our expected arrival time and too late to have dinner with our friends, Brenna and Carl.  We were tired, we were stressed, we were grumpy.  Thank heaven the hotel was absolutely gorgeous.  We woke next morning to a bright Denver morning and the world seemed a much better place than it had the night before. 

I knew nothing about Denver at all.  I'd looked it up on Google before we went, but there really wasn't a lot of information.  Let me tell you - I'd go back there like a shot.  It's one of the friendliest places we've ever been to.  Its a frontier town, with gold mining and farming history.  As well as being known as the Mile High City because, surprisingly, its a mile above sea level, it is also known as Cow Town, and you can see the farming history in the way the men walk, or rather strut around town. They look like they were born in the saddle. 

Having fixed to meet Brenna later in the day, we decided on a cultural morning and took ourselves off to the Colorado History Museum.  It's a well designed museum, with loads to look at and we spent a very educational few hours there.  If ever you should visit Denver (and I'd recommend you do), its a good place to learn about frontier towns and the difficulties of farming where there is little water.

Educated sufficiently we met up with Brenna in the bar at the Hotel.  The Crawford Hotel is situated sort of above and around Union Station - the main train station in Denver.  It used to be the hub of the city before plane travel took over.  Its been so well converted - there are food outlets and gift shops and an amazing bar that specialises in different beers and cocktails.  One thing Denverites are passionate about is beer - there's a Beer Triangle between Boulder, Fort Collins and Denver that includes more than 72 breweries.  Heaven!

The Terminal Bar at Union Station

Having consumed the obligatory cocktail at the Terminal Bar in Union Station with Brenna, we went to visit their home.  It's a lovely little brick built house, with a really homely feel.  Best of all was the very zen garden, criss-crossed with prayer flags.  A peaceful haven.  Carl was still working, so we had a whistle stop tour of the suburbs, finishing with a visit to a fascinating bar, with hanging fabric, and aspen trees holding up the ceiling, and where to wash your hands was an unusual exercise in intelligence, involving pulleys and chains...

We met Brenna and Carl when we were in India last year - they were on their honeymoon.  We got talking and said, as you do, that we'd look them up if we were ever in Denver.  I am so glad that we included their city in our trip and met up with them again.  Good friends.  Good times.