Colorado

Hello everyone. The following memoirs are from my travel to Colorado from 12^th Aug to 20^th Aug 2014. We stayed at a vacation rental in Lakewood which is about 15 mins from Denver. I always book a vacation rental to have access to a kitchen, as I am a vegetarian. I like the flexibility of preparing my own meals if the local cuisine does not entice me enough. Also, as always, my disclaimer that all the listings of accommodation and restaurants is based on my personal experience and I do not get any monetary benefit out of it.

I anticipate this to be long so I would narrate my best experiences first. The most memorable experience from this trip was our drive to Aspen.

1)     Aspen: The drive to Aspen was nothing like I had ever experienced before. We started from Denver early morning and took a breakfast stop in a small town called Frisco (exit 203 on I-70). From there we continued our Journey to Aspen through the Independence Pass (highway CO-82). The views on Independence Pass were breathtaking with huge mountains and clear water bodies. There are endless number of stops you can make on the way and still not have enough of nature. I totally recommend this drive to experience the full beauty of mother nature. Independence Pass or CO-82 is only open during summer and is closed in winters.

While coming back from Aspen, we had to take a detour because of a bike race. We went to Glenwood Springs and took I-70 all the way back to Denver. We had lunch at a small Thai restaurant called Bangkok Happy Bowl in Carbondale. It was a nice find and the food was amazing. I ordered a vegetarian Laksa and my husband ordered a Bangkok Bowl with chicken.

http://eataspen.com/menus/Bangkok_Thai_Aspen_Menu_b_W13.14.pdf

On the way back to Denver, we also visited a town called Breckenridge. It was late in the evening so we could not do much there but it is a neat little town with a river walk.

2)     Red Rocks Amphitheater: If you love music then you have to experience music in this amphitheater. It is in Denver and very close to Lakewood where we were staying. It is an open arena surrounded by tall red rocks. We attended a Spanish music concert by Rodrigo and Gabriella. We were sitting in the arena with a huge animated crowd (that too on a Sunday night), starry sky above our heads and gigantic red boulders surrounding us. The whole experience was ethereal and one of the best highlights of this trip. If you decide to go here make sure you add an hour for parking because the venue is in the mountains and the parking process is slow. You will find the parking easily though because the events are very well managed. It takes time just because of the curvy roads and the sheer number of cars as the events are very popular.

3)     Pike’s Peak and Garden of the Gods: We went to Manitou Springs early in the morning and took the cog rail up to Pike’s peak. It is a 1.5 hr ride each way (return journey is slightly shorter). You get 30 mins to spend on the peak. The ride and the views from the peak are very scenic. Do carry a jacket because it is extremely cold at the top. After Pike’s Peak, we went to the Garden of Gods visitor center. It is very close to Manitou Springs and can be easily covered on the same day, provided, you take the morning cog rail. A couple on the cog rail advised us to go to the Garden of Gods visitor center first before exploring the area. We found it very helpful as we were able to get a map of the area from the visitor center. It is a big loop and you can easily get lost if you do not have a map. Also, if you miss your scenic sight, there is no way to take a u-turn. You will have to drive the whole loop again to come back to the same place. So, it is advisable to get the map first. We drove around the loop and did a 0.5 mile hike to Siamese twins. These are two huge rocks joined together forming an arch. You can see Pike’s Peak from the arch opening of the Siamese twins.

4)     Boulder: We did not do anything specific except for driving around the university town. University of Colorado is very impressive and we enjoyed just walking around admiring the different structures. We also went to Chautauqua Park. There are many vacation houses around the park and a steep mountain trail if you want to do a little hiking.

After that we just hung out at the Pearl Street Mall. Do not be deceived by the nae, it is not a mall in the traditional sense but plethora of shops spanning numerous streets. It was a fun place to walk around and watching the tourists milling in and out of the souvenir shops.

If you like international cuisine, you can try Gurkha's in boulder. It is nepalese cusine with excellent noodles and soups. It is kind of a food court place, though, (perfect for a take out), and not a proper sit down restaurant.

5)     Science and history museum: I know you must be thinking “What, a museum?” but trust me it was worth the time. They had a special exhibition on the Mayan civilization. It was fascinating to learn how they calculated days, depicted seasons accurately and that too without any sophisticated tools. There were a lot of archaeological artifacts that give you a sense of how people lived in those early times. Some of the traditions are alive even today.

6)     Air force academy and Mining Museum: We covered both of these on the same day. We first drove to the Air force academy which is in Colorado Springs. The self guided tour started with a short movie on the academy and the training program for the cadets. The academy has its own chapel and you can attend the morning service if you are interested (we went on a Sunday, not sure if the service is conducted on other days of the week too). There isn’t much to do in the academy except for the scenic views as it is built at the foothills of a mountain. We went to the mining museum thereafter which was only 5 mins from the academy. The museum is closed on Sundays but we got lucky as it was open that day on the request of a travel group. We took a guided tour and learnt of many amazing facts about mining in the earlier days. They still have many machines from that era in running condition. They also let you sift through sand to find gold flecks.

Overall, it was an amazing trip and I would totally recommend this destination to the travel aficionados. Please do not forget to comment if you liked the blog or if my comments made your travel easier in any way.

Restaurants we tried while in Colorado:

1)     La Loma – In Denver and extremely good Mexican food.

      http://www.lalomamexican.com/

2)     Bangkok Happy Bowl – In Carbondale close to Aspen and fabulous Thai food. Hidden gem.

      http://m.mainstreethub.com/bangkokhappybowleljebel

3)     Danny’s – In Lakewood. It is a local diner and we stopped here for breakfast.

New Orleans

I am an Indian born female currently residing in the US. Although, I have traveled many places including Canada and South Africa, this is my first attempt to write a travel blog. I decided to write my own blog because every time I plan a travel, I face the same problems; where to live, what to see etc etc. I do not claim to be an expert but hope I can help like minded travelers by sharing my experiences.

Before I start narrating my stories, just a quick disclaimer that I am not receiving any monetary benefits for the vacation rentals or other places I would be listing in my blog. They are listed here purely for informational purpose because I did stay and visit these places.

I went to New Orleans with my husband in January 2014. the first problem, as always, was where to stay. I am a vegetarian and like to cook my own meals with selective outside eating (if there are local vegetarian options available). Hence, we avoid booking hotels and motels and always book a vacation rental to have access to a kitchen. We stayed in a vacation home only a couple of blocks from French Quarter (heart of New Orleans). Following is the link to the place where we stayed.

http://www.vrbo.com/336501#

The vacation home was exactly as depicted in the pictures, very clean and only a few blocks from the French Quarter. It also had a kitchen which is my first priority with any vacation rental. It had two bedrooms and 1 bathroom, ideal for up to 4 people. Although, we had rented a car because we wanted the flexibility, French Quarter is at a walking distance for fit people and a short taxi ride away if you have trouble walking.

The owner of this place is extremely nice and kind. Keep reading the blog to know more about his kindness.

The first 2 days my husband and I walked to the French Quarters and explored the beauty and history of New Orleans. It is so different from any other state I have visited in the US. There were so many Jazz players playing on the street, numerous art galleries, carefree tourists milling in and out of craft shops and the whole experience was just out of the world.

French Quarter

Street Jazz

We never plan the sight seeing in advance and, hence, did not know what to do for the remaining days. As we were researching, we found out about the numerous plantations in Louisiana. Once we decided to visit the plantations, our dilemma shifted to which one, as there are so many of them. After much research on the internet, scouring numerous blogs, we decided to visit two of them; Nottoway Plantation and Laura Plantation.

1) Nottoway Plantation: It is a beautiful plantation with amazing gardens. We loved the guided tour as it explained the history and the fine points of architecture which you otherwise wouldn't know to notice. The guide was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable and entertained questions from the audience about the plantation.

http://www.nottoway.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nottoway_Plantation

Nottoway Plantation Home

2) Laura Plantation: It was different because it was a Creole plantation with very different architecture and history. We took a guided tour on this one as well. The female guide knew the plantation very well and had a very witty and humorous way of story telling. Unfortunately, because I am writing this almost after 6 months, I do not remember the names of the guides.

http://www.lauraplantation.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Plantation

Laura Plantation

After we had checked the plantations off the list, we were wondering what to do with our remaining days. As my husband was surfing the internet, he came across the website of free walking tours on foot. They cover many cities and New Orleans is one of them. We decided to take the tour. The tours are really free and the guides earn money on the tips they receive after the tour is over.

As we took the tour, we realized there was so much we had missed and did not explore when we walked through the French Quarter on the first 2 days. I was extremely disappointed with myself. We had one more day left and we decided to cover all the places we learnt about during the walking tour. Some of the places we had originally missed were the Cabildo, apothecary museum, the cemetery, the church etc.

I certainly recommend taking the free walking tours because it would really help you understand French Quarters. Our guide was Joanne who is of Australian descent but has made New Orleans her home.

http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/new-orleans-tours/

We also did a free walking tour of the St. Louis Cemetery where we saw Nicholas Cage's pyramid shaped tomb to be used in the future besides other historic tombs.

Nicholas Cage's Future Tomb

As luck would have it, there was a snow storm in New Jersey the next day and our flight was cancelled. To my pleasant surprise, we got 1.5 additional days to cover what we had missed in New Orleans. Sure, we had to take an extra day off from office but, hey who cares, a day in New Orleans is better than my dreary office in New York. This is where our host's kindness came into picture. He was so nice and gave us a day's extension in one of his other homes when he heard about our flight being cancelled.

As far as the local cuisine goes, meat eaters will find lot of variety. I was lucky I got to eat the vegetarian Jambalaya. We loved Cafe Du Monde which is the most popular cafe in New Orleans. NOLA was slightly chilly in January and a cup of chicory coffee and hot Beignets at Cafe Du Monde were the absolute best thing you could do. We went there 4 times during our whole trip and the best thing is it is open 24 hours.

Cafe Du Monde

For drinks there are plenty of places on the Bourbon street. We really liked Pat O' Brien and their hurricane drink. They also let you keep the big stylish glass (in which you had your drink) as a souvenir.

Pat O' Brien

Finally, it was time for us to come back but not without the promise to return someday in the future.

Thanks for reading my blog and if my reviews and experiences helped you during your travel, then please do not forget to comment.