Wednesday night, well I guess technically Thursday morning I arrived back home after 8 days of vacation in Denver, CO and the surrounding areas. My college roommate moved out there earlier this year so I headed out west for 8 days of fun.

Day 1 – I arrived early afternoon. We spent the rest of the day walking around town and ended at linger for happy hour. We ate and drank up on their rooftop patio with a view of downtown Denver. One of the appetizers we tried was a deconstructed popper, fried cheese, shishito peppers and a delicious orange-habanero dipping sauce we were also big fans of the sesame BBQ tacos.

Day 2 – We took the drive to Mount Evans, the highest paved road in North America. We took the cliffhanging drive to Summit Lake where it was about 45 degrees outside.

Then headed back down a few thousand feet to Echo Lake where we picnicked with Whole Foods sandwiches.(PS there is a Whole Foods in Denver that makes custom sandwiches! So yummy)

Day 3 – We toured the Mint. No photos allowed inside and you also cannot bring a purse FYI. It was an interesting tour. You must make reservations in advance, so be sure to plan ahead.

Day 4 – We headed to Ft. Collins to check out New Belgium Brewery. New Belgium is a great tour, our tour guide and everyone who works there are really great. They give you a few samples along the way and you can head back to the tasting room when you are done for more samples or full size. We made a reservation in advance for this as well, but it seemed like if you just have a small group (2-4 people) you could probably get on with the stand by list.

The tour was about 90 minutes long and provided a ton of information about how they got started and grew into the third largest craft brewer in America.

We headed back to the tasting room after for a few more samples. For only $1.50 you can purchase good sized samples and any additionals you wish to try. We tried the Hoptober

And the Peach Porch Lounger

Day 5 – Gator Game with the Rocky Mountain Gator Club at a local bar…

Day 6 – We had breakfast at The Delectable Egg where I fell even more in love with green chili, when I ordered the Fiesta Skillet. After breakfast we went to Washington Park to people watch, walk around, look at the beautiful gardens. We saw a wedding taking place, many family and newborn photo shoots going on, lots of puppies, and two beautiful gardens. The only thing they were missing was real bathrooms, so we headed back and went to Panzanos for happy hour. This was our second time at Panzanos. They probably have the best happy hour in Denver. $3 beers, $4 wines, $5 cocktails, and a bunch of food items in the $4-$6 range. Usual menu prices for the same items are anywhere from $15-$20, of course the portions are smaller, but this allows you to try a few more items than normal. Happy hour runs from 2:30 – 6, 7 days a week.

Below is only a selection of what we tried first up the Cavolini di Bruxelles (pan fried brussel sprouts), next the Capesante (scallop with risotto), Crespelle ai Funghi (mushroom stuffed crepe), and the Coniglio Pizza (rabbit confit pizza). The brussel sprouts and all the pizzas we tried were some of our favorites.

Day 7 – We headed over to Boulder and walked around Pearl St. We had lunch at The Sink which was on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives. I had a soup and sandwich. The turkey panini was good. I ordered a cheesy poblano soup and was brought beef and barley.  Our waitress exchanged it for french onion, apparently there was some mix up over what the soup of the day was. We also went on a tour of Boulder Beer, Colorado’s oldest microbrewery.

Day 8 – We went to see Jason Mraz at Red Rocks Amphitheater. Red Rocks is built into the side of the mountain and was a really cool venue to say I have seen a concert at.

And that concludes my trip. Now I’m back at home preparing for a new week of recipes.