Boulder

Earlier this month I ventured out west to Boulder, Colorado and spent a few days with my cousin Garrett. Garrett and I are both only children, so we have many, many memories of summers spent together growing up. We have an uncanny ability to give one another the giggles, and once we get going it's not physically possible to get us to stop....just ask our moms! We were reminiscing about all of the incredibly inappropriate times that we were caught with the giggles while I was out there, like when our parents got pulled over for speeding. You can imagine how that one went over.

Anyhow, Garrett is at UC-Boulder and putting us all to shame with his academic accomplishments. Fortunately, he was able to spend some time showing me around the "Boulder Bubble" and y'all- I want to live in this bubble. Seriously. Boulder is the perfect medley of food, fitness, and culture. That being said, I visited during the hottest week of the year....and I hate snow. BUT, if Garrett will have me, I will gladly be back to visit next summer. Perhaps for an extended period of time, too!

Here are some places that I dined at that are worth visiting if you have the good fortune of visiting Boulder...

ZEAL I don't even know how words can do the food here justice. I visited three times in five days and that still wasn't enough. I can confidently say that I indulged in the best BLT of my life here. The egg sandwich, passion fruit compote dessert, and acai bowls were also incredible. The atmosphere is open and crisp, too. Gahhh, I wish this place wasn't so far away!!

Snooze. I had brunch at Snooze with a former coworker (hi, Natalie!) and the food was also scrumptious. I can tell why people wait for a long time to get a table here! I had the quinoa oatmeal porridge, and I'm still dreaming of the marscarpone whipped cream that came on top of it. 

SALT Bistro. Garrett and I had dinner here my first night, and it was the perfect place to spend three hours at the bar catching up over a delicious meal. I got Garrett to try pate for the first time, we noshed on farm to table pork chops, and even found room for a salted caramel chocolate tart for dessert. Their cocktail menu was also wonderful and eclectic.

Ozo Coffee. Garrett works at Ozo, and there's a reason it's been voted the Best of Boulder time and time again - and this is in a town where there are a million and one local coffee shops (and it's shameful to go to Starbucks)! Not only is the vibe young and inviting in the stores, but they also take their coffee very seriously, as evidenced by Garrett's insane stack of notecards riddled with espresso and coffee terminology that he memorized before he started working there. 

All of these spots are located on or close to Pearl Street, which is an outdoor shopping and dining mecca. I purposely carried cash only when I went there because otherwise I would have gone to town shopping. Pearl Street is also a dead ringer for the downtown mall in Charlottesville, and I've heard rumors that they were designed by the same architect. 


Last but not least, here are some photos of the crazy beautiful scenes out there...

(A fun old photo for good measure....I wonder where we picked up our silly behavior!)

Thank you for being such a welcoming and adventurous host, Garrett John! Until next time....

PS. Garrett and I grew up with some EPIC games of tag, and it was always a major competition to see who could get the last tag in before the other went home (imagine young Maria sprrrrrinting down the sidewalk trying to catch Garrett's car). Well, after Garrett did a reading at our wedding last July, he pulled the most epic "you're it" of all time and tagged me at the altar. I don't think I'm ever going to be able to top that one....and I think I'm okay with that!