I’ve always idealized Denver, Colorado. The mountains, clean air, healthy people and easy lifestyle. But I’ve never actually spent that much time there. So, when I got the chance to visit over the weekend I immediately booked my plane ticket.
A friend of mine was interviewing at a hospital so I accompanied her and took the opportunity to explore a town I thought I would absolutely love.
After flying in Thursday night, I woke up Friday morning eager to get going. I would say I kicked off the day with a five-mile walk around Denver’s outskirts. Then, after a bowl of seafood chowder I explored the city’s insides. The entire time I kept thinking…nice but not great, pretty but not beautiful, new but not charming.
Don’t get me wrong; there are a few great spots. Larimer Street is lined with little boutiques and spectacular restaurants that all have outdoor seating. We had dinner one night at Rioja and it was the best meal I’ve had in months. But that’s just one restaurant and one street. Then there’s 16th Street Mall. Basically an outdoor shopping center with all your name brands. It was a fun walk but I was attacked by a Greenpeace activist who got upset with me because I wouldn’t give him my credit card information to sign up.
The upside was all the extremely attractive men. Ladies, if you’re interested in rock climbing, music playing, tall, broad and fresh-faced males, Denver is the place to be. They all look like they just jumped off the ski lift.
But that's not enough these days to make me want to move there. As soon as we left Denver, headed to Boulder, I was much more attracted to my surroundings. Colorado is an amazing beast with endless roads, mountain landscapes that will take your breath away and weather that’s way WAY better than Chicago.
Boulder just charmed the pants off of me. For some reason, I thought Denver was going to be a much larger Boulder. But it’s not there yet.
Would I visit again? Yes. Would I make it a vacation destination? Probably not. Do I think it’s got huge potential? Absolutely!
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