COLUMBUS,OHIO!
If there is anyone reading this travel blog, you might remember that I mentioned having traveled to Columbus, OH over labor day weekend 2012, but that I am a horrid blogger and forgot to mention anything or review anything.
Well folks, sometimes you do get a second chance.
The one fantastic thing about having friends who do not live a short hop skip away from you is that you have somewhere to go on long weekends. Labor Day 2013 saw me back in Columbus Ohio for the second year in a row. Let me start by saying that the drive from Chicago land to Columbus is actually rather pretty. Well, except for the crazy construction on Indiana. But hey, we'll try not to hold it against Indiana. Everyone's got to fix their roads at some point.
So my carload (two of my college roomies) and I got into Columbus around 2 in the morning. The city is rather pretty when it's lit up. We found our friend's place in the German Village area, complete with cobblestone streets and gorgeous old houses. The next morning I went for a run through the neighborhood and around one of the local parks. I did this during this 25 mile bike ride that was going on, and there were so many bikes! Besides the bikes, I also saw numerous people walking, running, and just in general outside. I ran along and thought,"wow, Columbus seems very community oriented. Look at all these people outside enjoying their city!" Besides almost killing myself on some uneven cobblestones(I am the Clumsy Roamer, after all), the run was absolutely gorgeous.
One shower and two wake up calls later, my companions that were not biking 25 miles and I walked over to a local(?) chain called Cup o' Joe. It is adorable, has great coffee, and my friend would most definitely recommend their pancakes. She kind of devoured them, and she is not the kind of gal to eat something she doesn't like. After breakfast, we went next door to one of the coolest book stores I have ever been. It is called The Loft, and there are 32 different rooms of books. If you ever wanted to get lost in a maze of books, this is the place to go. Every room has a different genre in it, and they even play different music in each room. I love this book store, and I suggest taking a little trip down there when you go to Columbus.
After our bookstore and coffee excursion, we filled our day with hanging out and catching up. We went to Hound Dogs (?) for pizza that was delicious, but the place didn't have the best service. After we got back to our home base, we got dressed and did a little bar crawling through the Short North, a section of High Street that is filled with cute shops, interesting bars, and lots of hipsters. I recommend Surly Girl for the atmosphere, Local Bar if you want to chill out with very loud music a small place called House Beer if you want a decent variety of brews, and most definitely Bodega. Their sangria is good, their mojitos are good, and they'll do Calimotxo if you ask. And most definitely get a side of their fries, which a freaking delicious (garlic! all the garlic in the world!!!!).
The next day our crew played things a little calmer and a little more upscale. Breakfast started at the Angry Baker, a little indy bakery with a delicious and unique menu. They also operate with a completely open kitchen, so sitting at the bar lets you watch them all at work. It's quite fascinating and somewhat entertaining to watch as you chomp down on a "fork and knife" burrito (which I highly recommend and is gigantic).
We then meandered over to the Columbus Museum of Art, which had a fantastic exhibit of George Bellows work on display. The last time I was at the CMA, the Lod Mosaic was on display, as well as gorgeous display of glass by Lino Tagliapietra that I was madly in love with.
After the CMA was an excursion to the local Greek Fest, which was giant, but overcrowded. If you don't have an inherent interest in Greek culture that will allow you to put up with a million people in a tiny place and many many children, I'd skip the Greek Fest. Although the Baklava sundae was pretty darn good.
That night we got ourselves dressed up and went to Basil, I lovely Thai restaurant. We were seriously overdressed, but it was fun to get fancy. The service at the restaurant was poor, as it seemed they were severely understaffed that night, but the food is killer and I can not describe my happiness when I noticed my friends forgot their leftovers in my cooler. MORE FOR ME! We did end our evening after the meal, as we had a long day of driving ahead of us.
A quick breakfast at First Watch was delicious and filling, with great service. They didn't even complain when our fifth showed up practically after the rest of us were done eating, nor did they comment on my absolutely absurd coffee intake. Think slightly more upscale Denny's and you've probably got a good idea of First Watch.
And that's pretty much the extent of adventuring in Columbus. Well, this time. From what I could tell, there's more to discover.
Oh, and ps, watch out for the cops in Ohio. So many out of state license plates on so many pulled over cars, it's like there was an agenda or something.
Well folks, sometimes you do get a second chance.
The one fantastic thing about having friends who do not live a short hop skip away from you is that you have somewhere to go on long weekends. Labor Day 2013 saw me back in Columbus Ohio for the second year in a row. Let me start by saying that the drive from Chicago land to Columbus is actually rather pretty. Well, except for the crazy construction on Indiana. But hey, we'll try not to hold it against Indiana. Everyone's got to fix their roads at some point.
So my carload (two of my college roomies) and I got into Columbus around 2 in the morning. The city is rather pretty when it's lit up. We found our friend's place in the German Village area, complete with cobblestone streets and gorgeous old houses. The next morning I went for a run through the neighborhood and around one of the local parks. I did this during this 25 mile bike ride that was going on, and there were so many bikes! Besides the bikes, I also saw numerous people walking, running, and just in general outside. I ran along and thought,"wow, Columbus seems very community oriented. Look at all these people outside enjoying their city!" Besides almost killing myself on some uneven cobblestones(I am the Clumsy Roamer, after all), the run was absolutely gorgeous.
One shower and two wake up calls later, my companions that were not biking 25 miles and I walked over to a local(?) chain called Cup o' Joe. It is adorable, has great coffee, and my friend would most definitely recommend their pancakes. She kind of devoured them, and she is not the kind of gal to eat something she doesn't like. After breakfast, we went next door to one of the coolest book stores I have ever been. It is called The Loft, and there are 32 different rooms of books. If you ever wanted to get lost in a maze of books, this is the place to go. Every room has a different genre in it, and they even play different music in each room. I love this book store, and I suggest taking a little trip down there when you go to Columbus.
After our bookstore and coffee excursion, we filled our day with hanging out and catching up. We went to Hound Dogs (?) for pizza that was delicious, but the place didn't have the best service. After we got back to our home base, we got dressed and did a little bar crawling through the Short North, a section of High Street that is filled with cute shops, interesting bars, and lots of hipsters. I recommend Surly Girl for the atmosphere, Local Bar if you want to chill out with very loud music a small place called House Beer if you want a decent variety of brews, and most definitely Bodega. Their sangria is good, their mojitos are good, and they'll do Calimotxo if you ask. And most definitely get a side of their fries, which a freaking delicious (garlic! all the garlic in the world!!!!).
The next day our crew played things a little calmer and a little more upscale. Breakfast started at the Angry Baker, a little indy bakery with a delicious and unique menu. They also operate with a completely open kitchen, so sitting at the bar lets you watch them all at work. It's quite fascinating and somewhat entertaining to watch as you chomp down on a "fork and knife" burrito (which I highly recommend and is gigantic).
We then meandered over to the Columbus Museum of Art, which had a fantastic exhibit of George Bellows work on display. The last time I was at the CMA, the Lod Mosaic was on display, as well as gorgeous display of glass by Lino Tagliapietra that I was madly in love with.
After the CMA was an excursion to the local Greek Fest, which was giant, but overcrowded. If you don't have an inherent interest in Greek culture that will allow you to put up with a million people in a tiny place and many many children, I'd skip the Greek Fest. Although the Baklava sundae was pretty darn good.
That night we got ourselves dressed up and went to Basil, I lovely Thai restaurant. We were seriously overdressed, but it was fun to get fancy. The service at the restaurant was poor, as it seemed they were severely understaffed that night, but the food is killer and I can not describe my happiness when I noticed my friends forgot their leftovers in my cooler. MORE FOR ME! We did end our evening after the meal, as we had a long day of driving ahead of us.
A quick breakfast at First Watch was delicious and filling, with great service. They didn't even complain when our fifth showed up practically after the rest of us were done eating, nor did they comment on my absolutely absurd coffee intake. Think slightly more upscale Denny's and you've probably got a good idea of First Watch.
And that's pretty much the extent of adventuring in Columbus. Well, this time. From what I could tell, there's more to discover.
Oh, and ps, watch out for the cops in Ohio. So many out of state license plates on so many pulled over cars, it's like there was an agenda or something.