I took a spontaneous trip to Denver from New York on my days off a few years ago. It was done on a whim because I found cheap tickets. I went with a backpack and a few places in mind that I wanted to check out. The flight is about 4 hours and I took the earliest flight I could find to start my day early. There is a 2 hour time difference so I gained some hours that day to explore.

4 My first stop was Snooze at Union Station. Union station is a train station that alone is a beautiful historic sight to see. It has a few shops and restaurants inside and nearby. Including the Rockies Stadium which is right next door. Unfortunately, the team was away when I was in town or that would have been a must do activity for me. Snooze is a restaurant that is only open for breakfast and has some of the best pancakes I’ve ever had. They were so good we had to go back the next day for more. The ambiance was cool and the employees looked happy like they were having a good time. It was a nice touch and my husband and I still talk about the pancakes and service to this day. It’s that good.

My next stop was a dispensary. At the time I had never been to one and was so curious. I spent most of this trip on cloud 9 and my husband who does not indulge told me he thinks the reason why the employees at Snooze were so happy is because marijuana is legal.

After a good meal and a trip to the dispensary it was time for an early check in. We stayed at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco in downtown Denver. The hotel was nice and the location was good to get around easily. We were able to freshen up and I want to add that the hotel had the best lotion I’ve ever used. The smell and the silky feel was so good. So much so that now that I am remembering how much I liked it I am thinking about going online to buy it. It was so luxurious. It’s Kimpton Style by Atelier Bloem and I will link it here if you are interested. https://www.amazon.com/Atelier-Bloem-Kadota-Body-Lotion/dp/B081ZDX2MR

The hotel offers a complimentary wine reception in the evening and a coffee and tea reception in the morning in their beautiful living room lobby. The space is what I would describe as presidential. There are many places to stay in Denver. One of my favorite affordable options in the downtown area is Tru by Hilton. I would choose the neighborhood that that makes the most sense to your travel situation and choose a hotel based on that location. There are many neighborhoods in Denver all with a very different vibe.

Since I was in the downtown area I went to check it out. Denver is the Capitol of Colorado so we checked out the Capitol building which is the exact spot of the location that is one mile above sea level. We then strolled the downtown area ending at the 16th Street Mall.

Denver has a huge food scene, you can do farm to table, fine dining or local dive spots. All are great options. I chose to go to the Blue Moon Brewery and restaurant. Blue Moon Belgium White originated in Denver and is always a good beer option. The orange wedge is such a nice touch and it definitely elevates the look and the taste. The restaurant has the best dry rub wings I’ve ever had and I’m not just saying that because I was high. They were really good. There is a walk through beer tour you can take of the brewery that was a bonus to our dinner experience. Definitely check this place out if you are in Denver.

After a good meal, my favorite part of the evening was a long walk from the hotel to get ice cream at Little Man. Summer evenings are so pleasant and being in the mile high city the mountain air is crisp and in my opinion very refreshing. Ice cream at Litte Man is a hot spot so expect to wait but it’s worth it.

The following day we stayed at our hotel until check out then had breakfast at Snooze. We were leaving around 8pm that evening so I booked a day tour of the Rocky Mountains. the guide picked us up at 1pm from Union Square and we headed to a few lookout spots. This was a great way to spend the day and my first time on a mountain. Colorado is a very beautiful place.

After the tour we had time for dinner then headed to the airport for our flight home. I think 2 days in Denver was a great way to spend a couple of days off. I enjoy going on daycations because it allows me to see more of world I would otherwise find no time to visit.