Detroit might have it nailed down in the "saddest place on Earth" category, but Albuquerque could close in on it if it doesn't watch its back.
I'm in town for a business trip, leaving tomorrow for the happiest place on Earth, Disney World (duh). But for the moment, I'm in the Hyatt business center (Hyatt=very nice rooms, good pool, decor circa 1993), and here I will recount a little tale about my time in Albuquerque, NM.
I got here and thought, "Hey, not so bad!" It was a reaction spurred by not-so-stellar reviews of the city from, well, pretty much everyone who had been here before me. It was warm. It looked like they had some urban renewal projects going on. There were trees by my hotel. There seemed to be things within walking distance. But soon, my hopes were dashed. To summarize:
Biggest Disappointment
Brazilian food at Tucanos. Turns out this is a chain restaurant, not quite what we had in mind. Anyone remember the Mongolian BBQ in Boulder? This place was that place, only with large skewers of meat instead of grills. And a super wierd salad bar that contained things like garlic mashed potatoes juxtaposed with quail eggs and beef stroganoff. Hm. Also, beware of Tucanos if it is your birthday. They will bang lots of congas and sing in something that I must only assume is Brazilian. There were a lot of birthdays that night. However, local beers were on tap and I had an IPA from the local Marble Brewery which was really quite good. And the old Route 66 area is pretty cool - old neon signs and the like, but not somewhere a lady should be alone at night.
Biggest Fun Surprise
There is a HUGE brigade of bicycle-riding policemen in Albuquerque. This didn't make up for the fact that the 7-11 closed at 9 (as opposed to, you know, 11) or that I counted five passed out drunk dudes and a puddle of vomit in the five minutes it took to walk to the 7-11. Remember how I was heartened by the urban renewal? I think they forgot to finish it.
Biggest Historic Sighting
We ate dinner at the Church Street Cafe in Old Town, which is housed in what the menu claims may be the oldest building in Albuquerque (early 1700s!). Very cool little place with a nice patio and tasty sangria. Sadly, not the best Mexican food, particularly if you enjoy things that are spicy, or, for that matter, things that have salt in them. Nice ambiance, though. Old town is also super cute in the tourist way and there's lots of shopping, some of which is wicked cool, like Santisima - seriously one of the most interesting stores I've ever visited; made me wish my suitcase was way bigger and I was way richer.
Biggest Not-Fun Surprise
My dining companions and I were chilling on the corner waiting for the bus when, out of nowhere, a little to-go side order of salsa flew out a car window as the passenger of said car let out a maniacal cackle. Salsa was everywhere, the carnage smelled of jalapeno. I avoided the drive-by salsing but others weren't so lucky. Then we got on a bus that had a big ad across the ceiling that said, simply, "AIDS." I later saw a bus with a similar sign advertising "SYPHILIS". Wtf.
Biggest Delight
Get ready for a shameless plug. Coworker and I lunched at a restaurant owned by two of our (now married) culinary grads called Cafe Green. It's a French breakfast and lunch joint that had the most delicious (and beautiful) chicken salad sandwich I have ever laid eyes on. Crispy French baguette, cranberries, cucumber, walnuts, hard boiled egg, chives, salt and pepper. Simple and delicious; plus it came with a side of truffle fries. Joy! The menu rotates seasonally based on what is fresh and local. If you ever find yourself here, get there sometime before 2 p.m. and eat well.
Showing posts with label biggest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label biggest. Show all posts
Friday, June 12, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Swimming Pretty in Denver
I visited the Downtown Aquarium, Downtown Denver that is.
Years ago I visited the aquarium and was not very impressed. This time around I was pretty pleased so either they've changed things or I'm just more easily entertained these days.
Let's do this one Sara style:
Biggest Mistake:
We accidentally started the tour backwards. We thought we were rather clever (at least I did) going in reverse but I wouldn't recommend it, there is a reason it's set up the way it is and it all has to do with building suspense. We saw the romantic ending between human and stingray before any of the back story. Follow the path for a proper story build-up.
Biggest Silly Girl Moment:
The Stingrays are there to touch. Definitely shrieked like a little silly girl the first time I got a finger on one, they are pretty slimy, you've been warned. Also some of them like to splash, you've been warned, again.
Biggest Surprise:
A really large amount of good sized sharks. They would swim right next to the glass for a very up-close look at some serious teeth, yikes!
Biggest Tip:
The Aquarium closes at 9 PM, we went a little after 7:30 on a weeknight. This was plenty of time to see the whole thing and aside from one or two other groups we had the whole thing to ourselves.
Biggest Bummer:
The Aquarium boasts awesome Tigers. I have not yet seen any evidence besides an empty space. Perhaps they go to bed early or were quarantined for the Swine Flu.
Biggest (cool) Amusement Park-like Feature:
I was rather entertained by the simulation of flash floods in the desert, especially because it caught us off guard (lesson learned).
Biggest (lame) Amusement Park-like Feature:
The animatronic Orangutan, although the sign saying "Don't Feed" made me giggle a bit.
Biggest reason I'd go back:
There is a restaurant on the first floor of the building that smelled like it had some very tasty food.
I think the place is overall worth a visit, especially if you're trying to impress your date.
Years ago I visited the aquarium and was not very impressed. This time around I was pretty pleased so either they've changed things or I'm just more easily entertained these days.
Let's do this one Sara style:
Biggest Mistake:
We accidentally started the tour backwards. We thought we were rather clever (at least I did) going in reverse but I wouldn't recommend it, there is a reason it's set up the way it is and it all has to do with building suspense. We saw the romantic ending between human and stingray before any of the back story. Follow the path for a proper story build-up.
Biggest Silly Girl Moment:
The Stingrays are there to touch. Definitely shrieked like a little silly girl the first time I got a finger on one, they are pretty slimy, you've been warned. Also some of them like to splash, you've been warned, again.
Biggest Surprise:
A really large amount of good sized sharks. They would swim right next to the glass for a very up-close look at some serious teeth, yikes!
Biggest Tip:
The Aquarium closes at 9 PM, we went a little after 7:30 on a weeknight. This was plenty of time to see the whole thing and aside from one or two other groups we had the whole thing to ourselves.
Biggest Bummer:
The Aquarium boasts awesome Tigers. I have not yet seen any evidence besides an empty space. Perhaps they go to bed early or were quarantined for the Swine Flu.
Biggest (cool) Amusement Park-like Feature:
I was rather entertained by the simulation of flash floods in the desert, especially because it caught us off guard (lesson learned).
Biggest (lame) Amusement Park-like Feature:
The animatronic Orangutan, although the sign saying "Don't Feed" made me giggle a bit.
Biggest reason I'd go back:
There is a restaurant on the first floor of the building that smelled like it had some very tasty food.
I think the place is overall worth a visit, especially if you're trying to impress your date.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Am I in Kansas or Missouri? Hmm.
I recently shuttled myself off to Kansas City, Missouri for a work conference (in March), but chose to arrive a couple days early. Yep. On purpose. Just hanging out, in KC.
The conference brochure promised loads of excitement, including the birthplace of Hallmark Cards (Crown Plaza, where my hotel was located), Harley Davidson production plant, etc. I decided there must be more to it than that. And I was right. For the most part.
Biggest sad:
Somewhere along the line I had read that Kansas City was the “Chicago of the Midwest.” I thought this was odd because, er, isn’t Chicago in the Midwest anyway? But I took this to mean that KC is full of hip young things and good music. And it might have been. The week before and after I was there. Unfortunately SXSW was the week of my visit, so all the bands were in Austin and I languished; Ryan Adams and the Kings of Leon played dates on either side of my trip. Go figure. Otherwise, though, it woul appear that KC has a good music scene. Especially if you’re into jazz/blues. (Hit up the Jazz Museum if you are…I didn’t have time, but it looks fabulous!)
Biggest cliché:
I ate a lot of barbecue. And discovered that “burnt ends” may well be my favorite food. And KC makes some pretty great beer. And that seating yourself at the bar at Jack Stack BBQ (in the Freight District) is the best way to get a table without a two-hour-plus wait. Yum.
Biggest ouch:
Take tennis shoes. You can walk everywhere in downtown KC, and it’s pretty flat. But little flats won’t cut it if you want to explore the arts district (galleries), downtown Power & Light District, etc., and walk the whole time.
Biggest bummer:
The economy is rough. Lots of empty storefronts in the metro area.
Biggest AWESOME!
The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art are open and FREE. Both buildings are architecturally fantastic, and are worth a trip on the bus to get there (very easy if you take the MAX – comes every 10-30 minutes depending on the day, $1.50 was the going rate while I was there – ticket lasted 3 hours). Make sure you visit the sculpture garden, and the audio tour was the best way to make sure you hit all the best parts. A pleasant exceeding of my expectations. Especially the giant badminton birdies on the lawn, and the Art Institute hipsters flying kites among them.
Biggest temptation to exceed my travel budget:
Country Club Plaza (also a short bus jaunt on the MAX). The day I was there, the weather was gorgeous, the fountains were on, and I was in the mood to shop. Which was perfect, because I love open air shopping centers more than just about anything, and this one had a nice mix of locally owned and national shops. Example: Bought great vintage jewelry and a scarf at Standard Style, got a dress at Anthropologie. Perfection. The best fountain in KC is here (Kansas City is called the “city of fountains,” by the way) so you can shop while pretending to do actual sightseeing.
Biggest (tallest) friends:
This year, the first couple rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament were in KC. I ran into OU in my hotel elevator. Swoon. They also ate dinner among us at the Peach Tree, where I ate the most amazing collard greens I have ever had in my life. Serious.
Biggest (haired) friends:
There was an anime convention the weekend I arrived. Kids love hairspray, cat ears.
Biggest nerding:
Union Station, a short walk from my hotel. A few years ago, the city restored this ginormous rail station to its former glory, and being the dork that I am (and also obsessed with train travel) I enjoyed wandering around here and looking at Pullman cars. Shut up. Also made me curious as to why KC would need such a big rail station…I mean, it’s not like KC had immigration or pig slaughtering or steel to create a metropolis upon. I didn’t know my history so I looked it up. Turns out it was cattle slaughtering. Go figure. Moo.
The conference brochure promised loads of excitement, including the birthplace of Hallmark Cards (Crown Plaza, where my hotel was located), Harley Davidson production plant, etc. I decided there must be more to it than that. And I was right. For the most part.
Biggest sad:
Somewhere along the line I had read that Kansas City was the “Chicago of the Midwest.” I thought this was odd because, er, isn’t Chicago in the Midwest anyway? But I took this to mean that KC is full of hip young things and good music. And it might have been. The week before and after I was there. Unfortunately SXSW was the week of my visit, so all the bands were in Austin and I languished; Ryan Adams and the Kings of Leon played dates on either side of my trip. Go figure. Otherwise, though, it woul appear that KC has a good music scene. Especially if you’re into jazz/blues. (Hit up the Jazz Museum if you are…I didn’t have time, but it looks fabulous!)
Biggest cliché:
I ate a lot of barbecue. And discovered that “burnt ends” may well be my favorite food. And KC makes some pretty great beer. And that seating yourself at the bar at Jack Stack BBQ (in the Freight District) is the best way to get a table without a two-hour-plus wait. Yum.
Biggest ouch:
Take tennis shoes. You can walk everywhere in downtown KC, and it’s pretty flat. But little flats won’t cut it if you want to explore the arts district (galleries), downtown Power & Light District, etc., and walk the whole time.
Biggest bummer:
The economy is rough. Lots of empty storefronts in the metro area.
Biggest AWESOME!
The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art are open and FREE. Both buildings are architecturally fantastic, and are worth a trip on the bus to get there (very easy if you take the MAX – comes every 10-30 minutes depending on the day, $1.50 was the going rate while I was there – ticket lasted 3 hours). Make sure you visit the sculpture garden, and the audio tour was the best way to make sure you hit all the best parts. A pleasant exceeding of my expectations. Especially the giant badminton birdies on the lawn, and the Art Institute hipsters flying kites among them.
Biggest temptation to exceed my travel budget:
Country Club Plaza (also a short bus jaunt on the MAX). The day I was there, the weather was gorgeous, the fountains were on, and I was in the mood to shop. Which was perfect, because I love open air shopping centers more than just about anything, and this one had a nice mix of locally owned and national shops. Example: Bought great vintage jewelry and a scarf at Standard Style, got a dress at Anthropologie. Perfection. The best fountain in KC is here (Kansas City is called the “city of fountains,” by the way) so you can shop while pretending to do actual sightseeing.
Biggest (tallest) friends:
This year, the first couple rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament were in KC. I ran into OU in my hotel elevator. Swoon. They also ate dinner among us at the Peach Tree, where I ate the most amazing collard greens I have ever had in my life. Serious.
Biggest (haired) friends:
There was an anime convention the weekend I arrived. Kids love hairspray, cat ears.
Biggest nerding:
Union Station, a short walk from my hotel. A few years ago, the city restored this ginormous rail station to its former glory, and being the dork that I am (and also obsessed with train travel) I enjoyed wandering around here and looking at Pullman cars. Shut up. Also made me curious as to why KC would need such a big rail station…I mean, it’s not like KC had immigration or pig slaughtering or steel to create a metropolis upon. I didn’t know my history so I looked it up. Turns out it was cattle slaughtering. Go figure. Moo.
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