2019 is the year of travel, at least for me! I consider myself to be a full-time traveler right now – while I still have a home base in NC, I started off the year with a month of back-to-back traveling (with much more to come).
Part of it is intended to find a place to live next, as I’ve only lived in North Carolina except as a young child. But another part of it is to explore places I have not yet had the chance to visit yet.
First up, Colorado.
As a solo traveler, it can be more challenging to navigate new cities and figure out what to do during your stay. While I did meet up with friends along the way in the other cities, I was flying solo in my first stop of Boulder – so here are some of my recommendations based on what I did and where I ate {vegetarian} food!
I started out my trip in Boulder, Colorado – a little less than an hour bus ride away from Denver airport. As far as taking the bus goes – I’m not that great with figuring out public transportation, but it was pretty easy to figure out how to buy a ticket and where to go.
I arrived on a Wednesday afternoon – There are both trains and buses to Boulder and surrounding Denver area, but for where I was headed it made more sense for me to take a bus, which avoided a transfer. As far as figuring out which bus to hop on, I had to ask a driver – but they were friendly.
All I really knew before the trip to Boulder was the Pearl Street was the main attraction, so I booked an airbnb a couple blocks from there.
Once I got checked in, I made my way to my first stop: Leaf – a vegetarian only restaurant.
Their happy hour menu made it easy to try multiple dishes!
The biggest problem I have with traveling alone – nobody to share all the food with. Especially when in a new city, I can’t just try one thing off the menu.
In this case, I tried 3 – thank goodness for happy hour prices.
Pictured: Mushroom Burger Slider, Buffalo Cauliflower Taco, and Sweet Potato Gnocchi. All of them were really tasty – though my favorite would probably be the cauliflower taco.
For the next day (my only *full day* in Boulder), I knew I needed to start the day off with a great breakfast.
Often I try to stick with local restaurants instead of chains, but Snooze Eatery had come highly recommended. And I had never been to one, since they are only in Colorado, California, Arizona and Texas!
I seriously wanted everything on the menu – my usual problem, especially with breakfasts. I went with the OMG! French Toast – because we know how much I love a good French toast.
Now that I was properly fueled, I headed a little bit off Pearl Street to Boulder Creek Path.
There was fresh snow on the ground and yet a fairly warm day all things considered (mid-50’s), which made for a beautiful walk! I walked so far I forgot that I would have to venture back. Highly recommended if you visit on a sunny day.
A few of the highlights:
After I walked off my French toast, I headed back to Pearl Street where I spend some time window shopping.
If you’re into yoga, incense, or crystals – there is a cool spiritual store called Old Tibet with tons of treasures.
Though I didn’t buy anything (packing minimally for weeks on the road makes it hard to buy things!), it was certainly fun to walk around!
Really I used that as an excuse to kill time before my next stop opened up at 1pm – Tonic Herban Lounge.
Tonic has snacks, refreshments and desserts – but the real reason I wanted to stop in was for the oxygen.
That’s right! Oxygen. I had heard of oxygen bars before but NC (as far as I know) isn’t cool enough yet to have them. There are different “flavors” (scents) that you can choose from depending on if you like floral, earthy, or calming scents.
I was still recovering from a cold so I chose one that was supposed to “brighten my aura” – along with a Buddha tea to sip on while I breathed.
To be honest, I didn’t feel all that much different afterwards – but it was a cool experience and I would go back again to try more of their menu.
To keep up with my high-vibe afternoon, I stopped for some gelato at Fior Gelato. When I saw they offered a “split scoop” to try two flavors at once, I was sold.
Stracciatella at the bottom, Golden Milk Sugar Cookie (turmeric helps with colds!) on top.
My last happy hour stop in Boulder was Pizzeria Locale. If you like a good thin-crust pizza, you should definitely make a stop here!
Also, the happy hour olives were only $2, so I couldn’t resist getting some. If you like olives, you’ll know how expensive the fancy ones can be.
The next morning was spent getting lost in a snowstorm on the walk to the bus station. It was a rough hour, but I was headed to DENVER – recap coming up soon!
If and when I make it back to Boulder, these places are top of my list: Fidel Plantarium, Celestial Seasonings tea tour and Mountain Sun restaurant (currently a cash only establishment, which is why I couldn’t make it there this trip!).
Have you been to Boulder, CO? Let me know your top recommendations in the comments!