We decided to give AirBnB a shot after hearing so many great things from friends. Airbnb is a website where you can either list your place, or a room for other people to stay in. If you haven't heard of it, check it out. We thought about doing this in Europe however we just stuck to the hostel scene. Anyways, you can search for the type of place or room you seek. You can filter for amenities you are looking for, prices you are willing to pay, areas you would like to stay, etc.
We found this great little place on the North side of Denver in the Berkeley area. The hosts were a young couple. They were welcoming, friendly, smart, and well-traveled. We had great conversations and they had a lot to share with us about the area. They also have a dog (retriever, border collie mix) and a cat. We didn't see the cat much, but the dogs got along very well!
Nate had to work quite a few of the days we were staying there, but we made the most of the time off he had. We made a visit to REI. The REI in Denver is huge! There is even a climbing wall inside. There are three staggered floors of clothing, camping gear, snow equipment, shoes, and a Starbucks. The building is old and used to be an industrial building on the river. I can't remember exactly what it's purpose was, but it had something to do with coal. We found a few good deals for their pre-holiday sale.
Friday was also free day at the Denver Botanical Gardens and the Denver Zoo. Yes, it was a chilly day of about 20F, but we both we geared up with hats and mittens and there were plenty of buildings to duck into for a little relief and to warm up our toes. Now, free days tend to be quite busy in my experience but neither place was bad at all. The gardens had a special exhibit of Dale Chihuly. My pictures weren't very good, I only had my phone and the sun was in a goofy place. I recommend you click on some of these links to see his beautiful glass sculptures. They were having a small market as well for people who wanted to get an early jump on Christmas shopping!
The zoo was a fun time as well. The animals were much more active than in the summer. We saw the otters, sea lions, Siberian tiger, cheetahs, all moving around. Many warmer climate animals were in their respective houses for the winter but were still pretty active. I had a good time watching the elephant. He was playing with some toys, throwing sand, and rubbing his body on the walls! Nate had an even better time with the gorilla. When we arrived inside, he looked mad. He was swiftly spinning across the floor and making very abrupt movements. The exhibit was neat because you could step right up to the glass and be closer than ever. At one point the gorilla wound up his arm and send a blow to the glass immediately in front of Nate's teeth. The glass made an echoing sound and everyone stepped back...and then, the gorilla did it again! Could've been a bad day, who knows, but it sure scared me! We stopped for a hot beverage on the way back to the Airbnb to chill out for awhile.
For dinner, we found this Native American place that was unique and very good, Tocabe. It reminded me a bit of a Qdoba where you decide what goes in/on your food but instead of tortillas you meal was made on fry bread! It was very good and I would go back in a heartbeat!
We checked out some local bars and tried to find the opener of the Badgers Basketball, instead we found the UW-Milwaukee game on in the corner. All in all it was a good night and a great time. I would recommend airbnb again!
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