This past weekend I was blessed with the company of several of my closest friends from all over the United States! Not only was I reunited with Sarah but also with my friends Karli, Megan, and Hannah. We all had first met one another while studying abroad in London, England. We were in the same study abroad program, CEA. I have seen Sarah and Karli several times since then, but had not been able to see Hannah or Megan for almost two years, until now.
I flew into Denver airport Friday afternoon, it may just be me but I found the airport a bit confusing. I met Hannah there because our flights were around the same time and we called an uber to take us to our hotel: The Fairfield Marriott. The hotel was nice and the room was the perfect size to fit all five of us. We spent the first night catching up, drinking champagne, and blasting “Bad Girls” by MIA on repeat – which became the theme song of our weekend. We waited for Sarah before taking an Uber downtown. We went to Viewhouse and LoDo, which both had fun music, we danced and had some drinks, which by Chicago standards were fairly cheap. Around two A.M. we called our Uber home which ended up being 175$. So just a tip: if you do not want to pay for insane surge charges get an uber home before bars close because it will be 5x the normal rate.
The next day we were all feeling the aftermath of our night out, we were struggling. We went to Cherry Creek Mall and had pizza at a really great Italian place. The rest of the day we hung out in a park. I think I was also suffering from altitude sickness on top of a hangover. A big tip I would give if you’re not used to high altitude is to drink a lot of water.
Our final day in Colorado we packed up Karli’s car and drove to Boulder to hike the Chautauqua mountain? At least I think it’s considered a mountain. We hiked the Royal Arch Trail. During this hike I had an epiphany, I am 100% a city girl. Who would have guessed, hiking is not my thing. I have been hiking before in Croatia, but that was nothing compared to this. I found the hike quite difficult not only because of my fear of heights but also because part of the hike was covered in ice. The rocks were very slippery and on top of it I still had altitude sickness. Luckily, I had a great group of friends with me to coach me thru the hike. I can’t believe I actually completed the hike – I definitely stepped outside my comfort zone for this one.
*It’s warm at the bottom of the mountain but as you go higher it gets very cold. The climb down is much more frightening than the climb up, we all had to crab walk down. Wear shoes that are good for walking on ice.
**DO NOT WEAR RINGS, your finger swell and become disgustingly fat due to altitude.
After the hike we grabbed burgers and beer in downtown Boulder. We then went back to the hotel to hangout and watch TV. I was very sad to leave these girls the next day, but I can not wait for our next adventure together.
Colorado is very beautiful but I can’t ignore the fact that I am just not cut out for the mountains. Yeah, I drink Green Juices on occasion but I prefer beer – and yeah, I own some athletic wear but I’d rather wear it while watching Netflix than mountain climbing. I’m a city girl but you know what I am perfectly fine with this.
Runaway Blond 