Mile High Mania

There couldn't have been a better way to start our weekend in Denver than our Friday adventures:
1pm- Personal Wine Tour and Tasting at an urban winery in the heart of Denver's Art District
(shout out to Aaron at The Infinite Monkey Theorem!)
4pm- Brewery Tour and Tasting in Downtown Denver, walking distance of the hotel, at Great Divide

7pm- Dinner in Uptown Denver at Vine City Pub.  Chatted with the man sitting next to us at the bar, who was alone just having a few beers.  Moments after he had left, a bartender came up to us, "Nick and Erin?" she said.  "Yes.....," we replied.  "The man sitting next to you, who just left, bought your drinks and dinner for you!"  Our response, "Why?" mouths wide open! Can't say I have ever had a dinner bought for me by a stranger who left before I could even say thank you.  Such a sweet and generous gift! "'Tis the season."

Saturday afternoon, our long awaited, great friends, Sydney and Richard(wallet-less), rolled into Denver.  Stuffed in Nick's truck we drove back into downtown.  Deciding not to waste anytime, we dropped the car and their luggage off and headed for the breweries!  First stop- Wynkoop Brewery.  We did a sampling of their beers and grubbed out a lil.  Ready for a change of scenery we strolled over to Falling Rock Tap House.  Hands down, this proved to be our favorite watering hole in Denver!

This bar has 75+ beers on tap, and 130+ different bottled beers in the cooler.  They have the widest selection of beers I have ever seen! Myself, and the other 3 musketeers trialled many a brew here- one of the best being a Russian River called Pliny the Elder.  Nick stating, "That one was delicious!"








Our next fantastic discovery happened Sunday morning.  We all woke with one thing on our mind- a super yummy brunch! Riding on a recommendation from a bartender at our hotel, we tested his judgement and trekked over to the brunch hot spot, Snooze.  Well, turns out, we owed that hotel bartender, because this was easily a top 3 brunch for me! With everything from Salmon Benedict, to Breakfast Pot Pie, to Red Velvet Pancakes, this place was amazingly good.  Our awesome waiter even treated us to a free little sampling of what he called "The Sinful Pancake".   

And, yes, that is the Red Velvet Pancake in the middle of the table.  As our waiter told us, it was 'a spiritual awakening of a brunch'.  We all were thankful for our walk home after this binge.  
After taking the afternoon to digest our feast, we finally headed back out to see another side of Denver, LoDo and 16th Street Mall.  I loved how decorated downtown was with all the lights.  Really put me in the holiday spirit!

We spent the last night with our much missed friends chatting over beers and indulging in some pizza.  It was such a treat for Sydney and Richard to come and adventure with us in Denver.  We couldn't have asked for a better weekend! 
Thanks Syd and Richard! We miss you already and hope you're enjoying Telluride with El and Ashley! See you soon in Atlanta!