Visit from a HS friend and night out Downtown Denver

My girlfriend from High School was working in Colorado Springs for a week and decided to come out a few days early to stay with us and visit.  I was so excited!  We decided we would grab a hotel and hang out in Downtown Denver for Saturday night and then rush back to watch the Vikings game the next day.  Sad to say, but out of the 13 years I have lived in Colorado I had yet to spend a night out downtown.  I did some research and talked to a few friends for recommendations on places to go.  

Lezlee got to our house around noon and it was a gorgeous day out.  We grabbed a few beers and hung out under the misters and caught up for a bit.  I had to rush out to a bridal shower for a few hours so she stayed with the kids and Dan and got ready and then it was off to Denver.

We checked into our hotel and got did what girls do - primping and a little pre-gaming for a night out!  We headed out and our first stop was Katie Mullen's Irish Pub across the street from the hotel.  We sat on their large patio area and enjoyed some calamari and did some people watching.  

 

 After the Irish Pub we made our first attempt at the free public transportation downtown.  We hopped on the bus not really knowing what we were doing or really the direction it was going.  Needless to say the bus we hopped on was going in the wrong direction and we rode it the few blocks to the end and then just stayed on the bus until it started back up and went in the direction we wanted to go.  There was a strange guy that also didn't get off at any of the stops and walked toward us and then stopped.  I'm not really sure what his intention was, but he stood there for a minute and then decided to get off the bus.  Lezlee was hilarious and said, We are going to get killed on this bus!  I just said, Nah - that's nothing compared to the crazies that I ran into on the Boston subway.  We talked to a few nice people on the bus as we were heading in the right direction and then I saw a street that I recognized for one of the places we wanted to go and we hopped off.  We wandered around and noticed how extremely dressed up people were downtown for a night out and/or date night - wow!
We were head to The Green Russell where there is a semi-hidden speak easy bar.  We walked through an old diner looking door and were in an old era it seemed.  You just kind of had an awe moment of the neatness of this place.  We were seated at the bar and given the bar menu.  We went with the Bartenders choice drink.  The bartender then talks with you about what drinks you like and what liquors you enjoy and proceeds to mix up a unique one of a kind drink just for you.  It was an experience in itself watching them mix drinks and chip ice from a large ice chunk.  We stayed at this place for quite awhile and tried a few different drinks.  

 

Back out downtown in the hustle and bustle we started walking again and found one of the other places on our list, the champagne bar, Corridor 44 .  This bar was in a small space and had a small outside patio and was jam packed with people.  We were able to get a drink quickly, but the prices were a little steep so we grabbed a cheap glass of wine for the experience (never the best idea with champagne - you pay for what you get) and hung out for only a short while. 

Next our adventure took a to a nightclub where we also had one drink and danced to one song and then got the hell outta there.  For me I felt a little too old for the crowd and just wasn't feeling the "clubbing atmosphere".  We were getting hungry by this point and attempted to go to a seafood restaurant, OceanPrime,  but were told they had had a charity event for the night and would be adding 20% to each bill for the charity so we bailed.  We found somewhere else to grab a beer and some food.  After that it was back on the bus.  We got off the bus when we were by the 16th Street Mall and I saw Coyote Ugly.  It was last call and I wanted to check the place out.  I was sadly disappointed at the lack of crowd.  I thought that we were closer to the hotel than we were and Lezlee decided she was done walking in her wedges for the night.  We grabbed a guy on a bike and paid for ride to our hotel, it was hilarious!  We crashed at the hotel and got up early, grabbed a starbucks and headed back to the house for the Vikings game.  

I was glad I made all of our football food the day before so I only needed to toss it in the oven and re-heat stuff.  We made a pitcher of beer margaritas and settled in for some football.  It was a fun game to watch, but alas the Vikings let the game go at the end.  Lezlee and I took a trip down memory lane with old photo albums and laughs for the afternoon.

Lezlee had never had a ride in a Corvette so I talked Dan into taking out the vet and she got her first ride.   

It was a fabulous weekend and I was sad to see it end, but look forward to her next visit to Colorado.