Denver

Tuesday, April 21, 2015
We woke up really quite early this morning.

We had camped between Pueblo and Colorado Springs. It was quite chilly so that is likely what woke us up. I am worried about my fabric inks because they are not supposed to get cold - hot, yes and cold, no. Likely in the van they should be ok.

We ate breakfast in Denny's in Colorado Springs. I do not know which location but we picked from Yelp the one with the highest ratings that were close to us. I, however, did not like the food at this one. It was tasteless, both the eggs and the hashbrowns. No amount of ketchup or hot sauce could save the meal.

We woke up so early that stores were not open in Colorado Springs even by the time we finished breakfast. That meant all our day could be spent shopping in Denver, CO area. We decided that the southern most Denver stores would be best, then we could move north from there for other days of shopping.

At lunch I felt a Pho Vietnamese restaurant would be best. They advertised a vegetarian broth which is what we had with a seafood soup. I appreciated the deliciousness of the soup and so did Ken. He left me an extra amount of soup at the end cause he knew how much I liked it. He got to pick supper. He chose a little Italian place called Rocco's Restaurant. We had calzones. We ordered them smothered in sauce. Wow! We had not had calzones in a restaurant before. The whole atmosphere of the place was so charming and friendly. Customers and staff were happy to be there.Ken and I discovered that we both love ma and pa hole in the wall pizza joints. After almost 20 years of marriage we are still discovering each other.

Ken went on TripAdvisor to pick our Hotel which, had a good rating. We had been so busy shopping we did not check in until quite late, after nine. Our initial room was on the second floor and we wanted the first floor. We figured since we were so late checking in we had to take what we got. After being in the room for about ten minutes we realized that every time the elevator moved, which was lots, the noise could be heard in our room. A phone call to the front desk solved that problem. The desk clerk nicely had us moved to another first floor room. It was equipped as a handicap room. It fit the bill as being quiet and on the first floor. To keep the story contained, the next day we were asked to move to another room. The other only handicap room had the sink come off the wall and they needed the room for someone with a cane. We willingly obliged. We were moved to another room on the first floor that was closer to the main entrance.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Shopping today. Again, trying to find appropriate clothing for Europe.

I have been combing blogs and Pinterest for ideas on the best travel clothing for men and women for European vacations. The website called travelfashinggirl.com has been the best for my liking. She has lists of appropriate and fashionable boots and shoes for women. They are also supposed to be comfortable. She even tells you have to pack a small carry-on which is all we are taking. I will likely be so sick of my clothes by the time we arrive back in Canada. That is ok, however, because we are not paying much for the clothing we are buying. We can just ditch the clothes once we arrive back in Canada or we can ditch them in Europe and buy different clothes. We might have to pay full retail for footwear but hopefully not. Perhaps boots are on sale this time of year.

We have already driven to many parts of southern Denver, CO. It is definitely in the full throws of spring. There are lilacs blooming. The tree buds are bursting forth into leaves which makes it smell so fresh. Tulips are blooming, too. The grass is green and fresh, but the air is still crisp and cool in the evenings. So crisp and clean, with lots of green. Actually it is down right cold. It even rained last night. Awe, spring!

Denver is a huge city just from seeing is the small portion that we have been to. It appears to be an excellent shopping area. Malls everywhere carrying almost anything your heart's desire. There are repeats of many chain stores like Dillard's, Macy's or TJ Maxx. If one store does not have what you want, well just phone or go to another one to find that certain, special item. The roadways are massive with five or more lanes of traffic going in one direction. Obviously there was plenty of traffic on the highways. According to Ken the drivers were good but drove fast, they drove to win.

We are shopping late. The stores we are frequenting are open until nine, so we have been shopping until they close. Why not? We would just be sitting in our Hotel room watching TV relaxing. Hey, that sounds good. Maybe we will do that tomorrow night.

Thursday, April 23, 2015
Shopping, shopping and more shopping.

We are trying to be very efficient and not buy anything that we would not take to Europe. We both need footwear, outer wear for cold weather (northern Europe in the spring), and clothes in coordinating colours so we can mix and match. We can not take much with us in the small luggage we are taking with us. This will be very weird or should I say unusual for me, the consummate over packer.

We have started to look in TJ Maxx Stores, Plato Closet, Clothes Mentor and Buffalo Exchange. We did not find much to our liking or size. I did, however, pick out a purse at TJ Maxx just did not purchase yet as they did not have the colour I wanted.

We found a boutique, Deja Blue. The girls there were so friendly and helpful. It was such a contrast to any of the other places we went to. We were both impressed by them and by the stock that they carried. They will have a sale on Saturday we will return.

We have been eating at Wholefoods quite a bit here in the Denver area. Some are not as good as those we liked and remembered from the west coast. One was bigger and better than any we had seen before, and that is really saying something. They are a bit pricey but we can each have what we want to eat. Ken can have meat and if you are careful what you pick you can have meals that are less pricey. An example is that potatoes are heavier than some items so limit your intake. Salad can be cheap depending if you pick heavier veggies to accompany it. Go for light because the food is by the pound.

I am starting to get shoppers fatigue. Near the end of the day I have had it and am having trouble putting real effort into my choices. That means mostly I am choosing nothing or having trouble deciding if I should buy or not buy a certain item. I guess I should have quite shopping earlier today. It is mostly great fun but if you get tired it can be kind of annoying.

Friday, April 24, 2015
We shopped and shopped and shopped.

It is fun but stressful. Stressful because we are not finding everything we want for our Europe trip. We both need shoes as we packed all appropriate shoes away and did not bring them with us. I know, what were we thinking? Who knows but we were fine for shoes in Mexico but will not be in Europe if we do not find some. In fact, I do not even have totally appropriate footwear for Saskatchewan.

This is supposed to have been a day off for Ken. He has just about everything he needs for Europe in the way of clothing. Just a few odds and sods to find - shoes, bathing suit, more shorts, not much more. It ends up he did not really get much of a day off. I have to say I have never seen him as enthusiastic about shopping as he has been lately. He does not really like shopping but I think he is enjoying it because he is finding items he likes and wants.

Ken tried to find shoes. Most likely suspects being Merrill Shoes as that had been his choice in the past. When he went to try them on it was difficult to find the style he wanted in black. Then it was not working out to find his size. In the end he did not buy any today and we will be faced with looking for shoes tomorrow.

Later on, we decided to go out for a nice supper and beverages. We found a good drinking place on Yelp and drove there. It was in Littleton, which appears to be a quaint, little, old town plucked down in a big city. We found Jake's Tavern. Our beverages were exemplary as was the service.

Saturday, April 25, 2015
Today was shopping again.

It was the big sale day at Deja Blue Boutique in downtown Denver. You walked in and drew a ticket for a percentage off of your entire purchase. As I am about to draw the girl holding the basket was rooting for me to get a 50% ticket, and I did. Ken came in later and found a pair of black boots and a pair of black shoes. These are just what he needed. Both were wonderful and fit perfectly. I found tonnes of clothes that I could take to Europe (which is tonnes more than I really needed). When prices were already $7.99 for a top or pants and then at half off, well...what more can I say. The girls working there were so nice, and treated Ken and I so wonderfully. It was such a treat shopping there. Sometimes you go in places and the staff as so snooty and not helpful. The gals here were amazing! It made our shopping experience so much fun.

I went and back and bought the ECCO shoes I liked at Dillard's. I got a different clerk this time. This guy was great, too. He was very helpful. At first I did not know which size I had on but soon figured it out. This clerk was another exemplary example of a sales clerk. 

We go back to Rocco's Pizza. We just love the family, small time atmosphere of this small pizza, spaghetti place. This time we actually order a pizza and a small salad. Wow, so delicious! Even the salad was outstanding with green olives and with blue cheese dressing.

At the Hotel we again had the suitcases from Amazon up on the big screen trying to decide on the best luggage to order. We are close to deciding on what is best for us.