Christmas Market in Denver, Colorado

On December 21, 2015December 21, 2015 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Colorado8 Comments

We went to Denver on Saturday because we were flying out of the Denver airport the following morning. As always, we went to the 16th Street Mall to wander the shops and came across the German Christmas market that is there annually. We really enjoy seeing all of the hand-crafted decorations in all of the various stalls. The market is called the Denver Christkindl Market and it is definitely worth a visit if you’re in Denver in mid-to-late December.

Whether it is because the German Christmas traditions were the ones that most influenced the traditions in the United States or whether Colorado has a kindred spirit with Germany, there are several German Christmas markets throughout the state. Years ago, we went to Georgetown in Colorado and bought hand-made Christmas ornaments and had each engraved. We hang those every year, three generations of our family represented proudly.

Unless you can count a year and a half when one of was two years old, we’ve not been to Germany yet, but it is definitely a destination that we’re going to visit in the very near future. We love these little markets, whether at home or abroad, there is such passion and love represented with each of the hand-made items on display. Hopefully you have a similar market where you live as well.

More Christmas Decorations and Ornaments

We want to wish all of friends a Very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 🙂

Airport Parking is Outrageous!

On November 16, 2015 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Colorado, Travel Tips4 Comments

We’re not sure if it is just because we live in Colorado where there isn’t a good public transportation system. Or whether it is because everyone is spread so far out that they have to drive to the airport, but the parking prices to leave your car at the airport for seven days is astronomical. We’ve found a trick to save ourselves a little money and make flying out of Denver a little easier. Instead of parking our car at the airport, we spend the night prior to our flight at one of the airport hotels. Many of the hotels offer seven days of free parking if you spend a night. Sometimes they charge an additional $10 for the parking, but some, like the Embassy Suites, do not.

A one night stay at the hotel is much cheaper than what the airport charges for parking. In addition, if you do a little research, you can find a hotel that offers some additional perks, such as free breakfast or a manager’s reception. One of the reasons that we chose the Embassy Suites was that they offered both. Not just a continental breakfast, but a full hot breakfast including omelets and French toast made to order. To make things even better, their manager’s reception includes a complimentary full bar, house brands only, but at that price, who cares. They also provide a variety of snack food and their restaurant appetizers are half price.

The other benefit of staying at the hotel is convenience. For example, our flight to Cabo left Denver International Airport at 8:26 a.m. For us to drive from Colorado Springs and get to the airport at the recommended two hours in advance, we’d be leaving our home at 5:00 a.m., meaning we’d have to wake up by around 4:00 a.m. Not a fun way to start a vacation. By staying at the hotel, we get complimentary shuttle service to and from the airport, allowing us to be dropped off at the terminal and not lug our suitcases from the parking lot.

Taking a taxi or some form of public transportation is probably the most ideal solution rather than parking a car at the airport, but, depending on the price of a taxi or parking at the airport, you may want to consider looking for a hotel at the airport and spending the night there instead. For the convenience, cost, and piece of mind, we find it an excellent solution. If anything, we just consider it an opportunity to start our vacation a day early and relax and let the hotel staff pamper us a little prior to our trip.

Jax Fish House and Oyster Bar

On September 11, 2015September 11, 2015 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Colorado2 Comments

We’d been to Jax Fish House and Oyster Bar when we visited Fort Collins a while back, so when we found them in Boulder, we were quick to pay them another visit. They have the most incredible happy hour with oysters for a $1.50 each as well as a variety of other options. There are a total of five restaurants with locations in Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, and Glendale in Colorado and the fifth in Kansas City. The goal of Jax Fish House is to serve fresh seafood to land locked communities and they fly in their seafood fresh everyday. One of the things we really like about Jax is their commitment to sustainable seafood sources as well as sourcing their food from local farmers. We really appreciate the farm to table and, in this case, sea to table approach that provides the freshest ingredients that are in season at the time.

We started with a dozen oysters, of course, which were wonderful. Obviously we enjoyed some wine with our meal, but we believe in enjoying a wine of your preference versus worrying about a specific pairing, so red or white wine works well with seafood for us. After the oysters, we enjoyed a small plate with spicy tuna on crispy rice, which had wonderful flavor. Peel and eat shrimp was next on the agenda followed by another dozen oysters (yes, we were hungry). Finally, we had the special for the night, which was shrimp and grits with Tabasco butter with a scrumptious fried egg with a runny yoke.

After dinner, Chef Alex Krill came out to ensure that we were satisfied with our meal and we talked about their commitment to source food from local farmers. We also talked about his recent trip to Thailand and how we both appreciated getting inspiration from local flavors of the places we visit, the more exotic, the better. Every member of the staff on all of our visits were extremely friendly and proud of the restaurant in which they worked. We were back the next night for more oysters, but getting a seat at happy hour isn’t always an easy thing, but we were lucky enough to get a seat at the bar once again. We prefer eating at the bar as we typically share plates and enjoy the attentive service that we usually get when sitting at the bar. We also had some calamari as well as a second dozen oysters once again. If you’re in a location that has a Jax Fish House and Oyster Bar, we highly recommend that you pay them a visit, especially during happy hour.