Back to Boulder…

Boulder Colorado

  Boulder is my kind of city. It has a laid back, friendly, hippie sort of vibe with the most phenomenal views of the Rocky Mountains and flat irons. It is very similar to our home Santa Cruz in its energy. Only difference is Boulder is in the mountains,  Santa Cruz is a beach town. Pear street mall is a great place to shop and find epicurean delights. We found a happy hour at JAPANGO.  It was a great sushi happy hour and served really unique artfully orchestrated cocktails. Another thing not to miss in Boulder is the DUSHANNE TEAHOUSE. The tea house was given as a gift from the sister city Dushanbe, Tajikistan as a sign of friendship and cultural exchange. We were told Boulder gave them an Internet cafe and so they built this tea house and gave it to Boulder. I think Boulder must have got the good end of that deal. Its like stepping into another part of the world with the ceiling tiles all intricately painted by the hands of more than 40 artisans. No two tiles are exactly the same. I read tea is a big deal in Boulder because the land grows so many herbs and plants used in teas. It was definitely worth a visit just to see the architecture. 

  Another fun place to visit is SHERPA.  A casual atmosphere that served up Nepalese food. It was  scrumptious and the staff was friendly and warm. As we were headed back to the van we stumbled upon a open mic night in the back courtyard of a bookstore coffee shop. I felt like I had just stepped into a time machine and was transported to a mini Woodstock or at least hanging out with the people who would be at Woodstock.  Theres a lot of effort that goes into this hippie attire. Dread locks, bare feet, some crazy haircuts lots of head bands. Some really unique wardrobe choices to say the least. It felt pretty boring all of a sudden. The music was for the most part really good. Three young people got up there and performed some  original songs that were really cool. You can find them on Spotify. Her name was Lola Skinner. A few others were pretty good also, then this cute young man who was dressed like us got up there and said he was from San Antonio Texas and was going to rap. It was so cute because another guy volunteered to beet box for him. So the audience threw out ideas for him to “freestyle”.  He said he  was in school to be a computer scientist but loves to rap. It was pretty cute but he should definitely stick to the science thing. I think at one point he rapped “I have shame but my name has an end” or something like that. It was kinda funny. Every one was kind and cheered him on anyhow. He was a self proclaimed nerd but he was adorable and kudos to him getting up there. After that a hip hop hippie got up there and rapped, he was very good and shy about it.  

  What I liked  most was just the friendliness of the people wherever we went. Boulder is just a smiley friendly town. We had a blast at JAPANGO visiting with the cute girls behind the bar. The man sitting next to us heard about our van adventures and offered to let us park in front of his house. The sweet girl working at Free People was from Oklahoma and offered all kinds of travel tips for visiting the south. OZO coffee where I am sitting here writing has great coffee and the man behind the counter was so warm and friendly and gave us hiking tips in the area. A lot of people have asked where we are from and just open to chat. Not everywhere is like that and I think certain areas attract certain types of people. 

  Boulder may just be one of the friendliest, prettiest places I have ever been.