Colorado in March!

Somewhere in Colorado

Aspen, CO

Colorado is definitely one of the best places I have ever been to. It was actually the first State in America I visited when I first came here in June last year. You can see the beauty of this place not only  during the ski season and enjoy it while the mountains are covered with snow, but you can also have a lot of fun in this area when it is summertime. I came in June for the first time, so I got to see it when it was super green and beautiful.

This time, I will focus more on the winter activities and my experience in March this year.

Colorado border

 We made a road trip thought New Mexico (which I will talk about in another post) and this was the very first road trip in my life. It turns out that no matter if you think you have done it all, there are still so many ''first times'' in your life to conquer. 

So, we left from Austin (the capital of Texas for the ones who don't know) and we headed to New Mexico. It took us approximately eight hours to the Mexican border. We took a break and stayed in Santa Fe for a night and the next day we headed to Colorado. In total the whole drive from Austin to Buena Vista (a small town next to Colorado Springs) is around 13-14 hours. I couldn't believe we did it, LOL. But it turns out that road trips are not so hard to make. You  just eat on the road, you need the Spotify app, so you can listen to unlimited music (just make sure you have enough downloaded songs on your device for the areas with no mobile reception) and you are good to go! 

Monarch mountain, CO

Anyway, we arrived in Buena Vista and prepared for the first day of skiing which was actually my very first time as well (so many first times!). We went to Monarch mountain and I can say that this is for sure a great place for skiing, especially if you are more advanced - and I am definitely not on that level. As a matter of fact, I am super clumsy, so I spent the majority of the time on my four letters and trying to stand without falling on the bunny run (which is called like that 'cause it is mostly for kids). After I made one proper run, thinking I am good to go, I went to the green run which apparently turned out to be super extreme as the easier ones were closed that day (so lucky). After crying, being angry and some people asking to send a snowmobile to help, I finally reached the bottom of the mountain and in thirty minutes, we were back to the cabin where I was finally warm and cozy. Jeez! That was so frustrating! Definitely learning to ski as an adult sucks! Not easy at all and I felt like a turtle on the snow, watching how five-year olds own the skis like professionals. 

Vail, CO

Bone marrow, Vail, CO

The next day was chilled and we went to Vail which is an amazing little resort, about an hour and a half from the cabin. It has amazing awesome restaurants and it is a ski place as well. We went to have a lunch at a place called ''Mountain standard'' where I had one of the best dishes I have ever tried in my life (as I said, many first times). We had the whiskey braised pork belly and the wood roasted bone marrow as starters. Both of them were killers, but the bone marrow is apparently their signature dish. They also offered us to try the whiskey shots down the center of the bone but we decided to skip that one as we already had a couple of margaritas which were exceptionally strong! For a main dish we ordered the river trout which was not on the menu as it was the special for the day and no need to mention that it was phenomenal! Then we took a walk around the little town. 

River trout, Vail, CO

The next day we went back to Monarch to try again my skiing skills which were still non existent. At the end of the day, I finally managed to master the bunny run. On day three of skiing practices, I finally managed to go down the mountain three times! That day we went to Copper mountain which is about thirty minutes from our cabin. The only thing which I am still not able to do is to go down the lift, I fEll down every single time and on the last round, right when I was thinking: ''This is it, I am gonna make it!'', I fell in front of the lift in such a way, that the sister of my hubby fell right on me because she didn't have any space 'cause I have occupied the whole platform. 

Monarch mountain,CO

It was exactly like those funny videos in Youtube you watch on a Sunday night. When we were going down the mountain for the last time, I fell few more times but my pride wasn't taking that defensive position from day one and felt much more chilled, so I didn't scream or fuss, I just laughed and by the end of the day I even started making plans for the next skiing season and how I am going to show off with mu skills back in Europe(what a joke!). After being super tired, we, the girls decided to chill in the local bar and I officially retired myself from skiing (for this year) with a margarita in my hand. Meanwhile, my hubby decided to take two rounds on the mountain while it  started to snow and a big storm was on its way. On the way back we we were hardly able to see anything from the window as it was all white. Loving these extreme mountain weather conditions! 

Leadville, CO

Ice Castles, Dillon

Ice Castles, CO

The real ''Frozen'',
Ice Castles, CO

The other thing which we did while there was visiting the Ice Castles in Dillon. I literally had to drag my husband there because he thought that it is mostly for kids. At the end, I couldn't take the camera back because he was more excited than me and wanted to take pictures (which never happens). It is a fascinating handcrafted structure of ice and it is worth it seeing while there. In the evening, after the last intense few days (especially for me), we decided to finally try the hot springs which are right next to the cabin. They are naturally heated little pools and are extremely good for your circulation. They are also very popular during the summer. 

The very last day we went to Breckenridge which was also not very far from the house. It is a very cute little town and the best thing

about it are the amazing little  shops with crafts, jewelery from local artists and very high quality leather goods. For lunch we went to the Blue River Bistro which is located on the main street. They have amazing pasta and very good cocktails, so it is a very good choice if you are in Breck (short from Breckenridge) and wondering where to go for  lunch. The next day we headed back to Texas, and honestly, even if I was thinking that I am not a fan of the winter vacations, I really didn't want to leave. With a new skill in my skill set, new experiences in my checklist and few extra bruises, I was ready to go to the spring weather in Austin. The most important thing I have learnt on this trip was that fear is really what holds us back the most, second thing I managed to learn is that it is never too late to learn something and the third one is that you should never give up on anything youwant to do. Even though, I am just making the ''pizza'' with my skies, I got over my fear and I didn't give up on learning. Good luck to all the ''wanna be skiers'' and break a leg! Or better try NOT to!

For the love of first times,

XoXo