As with anywhere I go, I organized some blogger meetups with some Colorado bloggers since I’m here for two weeks. The first one was with Tamara and we met up at Garbanzo in Colorado Springs, CO.

Let’s talk about Garbanzo. I’ve never heard of it before but it’s a Denver and Colorado Springs chain that offer Mediterranean style. Think Chipotle but Mediterranean food. Yeah. I walked in and was in instant overload with all the selections but love how neatly they have the menu laid out (along with calorie content in plain view)

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I didn’t think the prices were that bad at all considering the amount of food you get. I got the Chicken Falarma plate with hummus, falafel, tabbouleh, baba ghanoush, rice, salad and a whole wheat pita.

All this for seven bones, not too shabby at all. We had a wonderful dinner and discussed things ranging from bad dates to dogs to Colorado. It was great to finally meet her after reading her blog for the past year plus find a new restaurant to visit again before I leave.

The next meetup was the very next day and I must have been feeling the Mediterranean vibe because we went to Yanni’s.

Looking hopeful before we even went in…..

All three of us got the gyro

As much as I think the gyro is one of the unsexiest foods to eat but thanks to the wrapped, it kept everything pretty neat and no tzatziki stuck in my hair (true story). The fries were decent and I’m one for spices but there was too much oregano for my liking on them. All in all a pleasant meal for a reasonable price.

Lynne and Diana

Yanni himself was sitting at the table next to us and he was super friendly!  They let us go behind the bar to take a picture-thanks Yanni! He offered me a shot of ouzo but I declined but I thought that was a nice friendly gesture of him since I told him I was just visiting Denver.

It was so nice to meet Lynne since I feel like I’m always tweeting back and forth with her and it’s been over a year since Diana came to Charlotte so it was great to see her again. Next time, we will have to not let so much time pass. Lynne had to go back to work but Diana was off for the day so we spent the rest of the afternoon getting acquainted with the city of Denver!

Our first stop was at Chessman Park

Then made our way to downtown

Diana pointed out Mellow Mushroom since she knows its one of my favorites

Speaking of favorite things, can anyone decipher this? I was trying to figure it out but was too excited by the prospect of Denver having Chick Fil A

Saw the Capitol Building

Along with some Occupy Denver protestors

We checked out Washington Park and got a taste of fall with the leaves changing color. Palm trees don’t change color so it was nice to be back somewhere where it actually feels like fall.

WashPa (yes I just made up my own nickname for it because I was too lazy to type it out but apparently not too lazy to type this out) reminded me of Freedom Park in Charlotte but on crack.

The last stop of the day was for a sweet treat, We were in need of one especially since we had this gorgeous view for about four miles when driving around

I can definitely get down with the concept of a cupcake truck! Unfortunately we parted ways but we went for a healthier alternative at Yogurt Guru

I’m a fan of the self serve fro yo places so this was the perfect way to end the day. The only bummer was that they had salted caramel flavor but it was almost empty by the time we went to fill up. I got a little sample size of it and it was heaven. I ended up getting black cherry instead and it was delightfully tart.

I had a fantastic time in Denver and absolutely loved all the areas I got to visit! The downtown is like an actual city not like Charlotte which I always felt was a fake downtown and not a real city since you could walk it within a half hour. I love the urban and suburban feel to it and the diversity of people around you at any given moment. People are freakishly friendly and the fact that it’s a walkable downtown area makes my heart aflutter. My only complaint is I wish I had more time to explore more but that’s really not an issue since……..wait for it……

I’m moving to Denver next month!

I got a job offer yesterday as Diana was driving me back to my car and it would start early December and is a contract position for five months. Even though it’s not a permanent position, I’m excited since it was be something steady for almost half a year and will give me more time to check out the city, where I want to live and different job opportunities! Pending that I pass a drug test, it’s pretty much a done deal and I should be getting more details about it today. Just wanted to share the good news with you all, this girls traveling days will be coming to an end soon. And now to plan the cross country trip here, good times……