ASPEN

I can not believe it is mid March and here we are in the midst of our third Nor'easter this month. Winter being my favorite season, it always seems to fly right by! Meanwhile, I finally found a little time to go through photos. Here's a look at our trip to beautiful Aspen, Colorado back in January.

Good friends of ours have lived in Aspen for years so a visit here was long overdue! 
Here is my Aspen bucket list / a nice guide of to-dos if you go. 
At the end of the day really just everything we did with locals to lead the way.

#1 Highland Bowl. A hike up highland bowl is a right of passage! Some gnarly heart pumping terrain brings you to an elevation of 12,392'. On this day the hike was made even more challenging by the weather - blinding 50+ mph winds. One local quoted it was his toughest bowl hike in 10 years of living there and meanwhile a few of our crew got frostbite. On certain days a cat runs the initial ascent, but it was not running due to the weather so we really earned this one!

A Highland bowl hike will take about 45 minutes to an hour. It is an intense workout and crazy adrenaline rush. The powder runs from the top are worth it!

Above is the bowl and the ridge line (hiking trail) from the vantage point at the top of Loge Peak lift.

 Alex and Bob hiked the bowl on our last day when it was sunny and perfect visibility. You can't beat clear views from 12,000 feet! Leah and I opted to ski the main trails at Aspen Highlands since we hadn't yet. 

#2 Cloud Nine. Post Highland Bowl hike, celebrate your accomplishment at Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro with a bottle of Veuve.
Fun Facts: Cloud Nine is Veuve Clicquots largest account in the world! And umm....Veuve is the least expensive bottle you can purchase here. 

We reserved a table for lunch a few weeks in advance. The food is good but expensive so if you aren't looking to splurge or did not make a reservation then a drink on the hopefully sun drenched or snow covered patio is where it's at! 

#3 Ski Ajax. This IS Aspen Mountain. We had a gorgeous bluebird day at Ajax following a small storm the night before we arrived. We almost didn't make it out of Denver because of the storm. We were very proactive at the airport about re-booking each time our connection was cancelled and managed to make it on the last flight out that night!!
 

My recs for a solid day in Aspen:

Grab Breakfast at: Jour de Fete

Enjoy Lunch on piste at: Bonnie's

Après at: Ajax Tavern or Highlands Ale House

Ski gear or rentals: Hamilton Sports

Fun Shops: KemoSabe, Sweaty Betty Pop Up

#4 Cocktails at J-Bar inside Hotel Jerome. Check out the alpine-luxe hotel lobby space and then tuck into Jbar for a round or two. Try the Cranberry Spice Manhattan made with Woody Creek single barrel "Hotel Jerome" Rye, Bitter Sling Autumn Bog Cranberry + Carpano Antica or the J-Bargarita with Cazadores Blanco Tequila, lime, grapefruit, Ancho Reyes Verde + agave.

#5 Crispy Chicken Sandwich at The White House Tavern. This heavenly sandwich comes on a house made torta with swiss, tomato and spicy slaw. It is a must order when visiting Aspen! The ambiance at this cozy, historic house turned tavern at 302 East Hopkins Avenue can't be beat. It served as a miners cottage at the turn of the century and it remains one of the oldest structures in Aspen. 

Also pictured is my Gibson Martini (love me some cocktail onions!) and the Gulf Coast Style Fish Sandwich with red onion and thousand island slaw. Our group had such a nice time at The White House Tavern, I'd highly recommend a visit.

#6 The Peking Duck at Bosq. Serving innovative and inspired new world cuisine with flavors from the Mediterranean to China in a modern alpine setting, everything at Bosq feels extremely unique. The intimate space envelopes you in shades of gray and light wood accents with elegant lighting and flickering candles, creating a soothing Scandinave ambiance. The Peking Duck is a chef perfected dish, served simply with cucumbers, leeks, pancakes and hoisin sauce.


The rest of the menu is not to be out shined by the duck, though. From sides like garlic chili rapini and butter poached shitakes to shared dishes of octopus with lime, black chili, parsnips, tamarind and grilled peanut oil and sweet and sour crispy eggplant - every dish was outrageously good.

There were also short rib blue corn tacos with kumquat foam and tomatillo emulsion and citrus chicken with roasted brussels sprouts and chestnut crema. This was a group consensus, one of the best meals we've had in a long time!

#7 Don't forget your fur! ;)

Thank you for an amazing time, Aspen!!

Up next: Telluride!

u b u d | p 2

Night 1 - We've Arrived! After we settled in at Gora Bali Villa we strolled over to Copper Kitchen + Bar and had an excellent dinner on their beautiful, contemporary rooftop. We shared a crispy scallion pancake with shredded chicken, bonito flakes, spicy peanut sauce + a chili plum sauce. I had an entrée of seared Barramundi Fish in a fennel broth with smoked eggplant and soy mirin caramel topped with a crab dumpling! For dessert a black rice + coconut pudding with caramelized banana + puffed rice. We had only been in Ubud a few hours and already I was charmed. It was nice to start of with such a unique meal featuring very inventive dishes.





Day 1 - We found a really nice driver named Made, (mad-e - long e) he took us to a Luwak Coffee Plantation + Tegallalang Rice Terrace. I previously proclaimed my deep connection with the rice paddies. As far as the Luwak Coffee is concerned I had read about this specialty blend and was excited we got to taste it alongside a super sampler of other flavored coffee (coconut, chocolate!) and tea (saffron, rose, ginger, ginseng, tamarind!) plus a quick and informative tour. 

It is a fascinating story. The Luwak is actually a jungle cat who POOPS OUT THE COFFEE BEANS. Historically the lower working class population did not have access to the coffee beans that they harvested for the royals but they discovered them in the poop! The entire process of breaking down this revitalized bean makes the coffee richer, even better tasting, so it was adapted by all. Crazy, right?

We had lunch in downtown Ubud @ Gedang Sisi Warung where I had my first of many Nasi Goreng! Nasi Goreng is Indonesian Fried rice, always served with a fried egg on top and chicken satay on the side. It is addictingly good. We had a romantic and probably one of my favorite dinners @ Hujan Locale noshing on crispy squid with ginger flower and a lemongrass + chili jam, plus oxtail dumplings in a spicy chili broth, and passionfruit panna cotta.


Day 2 - We ventured around Ubud on foot. We walked the scenic Campuan Ridge Walk that morning, visited the Monkey Forest that afternoon, then hung out at Folk Pool + Gardens for a late lunch + swimming. We had relaxing evening pedicures @ Lily Spa on JL Bisma and a disappointing dinner @ Nusantara.

The Monkey Forest is a must do! There are literally monkeys everywhere, all shapes and sizes, more monkeys than you've ever seen in one place in your life. And the forest itself is a gorgeous sweeping canopy of lush trees and old vines.

We were cautious around them. Hence the awkward "hey look I'm standing a foot away from you!" photos. They typically won't jump on you unless you offer food. I'm not scared of them per se but we were warned prior to of diseases if they scratch or bite and of them stealing from you! One jumped on me and he really didn't look nice at all!! This woman on the other hand was all about checking it off her bucket list. Pretty sure the largest monkey in the forest made himself right at home. He was super sweet and playful with her. We thoroughly enjoyed our time on the Campuan Ridge. I would say it is another must do for the beautiful views and it only takes a couple of hours. There are a few warungs along the way to escape the heat or if you wanted to plan your walk around a meal.

Folk Cafe Pool + Gardens is located on JL Monkey Forest so it was a perfect choice for lunch and some bevies at the sunken pool bar. Pictured are a Crispy Chicken Curry sandwich on brioche, a vodka pineapple martini, daybeds for rent, and me enjoying some qt on a watermelon float.

We debated over a few spots for dinner and I wish we went somewhere else. Nusantara is an authentic Indonesian restaurant that gets pretty fantastic reviews. It is a sister restaurant to highly awarded Locavore, so it seems to be the case if you can't get a table at Locavore you go here. While some of the flavors were well done, most of the dishes were off. The meats were overcooked. All that we tasted were either chewy or dry and whatever was on that appetizer plate was terribly strange.

I so wanted to like Nusantara. The atmosphere and the staff were lovely but I could not quite grasp the authenticity of this food. We ate a lot of Indonesian food on this trip that I loved so I was confused by the disconnect!

Day 3 - We hooked up with our driver Made again. He took us to three magical and inspiring Temples: Tirtah Empul, Gunug Kawi + Goa Gajah + then the breathtaking Tegenungan Waterfall.

Tirtah Empul means "holy water spring". It is an important Hindu Balinese temple that houses a mountain spring which feeds purification baths and koi ponds.
Bob was very happy about the Koi Fish at Tirta Empul with so many beautiful Koi to view. Also, how great does he look in a Sarong? I wore a long skirt out of respect and while they still required me to wear a Sarong at Tirta Empul, they did not at the latter two. Below is at Goa Gajah which means "Elephant Cave".

 

Gunung Kawi is an ancient rock temple + funerary complex situated at the bottom of a lush green river valley. The massive shrine reliefs are carved into the face of rock cliffs on each side of the Pakerisan River. There is also a sacred Hindu temple courtyard that you can enter only in bare feet. I was so in awe here, this was definitely my favorite of the three temples.

My pictures at Tegenungan are all from afar but we walked down to explore the area and went swimming. (You can get pretty close to the falls, directly under it is roped off for safety.) Bob and I concurred "this is like an Iceland level waterfall but you can actually swim!" 

Considering this wasn't even on my radar, I was thrilled Made took us here. There are a few warungs perched on the cliff with gorgeous views so we relaxed with a couple Bintangs + Coconuts before heading back to Ubud. 

Night 3 - That evening we planned for an early dinner. We had good Indonesian cuisine at a cozy warung on Jalan Bisma. We shared chicken curry and crispy duck with rice and dumplings. Then it was off to The Moksha Ubud for sunset massages which included body scrubs + a flower petal bath. To our amazement we were lead to an open air massage villa out on the rice paddy. I have had a lot of massages and even a body scrub before but I have never experienced this level of spa bliss. It was two hours long and the setting was unparalleled.

Day 4 - Transfer @ 7 am to Padangbai Harbor where we took the fast boat to Lombok. I researched a ton of fast boats but then our hotel on Lombok highly recommend Mahi Mahi Dewata and we would concur with a great experience. 

When you arrive off the comfy and air conditioned transfer shuttle they are quick to get you situated. Your ticket comes in the form of a necklace - I thought that was genius! The loading docks are chaotic and having your hands free to deal with bags and to jump on a boat with no loading platform was so key. And since the boat stops at multiple islands you get a color coded sticker with your destination. 

I had jumped on the boat first while Bob remained in line. The flip flop foot, not to mention laundry basket of supplies (Pringles!) accurately depicts how you board the boat. 
It was actually a very relaxing ride. The swells of the Lombok Strait plus a James Taylor playlist lulled us right to sleep.

Once we docked in Senggigi Harbor we had to wait awhile for our transfer to Puri Mas Resort. We were welcomed with fun pineapple cocktails at check-in. 

Ubud Travel Tips: As I've alluded to besides our accommodations and major transfers we did not book anything in advance of arriving. A lot of tours marketed online in USD are majorly overpriced. It is super convenient to find a driver working for a local legitimate company; there are stalls along most main streets in Ubud. Made (and other drivers throughout our locations) always offered up their availability for whatever we needed during our stay along with new suggestions for where to visit. I found everyone to be incredibly patient, punctual, reliable, and they could easily customize any kind of itinerary you wanted for the day on a whim! 

The airport transfers were booked through our Airbnb hosts a week or two ahead of time. When we arrived (both from the US and then again from Lombok) our drivers were waiting among hundreds of others. The first driver stood holding a sign that said only my first name in orange bubble letters, the second actually had my last name! We found them both very easily. If your host tells you they will send a driver but you have no info on the driver or the company, not to worry. Just trust them, your driver will be there! 

Essentially, I was so impressed with how easy everything was, how well everything flowed and how hospitable and knowledgeable the locals are. I always felt like we were in good hands. The Balinese are truly the best.