I turned 47 yesterday. I don't know if it is because of my age or what but age doesn't seem to mean much to me any more - heck, on most days I don't even know how old I am any more. In fact, were it not for Paul, who has a savant-like ability to remember dates, times, and ages, I'd need a calculator to figure out how old I was on any given day.
The Desire2Learn user conference is always held around my birthday apparently - last year I celebrated in Chicago. This year Denver. If all goes well next year I will celebrate in San Diego. It shakes things up a bit.
So. What did I do yesterday?
First I was amazed at the volume of facebook messages wishing me a happy birthday. That was cool. When I woke up there were about 15 from friends to the east. As the day progressed there were lots of beeps from my BB as a new message was posted on my wall.
When it was time to head out we went to Snooze for breakfast.
The corned beef hash with caramelized onions and poblano peppers was amazing!
After breakfast we walked to the river where we rented bicycles from the B-cycle bike sharing station.
We rode our bikes along the South Platte River and Cherry Creek - both of which were raging with all of the rain we've been having over the past week.
Our destination was the Denver Art Museum (DAM). Because of the network of bike trails and designated lanes in the city we had no trouble arriving there on our bicycles. We popped our bikes bake into the locking station. I whined about being sweaty.
Paul ignored me.
The Denver Art Museum had an exhibit I wanted to see that traced the Renaissance in Italy from Florence, through a number of cities and then followed it's impact on the art of northern Europe as the Italian Renaissance techniques moved north over the alps.
We really enjoyed the DAM. I liked how they had commissioned some art installations just for the new building, designed by Daniel Libeskind. I was particularly taken with the movement and energy in Fox Games which combined various elements and imagery to create a fantastic world. The installation depicted an invasion of gray foxes, sculpted in clay and cast in polyester resin, within a restaurant.
After feeding our souls with the wonder of the building and the exhibits we needed to fill our stomachs. We went to Palettes, the restaurant located in the DAM, where we had a wonderful lunch. Of course we toasted the new year . . .
After lunch we toured the north building of the DAM. By the time we finished it was about 3:30. I wanted to go to the Capital building and wander about a bit there. As we set out across the gardens and lawns of the civic centre park another storm was threatening to roll into the city. This one was a bit different as the sirens warning of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes started to blare.
Instead of heading to the Capital building we decided to run for our hotel as it was closer. We managed to make it back to shelter before the worst of the storm hit.
Since I couldn't wander about the Capital building I did the next best thing - napped!
Later we took the free 16th street mall bus to Larimer Street and walked two blocks to the other restaurant that is most often listed as being amongst the best in Denver - Rioja.
We had a wonderful meal there - bold flavours, inventive presentation, excellent service. All perfect for a birthday dinner!
The lights that are strung back and forth across Larimer Street were lit when we left the restaurant - what a magical spot. I wished that we had more time to explore the area. Note to self for next time . . .
Back at the hotel room there were presents, cards, and more wine!
It was a brilliant way to spend a birthday!
Sounds absolutely spectacular beginning to end! Loved all the photos! San Diego next year will be fantastic, too.
Posted by: Kayte | July 15, 2011 at 01:30 PM
A very happy birthday to you! These photos are fantastic. I can't stop looking at those foxes! Cheers!
Posted by: Annie | July 15, 2011 at 06:38 PM
We are practically twins Jerry since my birthday was the 15th. I hope your day was all that you hoped it to be!!!!It's amazing how many foodies are born in July!
Posted by: bellini | July 16, 2011 at 10:31 AM
Sounds like you had a pretty great day! Now you can start your countdown to Italy!
Posted by: Palma | July 16, 2011 at 11:15 AM
Fox Games looks very cool, Jerry. Hope you had a wonderful birthday!!
Posted by: sandrac | July 17, 2011 at 11:41 AM
It was a great day!
Fox Games was such an interesting installation - when I close my eyes and picture Denver that is what I see. I have so many pictures of it that I'm going to have to do an entire post about it!
Posted by: JDeQ | July 19, 2011 at 08:38 AM