Shops, Red Rocks and a beautiful hotel

We've had a wonderful dinner with the prefam-tour group at Rioja last evening, a highly creative restaurant on Larimer Square, locally owned and operated, as all of the places in this neighborhood. The restaurant is highly acclaimed and chef Jennifer Jasinski is the Winner of The James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef Southwest 2013. Fresh, local ingredients and flavorful, unusual combinations is her strength. Also, the decor of the restaurant is unusual: bare brick walls and indirect lighting. After a variety of appetizers, I had the Colorado lamb, a grilled t-bone and braised belly with sunchokes and chinese broccoli and it was to die for. Tiny little cheesecakes and a variety of other deserts and a couple of glasses of wine ended a perfect evening.


Checked out at 9 am on monday morning and with 15 other congress participants we were picked up by a comfortable large bus. After a short stop at Union Station and Rockmount Ranchwear - the inventor of snap buttons at cowboy shirts - the bus brought us to Cherry Creek, a revived, modern shopping mall with over 160 shops and a couple of restaurants to the Southeast of the city. Having another 3,5 weeks ahead of us, including a couple of outlet malls, we denied shopping.

After lunch: on to Red Rock Theatre, an outdoor theater with over 9000 seats in a breathtaking setting, surrounded by red rocks, with a view towards Denver and famous for its accoustic. It's part of Red Rocks Park, a city-operated park for the enjoyment of all people.In 1927 the City of Denver purchased the area of Red Rocks and with the help of the federally sponsored Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and Works Progress Administration (WPA), the venture was constructed starting in 1936. The adjacent museum is rather a Hall of Fame for famous musicians - like John Denver, Willie Nelson or Jethro Tull - and shows all the great stars who performed here. Wished we could experience a concert once...

Beautiful weather, again. While the Northeast of the U.S.A. is drowning in snow, it feels like end of April here. After a 1,5 hours drive, we arrived to The Broadmoor Hotel at 4 pm, a huge complex of different buildings, a lake and beautifully manicured grounds, where the Go West Summit takes place. More on that coming up.