after brunch we indulged in some shopping at the asian market, then made our way to the newly renovated cleveland museum of art. folks, this place now rivals any big city museum. it’s free so you have no excuse not to visit! the gauguin exhibit was interesting, but short, and had some cool hands on things to do.

more on all of this will be posted this week … for now, off to bed!

day two was long and wonderful fun!! it actually was a lot like our trips to manhattan, with spontaneous stops here and there, good people watching, and all sorts of interesting food and drinks.

in the morning we started at the west side market, debating between brauts or crepes, and brauts definitely won this time. penny discovered they taste much better than they look. we wandered through some interesting shops like something different and great lakes brewery, doing some local xmas shopping.

after a tasty lunch and xmas ale at great lakes (brauts, pierogies, burger on pretzel bun, pretzel chicken) we found ourselves at bier markt once again begging for a delirium noel. we were informed the keg was on site, but not tapped, and directed to other lesser known belgian beers. we opted for plain, old, but soooo delicious delirium. later kim’s sister amanda ordered a bells winter ale which was quite tasty!

we finally made it to penny’s place after various errands and complications, rushed to get purty for night activities, and flew back downtown for a table for 8 at la strada. more on that later, but the touch of showing fellini films on the wall makes the atmosphere.

after being rejected for a bowling lane at corner alley, we found ourselves sipping delicioso margaritas at zocalo’s, then penny and jessie explored the champagne bar at pickwick and frolic. it went from a mod adventure to the seventh layer of hell when the last show emptied into the bar, reminding us through a series of poor fashion choices (think two sizes too small) that we were still in the cle.

follow day three on twitter as we get dim sum, and see if we have the enrgy to check out our brand new art museum!!

a few of us wandered through 806 for their amazing $3 happy hour (blue mojito!), a cookie and a cupcake for sugar happiness, banyan tree for shopping, treehouse for stoli dolis, a slice at edison’s, and concluded at flying monkey! we lounged in the window for some people watching, and the monkey flew!

follow day two on twitter!

our friday night plans were built around one of our favorite monthly outings, the tremont art walk. and no art walk is complete without a visit to one of the best kept secrets in cleveland, banyan tree.

you will find jewelry, art, humor, cutting edge fashion … and most excellent shoes. jessie bought a purse there last year and gets so many compliments on it. leather flower ring? banyan tree!

don’t fret about being green and shopping locally … banyan tree will help. then continue in the orchard and wander down the street to the treehouse for a stoli doli!

saturday dec 12
w25th
west side market
great lakes brewery
choose from bier markt / old angle / garage bar
possible stop for a tattoo …

rta – tower city
public square

e fourth
zocalo
flannery’s
la strada for dinner
corner alley

sunday dec 13
li wah for dim sum
shopping at asian market

university circle
arabica
art museum
little italy
wade oval – lantern festival

until then, we’re always looking for suggestions!

penny and jessie ventured back to west 6th for the first time in years (besides st paddy’s days) to see an excellent regional band the websters. after two sets, they were more impressed than ever with how tight this band was, playing covers by bands such as the killers, rob zombie, depeche mode, eve 6, beastie boys, silversun pickups, and much more. the place was packed the entire time, can’t wait to see them return soon.

equally impressive was the venue, the blind pig — this was the first time penny and jessie saw the expanded space, almost double in size. the stage is in front of a wall of windows providing an amazing back drop onto the hustle and bustle and lights of west 6th. the only complaint was how difficult it was to get a beer — huge bar and only two bartenders isn’t the best formula.

ironically the addition was part of a coffee shop that closed years ago, but was the site for the developing friendship between kim, penny, and jessie. while kim and penny worked on their mba at cleveland state they studied at the coffee shop every sunday morning — jessie read the paper for support.

in spite of $6 for parking (still can’t stomach paying that much for parking in cle!) and the lines of cheesy club goers afterwards at 1am, it was a ton of fun and we will be back again much sooner!

this saturday they have tentative plans to visit the blind pig and enjoy a regional favorite, the websters! beforehand, a sampling of delirium noel is in order at bier markt, and they will travel to all of these via the rta!

perhaps as much as kim, penny, and jessie do?

perhaps …