Time for a travel post!
Here I’ll be talking about places we stayed, ate at, and visited while we were in the Littleton area. I hope it’s useful for you if you go visit!
Stayed
Marriott Courtyard Denver Southwest/ Littleton
We really liked this hotel for a lot of reasons. It’s close to my sister’s place, located right off the “main drag” of Littleton (Santa Fe Dr.) , and they had a great restaurant! They also have a little pantry where you can buy drinks, snacks, and small toiletries. This was really useful in helping us sty hydrated, and also for me in keeping my blood sugar levels up! There’s also a fire pit and a swimming pool. The rooms were very comfortable and had couches and a desk, as well as coffee/tea making supplies and a refrigerator.
View from my room
EAT
Toast I’m a HUGE fan of Toast so I was glad we got to go eat here during this visit! They have an amazing array of choices, from their famous French Toast to pancakes, sandwiches, and all sorts of other great lunch and breakfast goodies.
I got the Berries and Cream French toast, as well as a side of bacon.
in-Tea: Located in Downtown Little, this adorable tea salon offers a huge variety of teas, as well as bakery items and sandwiches, and beer and cocktails! I had a fabulous time in here and bought two types of tea to take home—they also have an online shop and will ship to you!
So much tea!
My order: Iced English Tea—their special Earl Grey blend + half and half+ honey (and a refill is standing ready!)
There are a ton of places to sit, from cozy nooks like this one to regular tables and outdoor seating!
Tavern Littleton is located two blocks down from In-Tea (downtown Littleton is adorable and has tons of places to eat and shop). Tavern is a sports bar, and they have fabulous chips and salsa and burgers. I’d been here twice on my first trip to Colorado and I was happy to visit again. (And they have a parking lot behind the restaurant, bonus!)
Breckenridge Brewery: This is where we had lunch before Maddie’s baptism. It’s really a campus, like the website says; the restaurant is on the right as you drive in, and the brewery, which is open for tours, is on the left. The restaurant is great—they’ll even give you free tastings at a bar when you walk in!—and they sell the brewery’s products as well as branded merchandise.
memento mori at the brewery!
Maddie clearly enjoyed it.
It’s very kid friendly and allows dogs, so this is a popular place, for good reason. There’s an extensive menu and everyone who worked there was very friendly. I’d love to go back! (And maybe drink some more of their Palisade Peach!)
(For those of you worried about me consuming alcohol: I had a taste of it, and a few others, at the tasting bar. :) I didn’t actually have a whole glass. My meds don’t play nicely with alcohol, but I am allowed to have some a few times a year! So, yes, I could’ve had a beer if I had wanted it.)
Rice sushi and bistro (delivery) : Mel and Jason (and my dad) really like sushi, and mom and I love Chinese/Asian food, so this was a great choice for us. We ordered it in on our last night there and it was delicious!
Dirt Coffee: Mel and I had coffee here, and it’s Mel’s favorite coffee place. It has a unique mission:
Located in Historic Downtown Littleton, DIRT is a local, women-run social enterprise with the mission to bring you quality crafted Huckleberry coffee, food, and drink while training, employing & empowering neurodivergent individuals through workforce development programming.
Sounds good to me—and they had great coffee! Mel and I both had the lavender lattes. (And I got a sticker that says “ableism is trash”, which I greatly enjoy)
Outside of Dirt—they have a lawn with seating, porch seating, and indoor seating, as well as water bowls for dogs!
Snooze: Another lunch/breakfast place like Toast, Snooze is a chain that’s expanding across the country but so far I only get to eat it in Colorado! It’s another great place where I had shrimp and grits and fruit for breakfast, along with their great house coffee.
Shop
Tattered Cover (at Aspen Grove) : One of the best independent bookstores in the country, Tattered Cover is always worth a visit when in Colorado!
Aspen Grove: This is an open-air mall/shopping center in Littleton that has stores and restaurants. We visited here briefly. Rice Sushi and Tattered Cover are both here, as well as a Chik-Fil-A.