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Tag: travel

HEALTH + WELLNESS/

Celestial Seasonings – Boulder, Colorado

If Willy Wonka had a super zen Yogi cousin who owned a Tea Factory, this would be it.

Straight from the Tea Factory itself:

Visit the Celestial Seasonings headquarters in Boulder, Colorado and unlock the mysteries of tea with a guided tea tour. During the 45-minute tour, you’ll get a behind-the-scenes look how tea is made – from raw ingredients to finished products – plus see unique attractions like our famous Mint Room, Tea Shop and Celestial Café.

Celestial Seasonings is nestled in the Gunbarrel neighborhood of Boulder. Our campus is easily accessible from Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins and the Denver International Airport.

While children of all ages are welcome at the Tour Center, only children aged 5 and older are allowed to go on the factory portion of the tour.

For me, Boulder was beautiful, but I got bored hanging out downtown-maybe I’m not doing it right?! The vibes of the city weren’t necessarily my style, but the Celestial Seasonings Factory tour is definitely something I would recommend. It’s fun, interesting, and includes free tea tastings – so pretty much the recipe for a successful experience. As soon as you walk in, you’ll be greeted by the smell of several teas they have brewing for curious tour takers as they wait for the tours to begin.

Once the festivities commence, a leader takes everyone into a screening room to watch a short overview video, explains the ground rules, and hands out hairnets. The factory tour is cool because it gives you an inside look at how the tea we all love to drink is processed from a-z. The mint room, of course, is a highlight because it’s like walking into a winter wonderland made of candy canes. The aroma of mint packs a punch and leaves (no pun intended) an impression on your olfactory glands…it’s like you almost leave with a peppermint high.

The tour itself ends in the Tea shop where there are lots of goodies and treats available for purchase. Overall, it’s a short tour but filled with a lot of info and tasty teas. Add this one to your Yelp bookmarks fo sho.

LIFE + STYLE/

NOLA…beyond the beignets

Quick, someone queue the Popeye’s Fried Chicken commercial to set the scene for this post.

There’s something about the big easy that keeps me coming back time and time again. Maybe it’s the friendly people, maybe it’s the rich history, or maybe it’s the mouth watering food found everywhere you go. New Orleans is one of my favorite places to visit in the United States. There is literally something to do at all times. The locals are friendly, the tourists are chill, and the culture of the city is unlike anywhere else.

Here are the top 10 things to see/places to eat/what to order…beyond the beignets.

  1. Willie Mae’s Scotch House: do you hate fried chicken? Well, let Willie Mae’s make you a believer after just one bite.This is in the first stop zone. The fried chicken is ON POINT. Crisp and slightly spicy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside and so full of flavor. Try it with the butter beans.
  2. Central Grocery: Home of a the Muffuletta. Get a giant sandwich to share with your travel buddy. David and I shared half a sammy in the market and then walked to the park to devour the rest.
  3. Mahony’s: Shrimp Po’Boy all dressed, DAT BREAD DOE.
  4. District Donuts: I’m getting hungry thinking about this right now – get the raspberry cheesecake donut y’all.
  5. French Market: lots of little shops and food stalls, get the cajun fried peanuts!
  6. Riverwalk: Shopping, sight seeing, people watching galore.
  7. Lakeshore Drive: the perfect place to eat and chill near the water. Grab a couple pounds of crawfish boil and bring extra wet naps and enjoy the sunshine.
  8. 9 Roses Cafe: Vietnamese food for when you need a break from the holy trinity – loved the sweet and sour fish soup and broken rice platter there.
  9. Commander’s Palace: go here when you want to class it up and feel like royalty. The crawfish etouffee is next level along with the Sangria salad.
  10. Felix Oyster House: you haven’t lived until you’ve tried gulf oysters. Felix oyster house specializes in char grilled oysters, but their fresh oysters rival Acme with half the wait time.