I have to say, we had a spectacular time together exploring a new city. It's just so nice to completely detach and spend time with my best friend after crazy weeks, minimal alone time together, and adjusting to new work schedules.
BUT... We had a blast acting like complete little kids at the zoo, and being old fogies when we went to be at 10 p.m. the first night (ha!).
// Friday Afternoon
We stayed at The Magnolia Hotel in Old Market and it was so cozy and chic! We enjoyed the free breakfast spread, happy hour every afternoon, and milk and cookies before bed. :)
Once we got unpacked we explored Old Market's shops and grabbed some lunch and a drink at Upstream Brewery. Then we felt like being spontaneous, so we hopped across the river to catch an afternoon showing of The Internship (so hilarious, and made me want to work at Google).
// Friday Evening
Later that evening we enjoyed Mexican food and fancy margs (Pomegranate Marg was so insanely tasty... dangerous!) at the swanky upscale Roja Mexican Grill + Margarita Bar.
Naturally, since we were in the neighborhood... we just had to go try some of the famous ice cream at Ted & Wally's. I chose the Mexican Fried Ice Cream and it was so cinnamon-y (yes, it's a word) and delicious. It tasted just like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, my fave childhood breakfast cereal.
Well, we walked the few short blocks back to the Magnolia to find the cookies and milk happy hour and full swing. They practically had to twist our arms to get us to participate, but we reluctantly obliged by taking two cookies off their hands.... haha. ;)
And then we fell into a deep sugar coma. At 10 p.m.
This sign completely cracked me up...
FREE PUPPIES!!
// Saturday Morning + Afternoon
Zoo Day!! We woke up insanely excited. We rolled out of bed extra early so that we could get to the world renown Henry Doorly Zoo while it was still cool and quiet. After 10:30 a.m., the zoo was packed full of crazy kiddos and strollers everywhere!
My real camera was malfunctioning during our trip, so I had to use my cell phone. But I have to say I am stinking impressed to see how great my iPhone captured our fun zoo moments!
The polar bear swimming was so fun to watch (we stayed for a half hour!), and we loved seeing the newly born lion cubs (which are already 3x bigger than our Bella Beast)
We got a kick out of the gorilla who would walk up to the window and pose for the cameras! What a stud.
Our zoo pass included their awesome aquarium. We must've stayed at the penguin exhibit for a solid hour laughing at them waddling around and swam diving into the icy water. And the jellies. Oh, I loved watching the jellies - so pretty!
Love this guy. What a fun adventuring partner!!
// Saturday Evening
We needed a way to beat the heat after we finished our epic zoo visit, so we decided to cruise around and explore new neighborhoods. We happened to stumble by The French Bulldog eatery while exploring and we're so glad we stopped in!
They had the greatest wine selection and an amazing cheese plate that we devoured. Major yum!
Later in the evening we enjoyed some patio time before lounging around in our room after a long action-packed day.
// Sunday
On our last day, we had an al fresco brunch before heading to the Pedestian Bridge for a nice long walk. We hung out in two states at once, which was pretty sweet. We're total nerds! :)
The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and we had so much fun telling stories, recapping our trip, and already dreaming about where we want to travel to next.
That man is fun to do life with... blessed.
All together, a fantastic trip! Thanks to the city of Omaha and all of you for the awesome recommendations - we loved your advice!
Stay tuned... amazing cookie recipe coming this afternoon!
