I've just returned from an incredible weekend in Detroit. No, you didn't misread that, I said Detroit.
For the past two years I have been flying back and forth to the Motor City for work. On Friday I flew in for the official business and then I extended my trip through the weekend to spend time with some of my favorite people.
This may shock you, but I didn't use my camera one time on this trip. I was really focused on being in the moment and enjoying my time with my friends, so I put the blogging on the back burner.
That being said, I still snapped plenty of shots to share via Instagram, my favorite app. For those who don't know, Instagram does a recurring feature on their blog called "InstaCity" where they post the best pictures of a certain city in the world, as shared by their users. Pretty cool, huh? You may remember I did my own personal InstaCity: New York back in January 2012.
Without further ado, I give you my very own . . . InstaCity: Detroit.
On Saturday morning we started our day at Cafe Muse in Royal Oak. While perusing the menu I noticed you could order a side of toast with Nutella. Obviously we did and it was deliciously decadent.
After brunch we drove into downtown Detroit to go shopping. Our first stop was the newly opened Shinola store. There was an old school, bright green truck parked out front, branded with the store's logo.
Everything sold in the Shinola store is made in America. I love the way they displayed the American flag in their front window.
One of things Shinola is best known for is their bicycles. I fell in love with this pink bicycle with rose gold pedals. It also had a rose gold bell on the handle bars!
Of everything we saw in the store - bicycles, watches, purses, notebooks - my favorite item was this poster which says, "The only vehicle from Detroit built entirely by hand."
Shinola printed 300 posters and each one is numbered. If you purchase one, you'll know exactly which number you have in the limited edition set.
After Shinola we visited Nest, City Bird, Hugh and Nora. On our walk back to the car we snuck through an alley and I spotted this graffiti art featuring the one and only Aretha Franklin. I grew up listening to Motown and in our house, Aretha was not only the Queen of Soul, she was the queen of our sound system.
This picture of Aretha is one of my favorites I have ever taken. I love the gritty feel juxtaposed with how young and beautiful she looks. The cherry on top is the call to action, "Respect yourself."
Post-shopping, we headed to Campus Martius Park which is home to what I've affectionately dubbed, "Detroit beach." This is a man-made beach in the center of downtown.
It's totally free to sit and enjoy the sand. There is a tent that sells drinks and snacks and there is also a lovely restaurant called Fountain Bistro. My idea of a perfect date would be quality time at Detroit beach followed by drinks on the patio at Fountain Bistro. Sigh.
Saturday night we drove an hour to Ann Arbor. I've been wanting to visit Ann Arbor for a while now. One of our coworkers served as tour guide and he took us to an amazing place called Frita Batidos.
Frita Batidos serves inventive Latin food. I tried the black bean frita, which was a black bean patty served on a bun and stuffed with French fries. I added avocado and a sunny side up egg to the frita which was an excellent choice. The sandwich was fantastic!
We also shared a side dish called the "Best Snack Ever" which was coconut ginger rice, black beans, melted meunster cheese and cilantro lime dressing. It certainly lived up to the name!
To finish the meal, we ended with churros con chocolate. These churros were enormous! Each order came with three churros, each one about 12 inches long. We were in cinnamon sugar heaven.
Sunday morning we went to Stony Creek in Shelby Township. Stony Creek is part of the Michigan Metropark system. You can buy a pass for the year and gain access to all the Metroparks.
We took an hour long walk around the Stony Creek trail, ending our workout along the beach.
Those are my new sneakers from New Balance. I am obsessed with the hot pink laces!
Sitting along the beach we watched one lone sail boat zig zag across the water. It was so peaceful.
We left Stony Creek and headed into Rochester. We put our name in for a table at Downtown Cafe. After a 15 minute wait, we got a prime table on the outdoor patio.
We found ourselves in the usual brunch conundrum - sweet or savory? Unwilling to choose, we each ordered an egg dish (a western omelette for her and the eggs florentine for me) and we also ordered the raspberry stuffed French toast.
Feast your eyes on this:
The dish is two pieces of toast stuffed with raspberry custard and topped with fresh raspberry puree. It was complete ecstasy. I am going to go ahead and say this was my best brunch of 2013.
Yup, I went there.
As you can see, my weekend in Detroit was an exceptional one. My friends were expert tour guides showing me the best dining, shopping and outdoor areas. I felt like I was being let in on local secrets.
I know Detroit gets a bad rap, but I really had the best time there.
Have you ever been to Detroit? What are your favorite places?
