Ann Arbor: Day 1

For a nice late summer trip, we decided to spend Labor Day in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I have heard good things about the town for years, both from friends and even from the New York Times!

The night we got in (August 31), we visited Bløm Meadworks for a flight. I was really excited for this meadery, and I was not disappointed! They have an array of dry and lightly sweet meads, including some mixed with summer fruits. Very nice.

I will say that the town was absolutely HOPPING, even at the late hour we arrived. I wasn't sure whether that was a typical Friday night, or whether it was worse because it was a game weekend (U of M at Notre Dame). In any case, the bro levels were very high.

In the morning, after a run and a tasty breakfast at our bed & breakfast, the Burnt Toast Inn, we visited the farmers market, which was totally cute and very beloved. 

Late summer veggies

My only beef was that the aisles are so narrow that it becomes difficult to walk around at times. But then you get to stop and smell the flowers.

Fantastic display of flowers!

We visited a yarn shop, too. Ann Arbor has a cute little downtown.

Next, we decided to preemptively work off some calories by walking around the U of M campus. It was wide and expansive, reminding me of U of I. The travel guides all say that the law quad is the prettiest place on campus, and it's true. It reminds me of Oxford.

...or Hogwarts.

We also visited the University of Michigan Museum of Art, which had a surprisingly broad and diverse collection. They had early American art by artists from Michigan, but also a big Korean collection and a special exhibit on African art when we were there. 

I loved this portrait of two ladies on a motorbike.

After our tour around the U of M campus, we made the apparently obligatory visit to Zingerman's Deli for lunch. The line was long, the other patrons were obnoxious (the guy in front of us was saving a spot for ELEVEN friends, who all cut in front of us), but the food was as delicious as advertised.

After a nap in the afternoon, we visited Jolly Pumpkin's brew pub, which was convenient because it decided to downpour the entire time we were there. Maybe I was too excited about this place, but what they were pouring when we visited wasn't up to the caliber of some of their stuff I've had elsewhere.

We did a little shopping in downtown Ann Arbor, and at some point we got ice cream at Blank Slate Creamery. We were there at a slow time, but I can see why there are lines out the door in the evenings. So. Good.

You can take the girl out of the midwest, but...

For dinner, we shared a meal at Frita Batidos, an interesting little Cuban restaurant that makes street food-style sandwiches and tasty smoothies.

After dinner, we visited Vin Bar for flights of Michigan wines - anyone who looks down on Michigan wines because they've had bad sweet cherry wine or iffy wines that you'd only taste on a tourist bus tour, you need to visit Vin Bar and places like it to really explore what the state can produce. I was a big fan.

That's a wrap on our first day in Ann Arbor!