Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Family Weekend in Cleveland {Travel Tuesday}

The West Side Market (aka. my favorite place in CLE)

I absolutely love Cleveland! I think it is an incredibly resourceful and growing city. There is so much to do, see, and enjoy. So when my family told me they were interested in visiting me in the city, I jumped on the opportunity. 

I would describe my family as Cleveland-haters; meaning they see Cleveland as the dirty, crime-ridden city that it once was. Where my family and I live in Ohio, we have a choice between two major cities, Cleveland and Columbus, because we sit right in between them. Usually, my family chooses to visit Columbus because they feel safer, more familiar, and there is not really a stigma associated with Columbus.  

Last weekend, I rallied up the chance to take them to some very awesome places in Cleveland. At first, it was a a challenge to make up an itinerary when I had to plan for my parents, little sisters, and teenage brother. But challenge accepted and accomplished. I took them to local hot spots like the West Side Market, Melt, and the Aquarium (here are a few of my other favorite hot spots). Below are a few pictures and info about what we did!


Our first stop was the West Side Market because it is so close to where I live and one of my favorite places. My sisters enjoyed the free popcorn samples at Campbell's Popcorn. Dad liked everything; seemed like he was stopping and drooling around every corner. The only problem we had was that it was super busy and the little girls and my mom were nervous with all the people and tight aisles.


Later that day, we headed downtown to our hotel and did some exploring in Public Square, the Arcade, Terminal Tower, and East 4th Street. It was gorgeous weather for us to walk around downtown.

Sam and Sophia being silly in the Arcade.
At terminal tower, we visited the observation deck for a wonderful 360 view of Cleveland! The view of the Lakefront is incredible from the tower.


Dinner time! If you haven't visited Melt, a Cleveland-based restaurant, and local favorite, please check it out! It is an eclectic place with a grilled-cheese based menu. So many tasty sandwiches, the button on your pants will burst.

Yep, that is my family.

Sophia liked the mozzarella sticks.
Saturday was fun exploring downtown and more of the East side so Sunday we went back to the West Side. Our intention was to take a Lolly the Trolley tour around Cleveland, but we just ended up visiting the Greater Cleveland Aquarium, instead. After, we had a fun lunch at the Happy Dog and dessert at Sweet Moses.


Hot dog + fried egg, baked beans, sloppy joe, and bbq sauce.


If you are looking for a weekend getaway for yourself, family, friends, etc, look no further than Cleveland. It's relatively cheap, great fun, and an interesting city. If you need help with anything related to CLE, please let me know. I would be so happy to help! 

Cleveland Rocks!



4 comments :

  1. Oh, I love this! We live just a couple hours away from Cleveland and keep meaning to hop over to visit. This definitely is fueling the fire (plus, I am loving the recommendations)!

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  2. A few years ago some friends and I randomly decided to go to Cleveland for Halloween and loved it! The bars were so much fun and we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Melt! So good. I even have a Melt T-Shirt haha

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  3. I think it's great to see the positive sides of a growing city and I love that you like it so much even if your family are not huge fans. Oh the food looks amazing, making my tummy rumble :)
    I am giving away one of my favourite travel books on my blog and popping over from Travel Tuesday

    Laura x
    www.sidestreetstyle.com

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  4. I can't wait to come visit you! I hope that I get a weekend day off soon so that it's possible!!! Have you visited the botanical gardens and Little Italy? Those are two things I'd be interested in doing!

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