From May, 2015
We made our way to Denver, Colorado, for another city stop in our first hostel of the trip. We happened to arrive on the weekend of Comic-Con and everyone was dressed to impress in some remarkable outfits in the pleasant city centre which homed several multicoloured pianos on the high street regularly played by passers-by. We reluctantly paid our $25 fine for not parking in the flow of traffic (what the f**k is that about?!) and were now ready to get drunk. That night, we visited some local bars and paid a ridiculous amount of dollar for an overpriced club which had a bloody English DJ – something we could have made at home for nothing! It was still pretty good though to be fair...
We made our way to Denver, Colorado, for another city stop in our first hostel of the trip. We happened to arrive on the weekend of Comic-Con and everyone was dressed to impress in some remarkable outfits in the pleasant city centre which homed several multicoloured pianos on the high street regularly played by passers-by. We reluctantly paid our $25 fine for not parking in the flow of traffic (what the f**k is that about?!) and were now ready to get drunk. That night, we visited some local bars and paid a ridiculous amount of dollar for an overpriced club which had a bloody English DJ – something we could have made at home for nothing! It was still pretty good though to be fair...
Located just outside of Denver was Red Rocks which – I think the three of us would collectively agree – the most impressive music venue we had ever seen. The world-famous amphitheatre located high up in the richly-coloured red rocks has hosted everyone from The Beatles to Bruce Springsteen. The sold-out performance that evening was about $160 so we didn't have the full experience, but it is definitely somewhere I would consider returning, especially when the likes of Damien Rice and Iron & Wine are doing a night together. Following a short kick-about at Confluence Park and a stop at the laundromat, we spent an eventful evening with the five guys sharing our hostel room. All were American with ranging backgrounds from the likes of Nicaragua, Honduras, South Korea, Texas and Louisiana.
The most animated character was incredibly welcoming; he cooked us the best homemade dinner I've had since travelling (going out of his way to make mine vegetarian, although his only competition was Rodney’s ramen). He repeatedly sang the song ‘England Swings’ which he thought was by the apparent Englishman Roger Miller. Although we didn't know who this was we had to break it to him that – judging by the clear accent of the recording – he was almost certainly from the Southern American states. He also shared his extreme views on the welfare system in the USA, the endless problems the country is experiencing and what he would do if he caught someone stealing (throw them off the balcony), as a roommate’s phone had gone missing the previous night. (Throws thief out of window) ‘Ahhhhhhh…splat,’ the repeated words said with conviction with wide, glaring, unblinking, devilish, yet comforting eyes which will forever haunt our souls.
A liberal Korean fantasised about squatting in a run-down Detroit house with no money or possessions until he eventually dies of starvation or is killed by a fellow squatter. Either that or he wants to be a stay-at-home dad…A 20-year-old Texan who was travelling and working across different cities in the country revealed how he came to join us that night. While checking out a yard (that's garden) sale in Denver he got talking to the male homeowner who offered him a free spare bed to stay in. Delighted, he took up the stranger’s offer. A week later – following a series of disturbing encounters involving the man being extremely near the Texan’s Johnson (penis) – he thought it would be best to grab his things and get the hell outta’ there (leave)! I will note at this point that you will need to keep up and just grit your teeth with my rad (cool) American terms.
With little set in stone on our itinerary, we took an unexpected trip to the small, sunny (on this one day, anyway) city of Madison, Wisconsin, dominated by students. Unsure of whether to stay for the whole day, we went for a burger and fries (chips) to discuss. Once the cutest waitress in the USA had taken our order we were all in agreement to stay. She offered us – what she claimed was a weekly thing – free ice cream, but we knew her game…
On what was probably the hottest day we had experienced in the U.S. we had the chance to enjoy the sunshine, play some football and spend time in a lake. While we were having a conversation about eavesdropping, a woman overheard our exotic accent, and repeated ‘eavesdropping! (In an attempted English accent) Where are you from?’ The irony made my afternoon.
We spent the evening at the highly recommended university Terrace bar and had a beautiful view overlooking the lake. After speaking to a group of female students we soon hit a club and were later offered a place to stay for the night – which quite easily beat another night in the car. And all it cost was getting almost uncontrollably drunk and losing my wallet including my driving license (yes, provisional, but still).
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