When a few college friends and I were planning a girls weekend, we picked a location that would be central for all of us, and settled on Iowa City. I would have never guessed that it would be a place that I’d like to return to someday, but it was incredibly fun. Even during the summer, when most college students are away, Iowa City has a very hip and happening nightlife and downtown scene. We were pleasantly surprised to find plenty of great restaurants, bars, shops and activities to fill our weekend there.
We stayed at the Sheraton in downtown Iowa City, which was perfect. It was central to a ton of great restaurants and bars, so that we could just walk to them. There were concerts and vendors out on the plaza for much of the weekend. And it wasn’t a long drive to the shopping mall or other things in town. The room itself was nice, but pretty pricey. And we didn’t like that there was an additional charge for nearly everything (parking and a mini fridge, for example). But this is just one reason that I typically choose mid-grade hotels over upscale hotels, but that’s another post for another day.
We took quite a few photos, but not the traditional “travel blog” photos, because we were just focused on having a fantastic time together. In any event, here are a few of the highlights from our evenings out.
Friday
On Friday night, we ate dinner at Mondo’s Saloon. The food was mediocre. My food was completely bland, while Colleen’s food was very spicy. But the atmosphere is really neat. The bar area, especially the woodwork, was gorgeous.
After we had dinner, we hit up a liquor store appropriately called Sauce before hitting up a couple of bars. Some of the drink options at Sauce were pretty funny (or maybe I just haven’t been to a liquor store in a while).
Saturday
On Saturday, Colleen, Tara, and I had brunch at Village Inn…which was about what you’d expect from a diner. But we needed food and fluids after a fun evening out the night before. Then we went to the Coral Ridge Mall for a bit of shopping (thanks for the recommendation Charla!).
After some shopping, we lounged at the hotel while waiting for our friend Jamie to join us for Saturday evening’s festivities. After she arrived and we all got ready for the evening out (which brought back a ton of memories of getting ready together in college). And of course, we had to snap another photo in front of the window.
We had dinner at The Mill, which was fantastic. The food was delicious, with lots of options. The drinks were cold and good. And the decor was awesome. I forgot to get a picture, but the word “lubrication” is written above the bar in old English script, which seems appropriate. The other patrons were interesting too…we saw a guy in a kilt!
After dinner, we decided that a bar crawl of sorts was in order, so that we could sample Iowa City’s finest establishments.
Overall, we had a fantastic weekend in Iowa City. I wouldn’t mind meeting up in Iowa City again with my gal pals, as we seemed to have plenty of fun there.