I Colorado (and So Will You) An Opinionated Local’s Guide to Denver and Beyond Exclusively for the 2012 AIUSA AGM Participants Howdy? Well, Denver doesn’t have its own greeting, but it has a lot to offer! While you are in the Mile High City to learn about human rights, enjoy the area’s great attractions. This guide (which is not an official publication of Amnesty International USA) gives a crash-course on Colorado’s past, present, lingo, historical venues, natural attractions, and restaurants in the vicinity and beyond of the Denver Marriott City Center – the site of the AIUSA AGM. For more tips, visit denver.org, colorado.com, or walk to the Visit Denver Information Center on 16th and California, one block south of Marriott. If you want another opinionated source of what to do, go to westword.com/bestOf/. Also, in the hotel room there are two guides to Denver (the large one has good maps). You can get a third one from the concierge desk, as well as a driving map of Colorado. To navigate in Denver, use your cardinal directions (or a GPS). Colorado is made of mountains (West) and plains (East). When you see the mountains in the Front Range, you are looking West. The reverse is East. If you are looking at the mountains, your left is South and right is North. Capisce? Denver is 5,280 feet above sea level. If you live in lower altitudes, you may feel dizzy and breathe with difficulty here. Stay hydrated – 8 glasses a day (alcohol doesn’t count; in fact, alcohol’s effects are stronger in higher altitudes). You can drink the tasty tap water! Here is Colorado’s past in a glance. The land of the Arapahos, Cheyennes, Utes, and others, Colorado (which means “reddish” in Spanish) has been inhabited for at least 13,000 years. The 1000-year-old cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde, an 8-hour drive from Denver, is the first U.N.E.S.C.O. World Heritage Site (the international list that includes the Egyptian Pyramids, England’s Stonehenge, etc.) in the US. Even more famous than Mesa Verde is probably the song America the Beautiful. Its lyrics were written by Kathy Bates on the top of Pikes Peak, near our second largest city – Colorado Springs. Colorado became a state in 1876, on the centennial (100th) anniversary of the Declaration of Independence (hence our nickname, the Centennial State). Today’s capital and largest city Denver was founded in 1858, after the discovery of gold (around today’s Confluence Park) in what was then Kansas territory. It was named after the territory’s governor James W. Denver. In 1893 Colorado became the second state where women could vote! Today, Colorado has 5 million residents, two Ute Indian reservations, 54 fourteeners, the highest mean altitude in the country, the U.S. Air Force Academy (in Colorado Springs), north America’s highest road (to fourteener Mt. Evans), the longest U.S. street (Colfax), the highest incorporated U.S. city (Leadville), the world’s largest liquor store (DaveCo in Thornton) and America’s most famous 24-year-old virgin (NFL star Tim Tebow). It is the only state to have turned down the Olympics (1976), as it didn’t want to encourage flatlanders to move in! Even so, many celebrities from President Ford to Oprah have bought homes in ski towns like Aspen, Telluride, Breckenridge, and Vail. Colorado-speak: When We Say This, We Mean That Continental Divide – The mountainous separator of rivers flowing to the Pacific or the Atlantic Eastern Slope – Everything east of the continental divide, mostly describing the Eastern Plains Flatlander – Out-of-towner Foothills – Roughly speaking, lower mountainous areas Fourteener – One of Colorado’s 54 peaks at 14,000+ feet (none reaching 15,000) Front Range – The area east of the Rockies from Fort Collins to Pueblo, including Denver Kansas – Eastern Colorado (or Eastern Plains) Rocky Mountain Oysters – (Eat it first and then find out) RTD – The bus or light rail (ground train), run by the Regional Transportation District Western Slope – Everything west of the continental divide, mostly describing the mountains Eating, Drinking, and Dancing around Marriott The 16th Street Mall, next to the Marriott, is THE street of Denver and has many restaurants, shops, and food carts. The shuttle that stops at every single cross-section is free. Make sure to take it to LoDo (Lower Downtown), the westernmost stops of the shuttle. There you will find wonderful but pricey Brazilian buffet-steakhouses (Fogo de Chao and Rodizio), as well as the more affordable Peruvian restaurant Los Cabos (try their lunch buffet). Many argue that even tastier (and much cheaper) eateries are the food carts, like the Armenian Shish Kabob cart on 16th and Market (unfortunately, most carts operate Monday through Friday only). Do not miss Denver’s first street Larimer Square (upper LoDo), with its chic restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. The hottest nightclub in Denver is the nearby Chloe, free for women but $20 for men. It’s 21+. Into coffee or tea? There are Starbucks all over (including in the Marriott lobby), but if you want to try a local chain, go to the Russian-themed Dazbog on 16th and Court, which means May God Give. (OK, this must be said: Starbucks tastes better.) If you want fairer trade coffee and tea and great atmosphere, try the cozy café in the Tattered Cover bookstore or Common Grounds (15th and Wazee), which also has food and alcohol, in LoDo. Enjoy beer? You’re in the right place! Denver has more brewpubs per capita than any other U.S. city. Try the 100%-Colorado made Native Colorado, introduced only two years ago, if you can find it. If you want a fancy bar, go to The 9th Door or The Cruise Room at the Oxford Hotel in LoDo. Eating and Drinking Beyond Marriott Denver’s best kept restaurant secrets? If one must be chosen (simply for the food; not the atmosphere) it’s the affordable Shish Kabob Grill, a Mediterranean restaurant operated by a Syrian family, directly north of the Capitol on Colfax and Grant (take the 16th Street shuttle to its easternmost stop, then walk east on Colfax). Their hummus is the best in the whole world! Another one is the fancy Buckhorn Exchange, the first restaurant/bar in Denver. It is no longer a “secret,” but still worth visiting (unless you dislike stuffed animals). It’s a pricey restaurant but you can just use the bar. Make sure to order Rocky Mountain Oysters. To get there, take any line of the southbound light rail (from 16th and Stout) to 10th and Osage station. The Buckhorn Exchange is literally across the station. Another fancy place for eating is the historic Brown Palace Hotel on 18th and Broadway, which has several expensive and excellent restaurants (lunch is relatively cheaper). You can take the free eastbound shuttle to Court Place and walk two blocks north. On the other side of the Capitol is the affordable vegetarian City O' City (13th and Sherman). Another popular spot is Le Central, a not-too- expensive French restaurant on 8th and Lincoln. You can take the public bus there. Visit www.rtd-denver.org or call 303-299-6000 to find out how to get there. If you haven’t tried the healthy-ish fast food chain Chipotle Mexican Grill, this is the place to do it, as Chipotle started in Colorado. There are franchises all over the place, including one next to the Marriott. For the best Chipotle, drive to the small restaurant where Chipotle started! It is on Evans and Gilpin by the University of Denver. If you want (much) less tasty Mexican food but an amazingly entertaining atmosphere, drive to the enchanting Casa Bonita restaurant in the suburb of Lakewood. Into sushi? Stay away from the overpriced and overrated sushi places that shall remain nameless, tasteless, and shameless. Instead, go to Sonoda’s Sushi in Lodo and order their most expensive roll: rainbow. You are welcome. The best drinking place is LoDo (by Marriott). But if you want to get away from the downtown noise, take a bus or drive to the SoBo district (Broadway and 2nd), where there are many bars. For “the best” restaurants list compiled by one newspaper, visit westword.com/bestof/2011/section/food- and-drink-35100/, but beware that their rankings are sometimes (very) questionable. Sightseeing and Museums around Marriott The closest museum to the Marriott is the Money Museum on 16th and Curtis, with free weekday admission. LoDo (the westernmost stop of the 16th Street shuttle) is a great place for sightseeing, with some of Denver’s oldest buildings (like the Oxford Hotel, which has the city’s largest urinals in the basement restroom). Further east is the beautiful Larimer Square, Denver’s first street. Or head to the Civic Center, which has the park that saw 650,000 celebrators when the Broncos won the Super Bowl in 1998, and 250,000 Barack Obama supporters at his largest campaign rally in October 2008. To get there, take the 16th Street shuttle to its easternmost stop, get off at the last station (Civic Center) and head southwest. And you may see Occupy Denver demonstrators on the sidewalk. The western part of the park has the City and County of Denver building, constructed in the 1930s. There are no tours inside and not much to see, so enjoy it from the outside. The eagle on the top of its dome was recently gilded (with real gold).