Denver Holidays Day 3 - 2nd Apr

Castle Marne Denver

Denver Holidays Day 3

Our Denver holidays was proving to be very interesting and exciting with the various Denver sights and Denver tourist attractions that we had seen so far. At the same time, we were basking in the luxury of our accommodation that seems to be more than just a Denver suite hotel and ready to take in more Denver adventure.

Castle Marne Bed & Breakfast Denver is located on Race Street. You do not have to look for a luxury hotel. Denver provides you with Castle Marne B&B which in our opinion is more than a luxury hotel and can be considered a Denver suite hotel as each room is furnished differently making it very unique.

Today’s breakfast consisted of warm homemade muffins which were simply delicious with an aroma you simply could not resist. The blueberry pancakes were cooked to perfection and we couldn’t help but ask for more and we were more than satisfied with the full and delicious breakfast we had.



mmmmm..... yummy muffins






and oh so delicious blueberry pancakes

After breakfast, we took a slow walk around the area viewing the beautiful houses and buildings around the area. Just a few blocks away, we passed by a building that was previously a Jewish synagogue and which has been very recently converted into “Church in The City’.

Church In The City

Inner Sanctuary

We also passed by the Denver East High School as well as the monuments to the pioneers of the city.

Denver East High School

Monument to pioneers


The fountain opposite The Tattered Covers







After walking, we ended up at Tattered Covers, a bookstore that in located in a building that was previously a theatre and now declared a ‘Historic Building’. A huge place with a wide range of books to suit everyone, we spent some time here browsing through the books before going back to Castle Marne B&B to wait for our pick-up for the Mountain Tours at 1245 hrs.

The "Historic Building" where Tattered Covers is

More Denver tourist attractions.

Mountain Tours cost $40 per person and included visits to Denver tourist attractions such as Red Rocks, Dinosaur Ridge as well as Buffalo Bill’s Grave and Museum.

Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre - It took 300 million years for Mother Nature to create Denver's most scenic attraction, also known as the jewel of Denver's mountain parks. Towered by two 400-foot sandstone monoliths, the amphitheater is a near-perfect setting with natural acoustics where groups such as The Beatles and Bruce Springsteen have performed. Here you can get a panoramic view of Denver and the plains.

Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre

Dinosaur Ridge - This is one of Colorado's most unusual museums. Dinosaur Ridge is a geologically famous National Natural Landmark and is located along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Whether you explore the area on a self-guided hike, bike or drive tour, you will be able to learn about the history and ecology of the area that is rich in fossil evidence. Guided tours are also available. Look out for dinosaur tracks, footprints, bones and fossils which are etched by nature into the scraped rock walls.

Dinosaur Ridge

Buffalo Bill’s Museum & Grave - Located on Lookout Mountain is the final resting place of Buffalo Bill Cody who was born in 1846. His skill as a buffalo hunter gained him the nickname "Buffalo Bill". The museum honours the exploits of the frontier scout and showman who started Buffalo Bill's Wild West Shows. Here you are also able to view exhibits of Buffalo Bill's life and the Wild West shows, Indian artifacts, Western art and firearms. At the foot of the Rocky Mountaints' snowcapped peaks, this idyllic spot offers many great views of the Great Plains to the east and majestic peaks to the west.

Buffalo Bill's Museum & Grave

Along the way, we saw buffaloes and deer although we did not get to see any elks. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery and learned quite a lot about the area as well from our tour guide cum driver. It was truly a great Denver adventure for us not only seeing the various tourist attractions here in Denver but learning about the history behind them and how the various natural tourist attractions were formed.

Scenery along the way

By the time we were dropped off at Castle Marne Denver, it was already 1830 hrs. Although tea is normally served from 1500 hrs to 1700 hrs, as the owners knew we were yearning to try their afternoon tea, they had left it out for us to help ourselves. Today they had a variety of petit fours on selection and each of them tasted so good that we couldn’t help gorging on them.

Lovely petit fours

In the evening, we walked to Colfax Ave and decided to try the Grand China, a Chinese restaurant, close by. The portion was huge and the food quite authentic. Reasonable prices too. A nice experience and we were glad to be able to try out some Chinese food during our Denver holidays.

Dinner at Grand China Restaurant

US & Japan 31 Mar - 18 Apr 2009

Denver Holidays Day 1

The cute little post box at Singapore Changi International Airport



Our first time as a Denver visitor, we were truly excited about our coming holiday in Denver and could not wait to visit the various Denver tourist attractions which would lead us to an unforgettable Denver adventure. Although we had not booked a Denver suite hotel or a luxury hotel in Denver, we came quite close to that as you will see.

We used our NWA mileage points to book our flight to Denver via Tokyo (Narita Japan Airport) and Detroit. Flight NW20 departure time was at 0600 hrs. This meant that we had to leave for Singapore Changi International Airport Terminal 1 at an unearthly hour of 0330 hrs. It was just after 0400 hrs when we completed our check-in and immigration. We popped over to the 24 hour eatery and had some iced milo and soft-boiled eggs. Boarding commenced at 0505 hrs and flight left on schedule.


The 24 hour eatery at Singapore Changi International Airport





The Movie Lounge where you can catch a movie before your flight





Expected arrival in Tokyo Narita Japan Airport was 1400 hrs (1300 hrs Singapore time) but we were early and touched down at 1315 hrs. We cleared through security and since our next boarding time was at 1755 hrs, we had lots of time to spare, so we ended up exploring Narita Japan Airport Tokyo.

Facilities at Narita International Airport Tokyo include restaurants, cafes, bookshops, convenience stores, souvenir shops, currency exchange counters as well as internet access, reflexology, massage, oxygen bar, children’s playroom, pharmaceuticals, dayrooms and shower rooms amongst others. Duty free shops abound as well.



Narita International Airport in Tokyo Japan

If you are looking for something familiar, McDonalds and Starbucks will serve you well. International travelers need not be concerned about language problems as almost every outlet and counter staff are able to speak English.

Boarding time for our next flight to Detroit on NW12 was at 1755 hrs and flight departed on schedule at 1850 hrs. We arrived at Detroit Airport at 1715 hrs on 31st mar (SIN 1st Apr 0515 hrs). We managed to clear immigration, customs and security within one hour and had a little time left to spare before our next boarding on NW1225 at 1855 hrs to Denver. NW1225 left on schedule at 1925 hrs.

After a short flight, arrived Denver International Airport at 2045 hrs, still on 31st Mar. We had now gained 14 hours. It took awhile before we finally managed to get our luggage. We took the hotel shuttle to Quality Inn & Suites near DIA Denver to spend the night before starting our real Denver holidays the next day and expecting some real Denver adventure.