It’s been awhile since I’ve done a blog post. Part of this is because I’ve been swamped with my day job. But another part is that I’m slightly bitter since my last blog post completely disappeared. My server had a meltdown of sorts. Sigh… I’m over it (not really!). But I’m finally picking up from where I left off. Kevin and I recently flew to Cleveland, Ohio, for his cousin’s wedding. Technically, it was in North Canton about an hour away. But who needs details, right Kevin?!
Such a variety of architecture downtown. Get a birds-eye look from Azure Rooftop Lounge
I did a ton of research on things to do in Cleveland. Thinking… you know, it’s Cleveland. What is there to do? Turns out, a lot! The city is trying to make a comeback and makes a really fun weekend trip. Without further adieu, here is my list of the top 5 must-see things to do in Cleveland. And a lot of it is free!
5. Eating/Strolling Through Little Italy
Lunch at Mia Bella Restaurant in Cleveland’s Little Italy district
Cleveland’s Little Italy neighborhood is a bit of a drive from downtown – taking us about 20 minutes to get there (in LA terms, that would be a mere few blocks!). This part of Cleveland has an “Old World” feel with red sauce restaurants, bocce ball tournaments (with pretty much only Italian guys) and bakeries with cases lined with cannoli. We ate at Mia Bella Restaurant and everything that we ordered was incredible. I ordered a random mixture of small dishes, which included meatballs, burrata cheese, olives and thinly sliced Prosciutto. Truth was, I wanted to save room for dessert at Presti’s Italian Pastry across the way!
Grab a number and get in line to pick up your usual array of Italian desserts at Presti’s Italian Pastry
Holy Cannoli, window shopping at Presti’s
Kevin took the recommendation of the waiter and had the cheese Tortellini (which is something neither of us would order). But by far, this is what you need to get. It’s the most popular dish and I can see why!
The cheese tortellini at Mia Bella…Life changing! And of course, Kevin orders it with extra cheese…because why not?
4. Visiting Ralphie’s House from “A Christmas Story”
The setting of ‘A Christmas Story’
This might not be on everyone’s must-see list, but if you’re like me and watch the 24-hour marathon that seems to go from Thanksgiving to Christmas on TV every year, you gotta stop here. There is so much to say! In fact, my previous deleted blog post went into great depth! Basically, here is the skinny… The place was bought by a guy who made a fortune selling the “leg lamps” as seen in the movie. He ended up buying the home where the movie was shot and now you can take a tour. And re-enact your favorite movie moments… And oh, we did re-enact those moments and captured it with photos (and even Kevin did!). I’m still not sure what got into him!
Don’t you touch that! You were always jealous of this lamp.
Kevin reads the paper like in the movie
I get really into my role…And climb under the sink like Randy
Clearly we were having WAY too much fun here!
My favorite fact on the tour? For the scene in which Flick’s tongue sticks to the flagpole, a hidden suction tube was used to safely create the illusion that his tongue had frozen to the metal. Oh yeah, and this scene was actually shot in Canada (because despite it being January in Cleveland, they had no snow!). Cleveland was also chosen from about 20 other cities due to the willingness of Higbee’s (an actual department store at that time) to allow the movie to be filmed inside the store. Remember to scream “You’re gonna shoot your eye out…” Because I’m sure the tour guides NEVER get sick of that.
3. The Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame Museum
Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame has a must-see Elvis section
The Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame was pretty much the only thing I knew existed in Cleveland. In my mind, I pictured a bunch of cows roaming the outskirts of Cleveland. I have no idea why. The museum lives up to all the hype. We ended up spending hours here – exploring the seven floors of exhibits. Highlights for me included the special exhibit about presidential candidates and music selection (turns out John McCain got the most complaints from musicians for him borrowing their songs…oops!), Aretha Franklin’s famous 2013 inauguration hat (that once had its own Twitter account), the museum’s fun gift shop (I love a museum store!) and the extensive Elvis section. We rushed through it all and think we were there for over 2 hours.
Aretha Franklin’s 2013 inauguration hat ended up in Cleveland
Kevin takes time to read in the massive gift store while I explored. Well worth the look! Maybe Kevin doesn’t agree…
2. Eating Our Way Through the Historic West Side Market
Inside the West Side Market
Food hall? What?! Sign me up! I picked up the local free magazine at the airport and I made sure this was our first stop. It opens at 7 AM, but the place really doesn’t get hopping until around 9 AM. It’s a historic food hall with hearty Polish fare (like pierogi’s), bakeries galore and a cheese shop (where we clearly had about 15 samples and Kevin bought about a pound that he later forgot about and melted into one big blob in his side bag!). It would be a crime not to stop at Vera’s Bakery and get the Russian Tea Cake. It doesn’t sound good (tea cake?). But trust us!
Chowing down on the Russian Tea Cake at Vera’s Bakery
1. Taking A Free Walking Tour of Downtown…Yes, Free!!
Kevin and his parents check out one of the many passageways in Downtown Cleveland that were lined with shops. This is a striking way to start the tour!
One of my favorite things in life is getting a good deal. And what better is free? And to be honest, I think I’d STILL make this my favorite thing to do in Cleveland if we had to pay (well, the free part definitely DOES help!). Every Saturday at 10 AM, Take A Hike offers free walking tours of the Gateway District (Downtown Cleveland’s historic area). Along the way, you’ll get a sense of the booming town Cleveland once was and how it’s trying to rebuild the luster. They even have actors along the way playing characters from the past, including inventor Garrett Morgan, an African American man who invented the stop light. I’m just glad he had nothing to do with the red light cams because those drive me literally crazy!
One of the actors along the way playing Garrett Morgan, inventor of the first stop light
One bonus stop, mentioned on the tour but the tour didn’t go there is Heinen’s supermarket. A grocery story? I love grocery stories… it’s true. But nothing prepared us when we walked inside of this one (which was once a bank).
Outside of Heinen’s supermarket
And now we step inside the supermarket, and wow!
The workers were so nice – and even took us behind the food cases to check out the old bank vault (now their offices)
As you can see, Cleveland is pretty cool. And no, I didn’t even see one cow on this trip! Maybe next time. Stay tuned for our next adventure. We’re off to San Diego this weekend!
You could have fun on a deserted island. Now I want to go to Cleveland!