Beautiful golden tomatoes at a stand in Pearl AlleyDowntown Columbus is smaller than any other big cities I have been to (I am thinking Boston, New York, San Francisco, London, Paris... you know, big cities). It's still new to me, though, so who knows maybe it is bigger than I think.
The intersection of Gay/High Streets is where the main action is.
Before I go there, though, can I just talk a wee bit about the parking lot? Right there, downtown, I found a spot in a Public parking lot. After locking the car, I looked for a self-pay machine...or a person, or something. And this is what I found: an honor box self-pay station where you put money into the number slot corresponding to where your car is parked. I have done this once, in Boise, Idaho. But right here in the middle of Columbus? I was a bit dubious, but loved it at the same time.
Downtown is also where a lot of the many glorious Columbus food trucks congregate for people to grab a quick lunch. I spotted the Three Babes and a Baker cupcake truck by the parking lot...made a mental note to self that I needed to get some goodies to bring home to the kids (they have $1/kid cupcakes!).
Then I headed to the Cajun food truck for a my first ever crab cake po'boy! It was so big (and good!) that I had to share with my friends!
Then there was the Pearl Alley market which happened to be selling on Tuesdays. The produce was more varied than our tiny Bexley Farmers' market, and there were other booths selling coffee, artisan bread, crafts and much more. Again, I made a mental note to self to return.
So...downtown Columbus...not so bad! There are a few notable restaurants and coffee shops as well. Too bad (or rather, luckily) I don't frequent downtown too often. But if you are looking for some (eating) action, there is some to be found there, for sure.
Great writeup of Downtown! Love those food trucks and the Pearl Market! Hopefully you'll get to come back to Downtown soon to take in some other attractions. I'd recommend taking the kids to COSI, playing in the fountains at North Bank Park (before it gets too cold!) a visit to the Topiary Park, a visit to the Main Library (ranked #1 in the country), a visit to the Columbus Museum of Art, and a visit to the OSU Urban Arts Space in the Lazarus Building.
ReplyDeleteOh, and just so you know... Downtown Columbus is actually pretty large size-wise (2.2 square miles) even compared to other big cities (Boston's is 1.5 square miles) but it's very spread out, so it feels much smaller and less busy. Unfortunately, a lot of buildings were razed for parking lots in the 1950s-1970s so it doesn't have the vibrancy of other similar sized cities. That has been turning around quite a bit in the past 10 years or so though... so it should continue to improve. ;)
Keep up the great work with these blog updates! :D
Thanks for the tips Walker! I know...there is still a lot to see. I used to live in Boston...it felt much bigger, but everything was closer together, or you can just jump on the T. Once the weather turns, I will be checking out all the indoor places for sure...with the kids in tow!
ReplyDeletegreat adventures here in columbus!!!!
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