GR:AP


As previously mentioned, Devin planned a fun night away for us in Grand Rapids for Art Prize and just some time in a city we like.


I couldn't help but take this picture of Devin as he walked towards me in one of the exhibit buildings. He looked a lot like some of the artists walking around. :)

So once again, airbnb was awesome. We stayed in a loft area of a 3 story townhouse in a renovated school. The townhouse we were in used to be the gymnasium and had the original floors and the rafters at the top. The hosts were there but we had a private loft area with bedroom, bathroom, and living area with a TV. They were a couple in their early 50s I'd say. So friendly and helpful but not at all annoying. We really liked them for the 15 minutes we were with them.


A shot from the loft hallway.


For some reason I'm having some food aversions come back at this stage of pregnancy (19 weeks today!). I get full SO fast and certain things just don't sound good at all, which is weird because I haven't had this really since week 10 or so. Above was my favorite food of our trip. The appetizer we had at a great Italian place. Fresh goat cheese, tomatoes, bread, and arugula. Unfortunately after my piece and a half of this I could hardly eat any of my meal, but it was worth it. 


The renovated school where we stayed. Cool right? Obviously the modern-looking part at the top was added on. This building was so well done. There's a rooftop pool and hot tub area. We would love to come back and stay here in the summer! Oh and apparently Rob Bell lived here when he was in GR (which I suppose I'm willing to overlook ;).


Sunday the weather was pretty windy and cold and Monday morning was rainy. It cleared up a bit for a few hours though. We took advantage of the indoor exhibits and sitting for a while in some of our favorite places like Marie Catrib's and MADCAP (two musts in GR, we think).



We had to take a picture on the bridge that we always take pictures on. Love that we have memories in this city of when we were first dating, then one of our first post-Henrik getaways, now, and hopefully times to come.


GR is great about having restaurants that do locally sourced foods and healthy, unique options. Our first lunch there Devin ordered some amazing truffle fries (not claiming those to be healthy) that I ate half of and I had a really good vegan wrap.



Italian dinner at Bistro Bella Vita.


Breakfast at Marie Catrib's.


And one of the coolest installations at Art Prize. This one was definitely on it's way to winning the grand prize. The artist was from Indy.

I think I enjoyed the installations and photography the most. A lot of the paintings were kind of dark and depressing. 

Anyway, it was a great couple days and just the right amount of time to get a nice break from Benny but not too long that I missed him terribly. He was living the life with Devin's parents and hardly wanted to leave with us when we picked him up. :)

3 comments:

sarah.flyingkites said...

What a cool getaway!! That appetizer looked amazing!

leah said...

loved seeing your pictures. looks like a wonderful weekend with yummy food, fun art and good company :) glad it worked out for you guys!

Sara Huber said...

That last pic/exhibit is amazing! Wow!