Barbara Alfonzo

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Wanderlusting in Kansas City

The people of Kansa City, MO are warriors alright! Despite the rain and wind in 65F degrees - they ran, they yoga, and they meditated.  DJ Taz kept the vibe high with his awesome high energy playlist, and Chelse Chorus set the stage going deep into people's souls.

By the time yoga started the sun came out and Chelsea said such beautiful words. She said: "Today is a good day to come alive, to awaken the parts of our body, mind, and soul that have been dormant for far too long" So good and such an important reminder. At the end of the class she sang a beautiful song, I was amazed, I didn't know she could sing! I was wondering if it was her or if the DJ was playing an acapela song. 

Brian and I had a lot of fun in the Buddha Pants booth dancing to DJ Taz playlist and enjoying seeing people's faces light up when they saw the pants. We have a lot of KansaCitians wearing buddha pants now! Woop woop!

This was our first time to this city and we had fun exploring the town from restaurants to historic sights we had a blast. Click here for more of our story in pictures. 

We arrived Thursday morning and the first thing we did was google a vegan restaurant. We found a few and decided to go with Canihaveabite. When we arrived we noticed it was more like a take-out delivery restaurant but still the food looked great. The owner Kathy greeted us and she was the most friendly and sincere restaurant owner ever. We told her it was our first time and she started recommending us all kinds of places to visit. I tool notes. She recommened we tried Chai Shai down the street. We bought a Kanbucha and caco energy balls at her place and off we went to try some Pakestenian/Indian food at Chai Shai.

Chai Shai was probably one of the best indian foods I've ever had. The service was 5 star and the food delicious. I kept thinking I don't want this food to end! Hah! 

Then we headed to Westport, a history neighborhood in KC, MO. This was the last spot where the trains would stop back in the day before they headed west. There were a few shops and lots of restaurants. We found a doughnut shop and Brian of course wanted to try one, so he did, this shop blended alcohold in their doughnuts, he got a key lime rum doughnut.

After Westport we drove around different neighborhoods and got to see some of the beautiful old architecture. Then it started raining and we decided to go back to the hotel and rest a bit. We were so tired from teaveling for 5 weeks straight that we just stayed the rest of the night in the hotel, napping and watching TV, we almost never do that. It was nice. This was the first time we stayed in a hotel since all other places we stayed with friends and family.

Friday came and again we looked for a vegan restaurant to go have breakfast at. We found a place called FUD. It was located in a really cool neighborhood that had other cute little restaurants and shops. FUD was good, we had an awesome Jackfruit BarBQ sandwich, a mexican style salad, and a cashew cacao shake, they have a lot of options available and most everything is made from scratch. In this neighborhood was a place called Fervere which is a bread bake shop.  I gave in and got myself an almond croissant, Brian got a chocolate one. Score! So delish! 

We ventured into a part of town called West Bottoms and Brian got really inspired to photograph me, so he did! You know I never say no to a photo shoot! This area was full of history, character, art, and although super gritty, it was great for photos.

Rain came and we went to Boulevard brewery for "shelter", we tried some beer, I was not impressed with the beer but the space was super cool. Giant brewery with tours, merchandise, games, and lots of areas for people to mingle.

After we went to a place called Tom's Town that was also recommended by Kathy from Canihaveabite. This place is beautiful1 This is Kansa City's first legal Vodka distillary since prohibition, decor is 1920's Great Gatsby, and the cocktails are close to perfection. They distill Vodka, Bourbon, and Gin. I had my first Bourbon and Gin tasting. I little too much for me. The food was phenomenal though. We had a salad, bacon wrapped dates, and the best grilled cheese with tomato soup I've ever had. Bacon is the gateway meat, be careful... 

After this we walked around the area some more and then went back to hotel since we had an early morning for Wanderlust. I went right to bed as soon as we got in. Brian was not too happy anout that... Oooops... this is why I don't drink. 

We came to this town not knowing anything about it and left knowing a little more about midwest culture. We had a very pleasant time. Thank you KC! Till next time. 

Enjoy the awesome photos my beloved Brian Blest shot below. www.theartistblest.com

With love and respect,