Weekend Trip to Cleveland

Cleveland has been called the mistake on the lake, but I would like to tell you that there is actually a lot of great stuff to do in Cleveland.  I go to Grove City College which is about 2 hours from Cleveland, so some friends and I decided to spend the weekend in Cleveland.  It was a lot of fun and exciting.  One of the things that Cleveland has a lot of is culture.  Cleveland was a huge industrial town that had a big immigrant work force.  This has resulted in a huge pocket of diverse culture that exists in Cleveland.  Cleveland has large Polish, Irish, and Italian influences.  Visitors can see these influences in a lot of the excellent restaurants around Cleveland.  On that Friday we went to see a minor league hockey team in Cleveland called the Lake Erie Monsters.  They lost in an overtime shootout, but it was a great game and a lot of fun. The ticket only cost 7 dollars each.  We got to my house at around 11pm and played pool and hung out with the family.

On Saturday we went to the Westside Market.  The Westside Market is like a blast from the past.

It is in two huge buildings that have hundreds of small meat, fruit, and bread bakers.  The prices are cheap, the food is unique, and it is all fresh. We spent several hours trying the different types of food.  We got some fresh food from the market for lunch, including pastrami and Jewish Rye, Mexican Stuffed Chili Peppers, fresh olives, apple strudels, and the most delicious fruit I’ve ever tasted. We then walked around the Cleveland’s square and explored their Civil War monument.  Cleveland also has a beautiful cathedral and courthouse all within walking distance of the square.  Cleveland used to be one of the richest cities in America so a lot of Cleveland old buildings are absolutely beautiful.  The old court house is pure marble and has beautiful statues.

After we explored for a while we went to Little Italy and went to a restaurant called Trattoria Roman Gardens.  It is a traditional Sicilian Restaurant that makes you feel like you are eating with a big Italian family.   The portions are huge and I would definitely recommend splitting a meal.  The sauces and noodles are made from scratch and you get fresh bruschetta while you are waiting for your food.   When we were done eating we walked around Little Italy.  There are several chocolate and wine shops that were on the strip.  Little Italy is a fun quaint area that is a great place to visit if you are in Cleveland.  On Sunday we went to Legacy Village which is a really nice shopping center.  It also has great restaurants to eat at like Stir Crazy, Cheese Cake Factory, California Pizza, and Brio Tuscan Grille.  My favorite restaurant there is Stir Crazy with its really fun and delicious stir fry.  We then left to go back to school.  It was a fun-filled weekend that was reasonably inexpensive and was the perfect break from the monotonous school work.