Travel diary: Detroit

Travel diary: Detroit

Over the weekend, Andy and I drove to Detroit to visit friends. I lived in Metro Detroit for five years before moving to Cleveland, and I grew up largely in mid-Michigan, so a visit always feels like going home. Plus, some of my best friends live there, who I don’t get to see nearly often enough (plus a new baby who I love!). We had a great time.

While we were in town, I wanted to take the opportunity to visit some new shops in the city that I hadn’t been to yet. At a friend’s suggestion we stopped first at Hugh, a boutique that stocks vintage barware and accessories perfect for the hip bachelor pad. It’s a lot of fun, though I wish they just had more because I really want a set of midcentury bar glasses. Next door is Nora, which carries an excellent collection of modern housewares from really cool brands like Jonathan Adler and Ferm Living. I bought a Baggu bag, but could have left with one of everything in the shop.

From there we went to Detroit’s Eastern Market. It’s like a bigger, more open version of Cleveland’s Westside Market. I’d love to go back in the summer when it isn’t so bitterly cold. Flower Day is the most fun (May 19th this year) because the whole market is filled to the brim with plants and flowers for your garden. But if you go, remember to take a cart with you because plants get real heavy real fast and you are not getting a good parking spot. I’m talking from experience here.

There are some really cool new shops in the market area. We stopped at The Detroit Mercantile Co., a shop full of new and vintage items mostly from Detroit, from books to clothes to antique maps and everything in between. It’s a place to get lost for a while looking at a lot of fun things.

I’m so happy to see exciting things happening in Detroit. I’ve always loved the city where my mother was born, and I feel proud when I look at it now. Sure there are plenty of burned out buildings to remind of us the work that still needs to be done, but there’s also so many new shops and restaurants and really awesome people doing really awesome things. I’m already looking forward to my next visit!