10 things I like about Charlotte (so far!)
Not necessarily in order . . .
1. Sushi is huge here, and there are lots of good sushi restaurants around. My favorites (so far!) are New Zealand Café (it's close to work) and Sushi 101. I love New Zealand's sweet roll. Sushi 101 (it's close to home) has some amazing noodle dishes in addition to good sushi. Question for my more sushi-sophisticated friends: Is deep fried sushi available anywhere except the South?!!! I never had it until a few weeks ago when my coworker Lauren shared her order with me. It's soooooooo good!!! (even better with sweet tea. Ha!)
2. Dean and Deluca's Sticky Bun Latte (made with toffee nut, almond, and hazelnut syrups) . . . and an almond croissant . . . my favorite weekday "pick it up on the way to the office" breakfast.
3. My new work team. They've been really nice and patient so far, and almost all of them are FOODIES!!! We go out to lunch as often as possible. :-)
4. Shopping for groceries at Earth Fare. We don't have Whole Foods in Charlotte, but Earth Fare is an Asheville-based market that carries lots of organics, local food, and other good-for-you stuff. They also have garage parking, which I've found to be very nice in 90+F weather.
5. Uptown. Every other city calls it Downtown, but not Charlotte. Whatever you call it, it's clean, pretty, interesting, and alive. There's tons to do there.
6. The trees. The city planners and developers designed around the trees instead of just bulldozing them. The tree-lined streets of Myers Park (e.g., Queens and Providence) are nothing short of breathtaking.
7. Walking the dogs around the lake at Freedom Park. There are lots of other parks here to explore. We just haven't had time yet!
8. Listening to WFAE (FM 90.7) on the drive to/from work. I enjoy their programming so much, I might just end my long-time subscription to Sirius XM.
9. The Manor Theater on Providence Road. I used to go to "indy" movies there when I lived in Charlotte in the 1980s . . . and it's still there!!! . . . and it still runs independent movies!!! OK, so it's the Regal Manor Theater now. Whatever. I love it!
10. Last but certainly not least . . . being closer to my parental units. I've visited them almost every weekend since I've been here. I was really lucky when I was assigned parents. Not only do I love them, I actually like them, and enjoy hanging out with them. So it's good to be back. :-)
