At the hotel pool the other night, while Andy was at the book publishing conference, the girls and I met two other little girls and their parents. They were staying here temporarily because their house smelled terribly from the oil spill here, at Liberty Park. We talked by the pool and they suggested some places we should go. One of those places was the library. The library? I love my local library, and Boulder Library is really pretty, but I don’t usually tell people who are visiting to go there. But they said the Salt Lake City Library was amazing, and amazing it was. The only trouble is finding the words to express just how very incredible it is.
Here is Ashley watching the glass elevators. They are so fast and fun to watch or ride.
I really don’t know what to compare the Salt Lake City Library to. I can’t think of anything similar, and I don’t know when I’ve been so impressed.
And remember how I said Salt Lake City had “Bouleritis?” How they love (among other things) local and hand made? Well you should see the shops in the area where Ashley is standing. I think they were all sporting “local” and “hand made” signs in the windows. I peeked inside and saw lots of the same kinds of goodies that were at the farmers market.
Not to mention the art. Oh, the art, my love. Sculpture (that includes the building!), painting, photography, galleries, spaces…
Here’s one such space. A below-ground courtyard and water feature off the children’s library. Lovely to admire, to cool off (if you stand close to it you get wet), to read, to relax. It’s even complete with two tables and chairs, each with an umbrella. There was a dragonfly sculpture on the wall behind Ashley.
Here is one of the inside sculptural spaces, also in the children’s library area. Even if you don’t have any children I highly recommend you walk around the children’s section so you can see these awesome spaces.
Zoe, uber-stylish 😉
If you take the elevator up to the top floor you can walk outside. There are rooftop gardens, more tables to admire the view and lounge, and a curving path that goes down to the plaza area.
Ditto that.
Zoe, sitting on one side a two-sided fountain, above another garden.
Okay, I will actually talk about food now 😉 A short walk from the Salt Lake City Library (which had a pretty good Americano at one locally roasted coffee shop, I might add) is Vasuvio’s Organic Gourmet Cafe. The inside is modern but in a cozy way. We ate outside, under one of these red umbrellas.
They carry two kinds of gluten-free bread (I think, don’t quote me on that). Since gluten-free bread is smaller than wheat, they give you two little sandwiches, for around $10. The girls can obviously split that easily, while Andy ate both of his.
Here is a close-up of Ashley and her GF sandwich. I actually didn’t have a sandwich, but an omelette with spinach and onions. They serve eggs all day. It came with a side and I chose humus and veggies. Everything was good.
As Andy said, “Our trip ended where it began,” at Whole Foods this evening (pictured above and below). I wanted to get some things for the drive back tomorrow, and I knew we could all get what we wanted at Whole Foods.
My salad, above. What can I say? It’s just YUM.
We each had about a roll-sized hunk of this gluten-free Rosemary & Thyme Focaccia by Canyon Bakehouse. Canyon Bakehouse is made half an hour north of where we live in Longmont, Colorado, but this was our first time eating this Focaccia. It reminded me of a biscuit, and it’s delicious. I can’t wait to try it heated.
I’m sad to be leaving, but I’m happy to go home. Looking forward to coming here again for sure.
♥, Kelly
Millie says
your girls are so so cute and I always love their cute haircuts…nice job.
http://nuestracena-vegancuisine.blogspot.com
Phoenix Peacock says
holy moly the library is beautiful! I love the outside of the Denver library but I was soooo dissapointed by the interior.
Aubree Cherie says
Sounds like a great trip! I really enjoyed the photos and learning more about SLC. (I also hope that I will one day develop your skill of detecting great places to eat that have gluten free options!) Thanks for sharing the fun 🙂
~Aubree Cherie
Fayinagirl (means Free One) says
Looks like a fun trip. Your family is so cute.
OH, we LOVE that foccacia. Wub is totally hooked on it. =)
Meagan says
Kelli, I LOVE Whole Foods too. My mom and I do the giant salad thing there as often as we can!
I recently ordered some vanilla creme stevia, per your suggestion, and it’s GREAT so far! It reminds me of rootbear “cream soda” taste! I used it in some homemade ice cream, which I will be posting as soon as I have a photograph (it’s in the freezer now!).
HannahHandpainted says
Aww…looks like you’re having a great time.
Actually it’s made here in Loveland where I live. I drove by the place accidentally one day.
Surprisingly good! I actually haven’t had the foccacia yet. I almost got it yesterday but now I want to for sure!
HannahHandpainted says
Lol…I realized I read what you wrote wrong! You said it was made an hour north of where you live. Duh! 🙂 Sorry.
I never thought of going to Salt Lake City–I may have to go sometime.
Sweet @ Adventures in Veg says
Aw lovely pics! And that gluten-free foccaccia looks sooo nice!
Haylee says
No way, I had no idea you were from Utah! That just makes me like you and your blog 10x more. 🙂 haha, Utahns for life!
I love the SL library. I think it’s just gorgeous. I wish the Provo one was as pretty/fun to go to.