Sometimes you just need time with your best friends. My two best friends live hours away from me in separate directions, so I don’t get to see them anywhere near as much as I’d like. Charlotte is a 3 hour drive from where I live, 2 hours for Meagan, and 3.5 for Jeremy. I figured it would be a good place to enjoy each other and the city.
I met up with Meagan and her friend, Rachel, to shop for antiques. Our first stop was at Sleepy Poet Antique Mall. Let me just say this place is huge, and plan to spend at least a few hours browsing in here if you love antiques like we do. Regardless of what kind of antiques you are interested in, rest assured this shop will have plenty of finds for you. Since I enjoy writing poetry, I’ve been on the hunt for a functional vintage typewriter.. I found it, and at quite the steal! I also racked up on old medicine bottles to add to my collection, and a Dean Martin autograph (love me some Dean).
Our next stop was the SouthPark Mall. This mall has over 150 stores, and even has valet parking (fancy). This is another place you could easily spend the whole day in. We hit up a few stores and had a late lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.
Cowfish is unique from any upscale sushi place you’ll find because they have burger sushi. Yes, sushi that has regular beef and all the toppings that a regular hamburger would.. even a flaky outer crust. When I was in Raleigh for rotations my last year of pharmacy school it was my favorite restaurant to visit. I had missed it, and needed to introduce Jeremy to this deliciousness after finding they also had a location in Charlotte, which is conveniently right at the mall.
Later that night, we decided to hit up the EpiCentre. It is THE place to go in downtown (which they call “uptown”) Charlotte for a great nightlife experience. It is an open-air building with multiple restaurants, clubs, bars, and even a bowling alley. To get a great nighttime view of the city and enjoy a little bit of the nightlife, we decided to go to Rooftop 210. They always have great music going on with a live dj outside, a huge dance floor, and great views. The EpiCentre closes at 2 am, so don’t wait too long before heading out! It can also get a little crowded and some of the bars have a stricter dress code, so check before you leave your hotel that you have on the proper attire.
That night we got back and tried to find our way to the rooftop pool. Silly for us to think it was actually on the rooftop! Haha Instead it was 3 or so floors down, but we lucked up and got incredible views of the city, even though I don’t think we were supposed to actually be on the roof. We spotted the bar we were going to visit the next day, Fahrenheit, from across the way. This bar is known to have some of the best views in town. We ended up not going since the views were going to basically be the same. I’m a sucker for rooftop views, so our accidental rooftop adventure ended up being one of the coolest things about this trip.
The next day started out at the actual pool for a quick dip before we started our day. I’d never stayed in downtown Charlotte before, and I regret not doing it sooner. It was nice to have these views and to be in the excitement of downtown.
Little did we know before we planned on visiting that it was gay pride weekend in Charlotte. The buildings were lit up like rainbows at night, which was really pretty. haha We thought we would go see the pride parade located right behind our hotel. We grabbed food from the many food vendors, and made our way down. So many people lined the streets and had on rainbow attire. It was amazing just how many people were there and how many people in the community showed their support.
I’d never visited the Duke Mansion before. Honestly, I’d never heard of it. I’m a sucker for beautiful old homes with history.. And I was excited that this one was open and free to tour, especially since it was Sunday, so on we went. This gorgeous mansion is now a hotel, and serves as a venue. It has multiple gardens to tour as well. It was easily one of the prettiest homes I’ve seen, and I was in awe the whole time I was there.
Our last stop before I headed home was at Haberdish, located in NoDa (the art district) in Charlotte. They have traditional southern food paired with apothecary cocktails from a 1950’s soda fountain.
I only had some okra and the watermelon cocktail before rolling out, but I would recommend while also in this part of town to explore. There are murals everywhere.. I mean, even trashcans are all decked out in art! They have an old theatre turned music venue, and plenty of other artsy things to check out. This section of Charlotte has a really cool vibe.
Every time I go to Charlotte, I get to know it a little bit better. I find there’s always more and more to explore. So while this is not an extensive list by any means, it does highlight some areas and restaurants to definitely but on your list if you’re planning a visit. Keep exploring, friends!
bedtravels 