One of the things I love about Baltimore is its proximity to other large cities on the East Coast. Juxtaposed conveniently between traditional 'north' and 'south', Baltimore sits an hour from DC, an hour from Philly, and three-ish from NYC. I've been bulking up my travel fund recently (2017 has quickly turned into my year of trips), and because it's still hard to convince myself to take vacation time, I've been in search of cities that make for easy weekend and/or day trips.
So far, my upcoming weekend itineraries include trips to: Harpers Ferry, Philly, and Connecticut. But I'll tell you what city wasn't on my radar until recently: Cincinnati.
I frequent ground transportation (trains, buses) to get from city to city, but I often forget that you can go a much farther distance, in the same amount of time, when taking travels to the sky.
Perfect example: My typical train rides to D.C. takes about an hour. Believe it or not, a Southwest flight from Baltimore (BWI) to Cincinnati (CVG) only takes an hour. Seriously.
If you're a frequent Southwest flyer (or you're just looking for an excuse to head to Cincinnati for an affordable price), you'll be happy to know that quick day trips like this are now possible because Southwest opened service to CVG! To celebrate, Southwest flew a handful of influencers from Baltimore (BWI) and Chicago (MDW) on non-stop flights to check out what Cincy is all about!
BWI to CVG
Rachel from LikeTheTeaEats.com and I headed to the airport first thing in the morning and took the first flight (EVER) from BWI to CVG leaving at 8:40 AM. The hour flight flew by. Read: We barely had time to finish our in-flight mimosas. Thinking back to it, I'm still shocked by the exciting 'welcome' we got from Southwest in Cincinnati. Stepping off the plane in CVG, we were welcomed by Southwest executives, staff, and photographers. Is this what being a celebrity feels like? I definitely considered this The Grammy's of my slightly-above average life.
We met with other influencers from Chicago, took photos, and headed out for a day of adventures! The first stop on our Food Tour of Cincinnati was my favorite meal of the day - brunch!
Stop 1: Taste of Belgium (@tasteofbelgium)
Our brunch at Taste of Belgium was AWESOME. Home to the official waffle of the Cincinnati Reds (side-note: my outfit was well-received by the locals!), the restaurant specializing in Belgian waffles has also been featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. Taste of Belgium is known for their Chicken + Waffles, and let me tell you, that fame is well-deserved. We also made sure to sample a variety of cocktails + dishes off their brunch menu.
I opted for the cocktail called "You're turning violet, Violet", hoping it looked just as colorful as it sounded. Made with Dutch gin, Creme de Violette, simple syrup, jasmine water, and sparkling wine, this cocktail is what my mixology dreams are made of. Delicious, colorful, refreshing, just how I like my cocktails.
For my meal, I ordered the Brunch Burger. THEY USE WAFFLES AS THE BUN. Brunch game over. If you don't get the Chicken and Waffles, get the brunch burger. On second thought, get both. You won't regret it.
The rest of our spread included chicken and waffles, a breakfast crepe, and more beautiful cocktails. Rachel dished details on the rest of our first meal in Cincinnati over on LikeTheTeaEats.com. Be sure to check it out HERE!
Have you been to Taste of Belgium? What did you order? How good are those waffles, though?!
Interested in checking out Taste of Belgium for yourself? Click HERE to book your Southwest flight and HERE to make your reservations brunch through OpenTable!
Curious about where else I’m eating on my travels? Check out posts under my TRAVEL tab! Be sure to share your adventures with me, @stylishlytaylored, on Instagram!
Until next time, keep exploring!
