Fitness + Travel… this is essentially my life.

It took me about 12 attempts to get this hotel window selfie… I hope you appreciate it.

I travel frequently all over the country for work, and probably go to Ohio every other month. I’d only been to Cleveland once before, but hadn’t really experienced much of the city. I was really excited when Positively Cleveland, the city’s visitor bureau, invited me up for a Healthy Living Tour, hosted by Cleveland health blogger, Alicia H., of Poise in Parma. It’s awesome that Positively Cleveland has a website that not only lists museums, restaurants, and the usual city guide info, but also lists its upcoming running and cycling race schedule, trail maps and national park information. They’re not just trying to “entertain” you while you’re in town. They’re trying to introduce you to all the ways the city can keep you active and outdoors, two things that are truly my jam.

Traveling all over has it’s obvious advantages, but one of the hardest things about being on the road frequently is keeping up healthy habits. When you’re out of town and off your normal routine, workouts tend to get pushed to the back burner and finding restaurants that offer healthy options can be hard to come by if you aren’t familiar with the area. There’s so much listed, it actually seemed like a daunting task to narrow it down. I’m so grateful Alicia put together such a kickass weekend for the two of us. Here’s what went down:

When I pulled into town last Friday night, I checked into my room at Aloft Cleveland Downtown. I’ve spent my fair share of nights in hotels all over the world and the things I love most, simplicity, comfort, and productive design, were all included in this stay. I had an awesome bed, a great view while working at the desk (complete with all the outlets I needed for my various electronics), and a great group fitness schedule in the hotel’s gym. While my schedule was too packed to take advantage of any classes there, I love any hotel that provides their visitors with several options to keep consistent with their workouts! Taking advantage of group classes is a great way to get your workout in without having to think about what you’re going to do, wonder if you’re doing it correctly, or being tempted to stop too early.

After freshening up in my room, I headed about 15 minutes southeast of downtown to meet up with Alicia and take her Friday evening Vinyasa yoga class at Evolution Yoga. After the 5 hour drive, my body was ready to loosen up and it felt great to keep things mellow in mood, but challenging, physically. Alicia taught a great flow and the hour flew by. We even got to rock out some fun inversions. I suck at inversions, but I’m trying to hold a handstand for more than .5 seconds so any practice helps…

Next on the schedule was dinner, as we were both ravenous by this point in the evening. The restaurant was located in Eton Chagrin, a boutique shopping center not far away that includes Apple, The North Face, Anthropologie, and Lululemon. Danger! I was able to keep myself out of Anthro, but we did make a quick pit stop at lululemon, because some things just can’t be helped…

Alicia raved about the gloriousness that was Paladar Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar, and so that was our destination for the evening. After having a delicious guacamole appetizer with chips of tortilla, yucca, plantain, and malanga, I ordered the Blackened Fish Tacos with a cilantro adobo sauce that made me completely thankful for my sense of taste. Overall it was a fabulous meal to share with a new friend. It was wonderful to share such an amazing meal and chat up another blogger, dog-lover, and fitness instructor. We could have sat there for far longer, but had a busy day lined up for Saturday… so we clinked our margarita and mojito glasses in toast to a great weekend kickoff and called it a night.

Me, taking a photo of Alicia (and our drinks), taking a photo of me and our drinks. #shitbloggersdo

If you’d like to check out any other part of our tour, search the hashtag #ThisIsCLE and you’ll see our other posts from the weekend on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram… if you didn’t already see us blowing up your feeds. Day 2 is coming soon!

{This post was sponsored by Positively Cleveland. All thoughts/opinions are my own!}