Union Station & The California Zephyr

I was back in the air today and off to Denver as usual. When I got to the hotel I went down to Union Station for an errand. I then stayed to eat in a lovely Spanish restaurant at the station. Although it was a beautiful warm day many of the restaurants had closed their outdoor dining patios. Denver got quite a bit of snow a couple of days ago. It all melted quickly because the temperature went right back up afterwards, but more snow is coming on Sunday! This place still had its patio open (with heat lamps) so I was able to enjoy sitting outside which I always prefer.

I’d been wanting to try this place to eat for a long time so this evening was perfect. I had several tapas and a couple of glasses of wine - all Happy Hour prices!

It got dark while I was eating and once I was done I checked out the inside of the station which has been recently redeveloped and renovated and it’s beautiful. It’s a great place for relaxing, people watching and enjoying food and drinks in several coffee shops, bars and restaurants and even an old fashioned ice cream parlour.

When I went back outside I could see that the California Zephyr train was in the station. This service goes from Chicago to San Francisco (over 50 hours!) and makes many stops in between. It passes through Denver twice a day - once westbound and once eastbound. This evening’s train was the one going east to Chicago - I believe it takes about 18 hours. I did it once, the other way from Chicago to Denver - in the late 80s. United paid for it since they’d grounded me in the middle of a trip due to blocked ears!

See the Extra photo for a few more scenes from the station and the restaurant. The main picture shows both the old and new parts of the station, with the California Zephyr in the station.