[lsfleelee]

Hello All.

My girlfriend has a friend getting married in Omaha on Saturday, Oct. 3rd. We decided to sorta make a weekend of it, since we have to fly out there anyways. So...we are landing Thursday night and leaving Sunday night. That means we potentially have some time Thursday eve, all day Friday, Sat. morning, and most of the day Sunday.

We are coming from Cincinnati. Interests are limitless, but outdoors stuff is great. I'm mostly hoping to hear from some locals of things that should be done, but aren't glaringly obvious to any visitors. I've read about your pedestrian bridge, and it sounds great. We have one here, but it sounds like yours is the Cadillac of walking bridges. I've also heard great things about your zoo, but we have a pretty damn good zoo here, so I don't know if that makes the most sense. We both love hitting up haunted houses/hayrides/etc, and thought it might be cool to check one out...which one is the best in your area, if that's popular there?

So...anyone have any input on anything? Events? Must eat restaurants? Let me hear it!

Thanks!

[DTO Luv]

Thursday night go to Myth (11th and Howard) in the Old Market. My friend is the owner. It's a great place and great staff. My friend Brian (the owner, and not the blonde Brian) is very knowledgable on Omaha and he'll point you in the right direction. You could also spend the evening wandering the Old Market. Most places I would recommend to eat but the ones I would recommend to avoid are Spaghetti Works (it's more of a family feedbag), Twisted Fork (overpriced, undersized portions, boring food) and Upstream. Some people may brag up Upstream to you because it's local but compared to every other place in the Old Market to eat I would place it dead last. See the same comments about Twisted Fork x 2. One last place, while not in the Old Market it Rick's Cafe Boatyard on the river. It may look attractive and have a pretty setting but that place is god awful. I would take corporate clients to Taco Bell before Rick's. Don't be fooled.

Friday go to the Zoo. I'm sure your zoo is dandy but ours is consistantly rated by many standards the #1 or #2 zoo in the country. No offense but I've never heard of the Cincinnati zoo. Friday night repeat the Old Market for dinner and drinks. It's the place to be in Omaha on the weekends.

Saturday morning go to the Joslyn Art Museum (24th and Dodge) because it's free before noon.

I think the haunted houses are opening now. I'm not 100% but Mystery Manor Downtown should be open this weekend. Heard a commercial on the radio.

If you're interested in outdoors stuff I know the Chamber of Commerce is starting to rent bikes to people. I'm not sure if it's started yet but the office for them is on 10th and Farnam. Assuming the bikes are available bike down along the river and over the Kerrey Bridge. It's an amazing bridge and has breat views of the city.

If you have any other questions or want to share more interests I could point you in a few other directions for things to do as well.

[Raphael07]

And in case you've never been here, expect more hills than you would think.

[TAB1452]

and a lot nicer/more cultured people then you hear about as well...Omaha is a great city...it has soo mcuh to offer and I've been living here 5 months now and I haven't seen a 10th of what I wanted to see and do so far...I would be one of the last to tell you what to do and where to go but I have a feeling you will enjoy your time here...enjoy everything the downtown has to offer...

[lsfleelee]

Originally Posted by DTO Luv

Thursday night go to Myth (11th and Howard) in the Old Market. My friend is the owner. It's a great place and great staff. My friend Brian (the owner, and not the blonde Brian) is very knowledgable on Omaha and he'll point you in the right direction. You could also spend the evening wandering the Old Market. Most places I would recommend to eat but the ones I would recommend to avoid are Spaghetti Works (it's more of a family feedbag), Twisted Fork (overpriced, undersized portions, boring food) and Upstream. Some people may brag up Upstream to you because it's local but compared to every other place in the Old Market to eat I would place it dead last. See the same comments about Twisted Fork x 2. One last place, while not in the Old Market it Rick's Cafe Boatyard on the river. It may look attractive and have a pretty setting but that place is god awful. I would take corporate clients to Taco Bell before Rick's. Don't be fooled.

Friday go to the Zoo. I'm sure your zoo is dandy but ours is consistantly rated by many standards the #1 or #2 zoo in the country. No offense but I've never heard of the Cincinnati zoo. Friday night repeat the Old Market for dinner and drinks. It's the place to be in Omaha on the weekends.

Saturday morning go to the Joslyn Art Museum (24th and Dodge) because it's free before noon.

I think the haunted houses are opening now. I'm not 100% but Mystery Manor Downtown should be open this weekend. Heard a commercial on the radio.

If you're interested in outdoors stuff I know the Chamber of Commerce is starting to rent bikes to people. I'm not sure if it's started yet but the office for them is on 10th and Farnam. Assuming the bikes are available bike down along the river and over the Kerrey Bridge. It's an amazing bridge and has breat views of the city.

If you have any other questions or want to share more interests I could point you in a few other directions for things to do as well.

Wow, thanks for the indepth reply, I do appreciate it very much. Well, Cincy zoo is highly rated, but doesn't surprise me that you haven't heard of it. Google highest rated zoos in America and our zoo is on the list or at least mentioned. Regardless, I have been hearing more and more good things about your zoo, particularly the "jungle" area. Sounds awesome.

I will put Myth down as a likely place to go on Thursday. And I will absolutely keep in mind the places you said NOT to go...that can sometimes be more valuable info.

We will definitely be putting a lot of focus on the Old Market...in fact, our hotel is either in or very near the area, so it won't be hard to fully immersify ourselves in it.

I will also check out the museum, bike rental, the bridge, and haunted house. Thanks again for your input!

Originally Posted by Go Ne

And in case you've never been here, expect more hills than you would think.

That's good to know. Coming from Cincinnati, we have quite a bit of hills here too. Unbeknownst to even locals, the glaciers never made it down this far, stopped about 30 miles north, so we are about the hilliest place in all of Ohio.

Originally Posted by TAB1452

and a lot nicer/more cultured people then you hear about as well...Omaha is a great city...it has soo mcuh to offer and I've been living here 5 months now and I haven't seen a 10th of what I wanted to see and do so far...I would be one of the last to tell you what to do and where to go but I have a feeling you will enjoy your time here...enjoy everything the downtown has to offer...

I have a very open mind and I would never discard any city for any reason. I come from a Midwest city (which I love) that gets a lot of disrespect in general and is viewed as boring and overall, lame. There is lots of culture here too, so I guess what I am getting at is, I trust your words and I am confident that Omaha is as great an American city as any. I figure I only have a couple days, I want to leave with lots of memories and be able to tell others that it's a great place.

[Raphael07]

What hotel area you in? Oh and on the hills again, I think I read somewhere that we are the second hilliest city in the country.

[lsfleelee]

We're staying in the Hilton Garden Inn...

Wow, 2nd hilliest eh? I love hills, so this should be cool to see.

[Omaha Rocks]

If you want nature & hills, head north. Go up the Expressway, then up 30th Street past I-680. Pershing Drive to Dodge Park is beautiful. Hummel Park is like a forest. And the whole Ponca Hills area is very rugged.

At any rate, it sounds like you have a fun weekend ahead of you. Enjoy Omaha!

[vpandora]

Do you like art galleries? Do you like free? If you are bumming around the Old Market area, even if you are not particularly into art, you might enjoy taking a look at some of our galleries. They are all very laid back and get all kinds of people going in to see. You don't have to be an art snob to appreciate at least some of the work you'll see.

Artists Cooperative Gallery - 405 S 11th Street. Its the building all covered in vines across from Con Agra. One of my favorites, especially since I'll be getting married there next weekend!

Hot Shops Art Gallery - 1301 Nicholas Street. Another favorite of mine. Not really in the Old Market, but behind the hotels that are close to the Qwest Center.

Bemis Center - 724 South 12th Street

Jackson Artworks - 1108 Jackson St

Old Market Artists Gallery - 1034 Howard St ... this gallery says they have openings the first friday of each month... that would be tomorrow! Gallery openings usually have free wine and munchies, (donations are very much appreciated, of course)

Passageway Gallery - 41417 S. 11th St. The Passageway is a nice area between two buildings that a glass roof was put over and turned into a neat little atrium. There are shops and a couple of restaraunts inside. If you go to the gallery in the passageway, even though the artwork may not be your thing (its kinda weird in my book) there is a neat little "Garden of the Zodiac" that is cool to see.

My favorite recommendations for food? If you like ice cream, eat at Ted and Wally's. Local place that makes homemade icecream in different flavors each day. There may be a line depending on the time you go (and maybe the weather) but it is worth it. Don't settle by going across the street to Maggie Moo's, a chain. The building is neat too.

If you have time to blow Saturday morning before noon, check out the Farmers Market. They sell local goods like jams, salsas, honey as well as produce. I was there last week and walked past a stand selling herbs and the smell of basil made me stop in my tracks, it was soooo good!

If you like Italian food, I am smitten with Nicola's. The menu is not as wide as some would like, as I was suprised that the pasta dishes all came with meatballs and maybe grilled chicken, and they did not have a classic lasagna or manicotti on the menu, but their marinara sauce is chunky and the absolute freshest I've ever tasted. I ordered an Arrabiatta sauce, which is a spicy marina, and to my suprise, they asked how hot on a scale of 1 to 5! I ordered a 3... next time I will order a 2, which I think will be just right spiciness without overwhelming the awesome taste of the marinara. And order their bruchetta. Its not "toast and salsa" like one of my friend's husband likes to call it. Its a slice of italian bread, crusty outside, soft inside, with a thinly sliced tomato and a drizzle of seasoned olive oil. Heavenly!

I hope you enjoy your time here! I find with an open mind you can find a lot of little things to enjoy during your stay.

[laserdisque]

We are not the 2nd hilliest city in the country. Not by a long shot. We have some gentle rises and bluffs, but no real hills. Check out places like Pittsburgh if youo want hills.