a short tour of Cleveland

We are visiting my mother in law in Cleveland and have the distinct pleasure of staying in her lovely 13th floor condo overlooking Lake Erie. She has a gorgeous view of sunrise from her bedroom and in the other direction you see this view of downtown Cleveland. In the short time we have been here we have seen spring come to full bloom, and more trees are leafing out each day. It is hard to imagine that just a few weeks ago the lake still had a skim of ice.
One day we took a scenic drive to Rocky River, a suburb of Cleveland and found a historic enclave of charming stores and galleries. My favorite of all was Devout Home, which was just my kind of store, full of devotional art from Latin America. I had a fun time chatting with the owner about a recent santos making class and she was very enthusiastic and interested.
From there we drove on the Valley Parkway, a lovely greenbelt that goes halfway around Cleveland along the river. It was a beautiful, sunny day and people we out fly fishing, jogging and walking their dogs. It felt very springlike.
Yesterday my sister-in-law took me on a drive through Lakeview Cemetery to see the drifts of daffodils and redbud trees. There is also a beautiful small chapel built in 1902 with Tiffany windows and detailed tile murals. A true hidden gem in Cleveland. Thanks, Karen! I would have never found this on my own.
Another happy find during our drives was Rosati's Frozen Custard. This may not be featured in the guide books of Cleveland (are there any?) but we had the most delicious frozen custard at this classic stand. You just don't find these places so often in Oregon.
I ended the day yesterday at Museum Circle where there is a collection of fine museums, the gem of them all in the free Cleveland Art Museum which was featuring a great collection of Native American Art, and of course many many masters. How is it that I have never been here before? From there I walked across to the Botanical Garden, housing a large glass house and a magnificent collection of live butterflies that swooped and dove around me. I manged to capture a few in photos. The birds were happy, too and the whole experience brought me right back to the tropics.

So there you have my quick guide to some of Cleveland's Best! There are now lots of good restaurants, too, but that is another story.