Salt Lake City, Utah

How many of you are window seat travelers? If I don’t get a window seat, I am usually pretty petulant during the flight as a result. It may seem strange, but some of my favorite trip memories are getting that first astonishing glimpse at the place you’re visiting.

I could spend (and have spent) hours watching landscapes change through a plane’s window. In fact, books are completely wasted on me during flights because I spend the whole time glued to the window. It’s such a grounding experience that gives you such a strong sense of where you’re headed. Ireland is bright green, dotted with farm animals and stone ruins; Phoenix looks hot, with red rocks and blistering orange deserts; Madrid is rows and rows and rows of olive trees, then finally, la ciudad; Seattle is a pack of clouds penetrated by a snowy, blindingly-white mountain peak; and Memphis, my hometown, is the familiar “M” bridge with the muddy Mississippi River snaking underneath.

I had a window seat on our evening flight from Nashville to Salt Lake City, and I was naïve enough to hope that I’d be able to watch the Rocky Mountains pass beneath us. A gloomy, rainy darkness settled in immediately, however, and all I could see was my own disappointed reflection in the window.

But as we descended into Salt Lake, something beautiful happened: a flurry of snow whipped past the plane, and suddenly we were surrounded by white flakes illuminated by the plane’s lights.  

Snow ushered us into Salt Lake City, and snow ushered us out. During our four-day trip to visit some of our dearest and sweetest friends, Matt and I, accustomed to balmy Southern winters, fell in love with a new climate.

Our friends live in Saratoga Springs, which is about an hour south of Salt Lake City, and they were amazing hosts, keen on showing us a great time.

On our first morning in Utah, Matt and I woke up to a sight we rarely get to see: snow-covered mountains. Our friends live on Utah Lake, which is bordered by the Wasatch Mountains.

We took a hundred pictures from our bedroom window and then took a trip to the lakefront for a hundred more pictures while we skipped rocks. 

The day was mild and we stopped at Cafe Rio for lunch. Even though this was during the Romaine lettuce scare, I braved a salad and was absolutely not disappointed. After lunch, we stopped for cakebites at Sweet Tooth Fairy. I got mint chocolate, gingerbread, birthday cake, and salted caramel!

In the spirit of Christmas, we then stopped at the Festival of Trees to look at amazing gingerbread houses and trees and hear children singing Christmas carols.

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At night, we took to Salt Lake City, where we chose an adventurous restaurant: Zest Kitchen & Bar. We didn’t research beforehand, so we were very surprised to learn, upon being seated, that Zest is a vegan restaurant! As an aspiring vegetarian, I was thrilled; Matt wasn’t so pleased. Nonetheless, we really enjoyed a feast of jalapeño poppers made with cashew quinoa, miso ramen with beet kimchi, a Moroccan chickpea stew with apricots, turmeric, and veggies, and a coconut curry with forbidden black rice. It was absolutely delicious, and I think even Matt was convinced that vegan food can be amazing.

When we walked outside after dinner, the sky opened up and showered us with soft, white snow. Even though it soaked through our clothes, we were thrilled.

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A quick cab ride took us to Historic Temple Square, the site of the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints (Mormons).

Temple Square extends across thirty-five acres, encompassing the temple, the tabernacle, an assembly hall, the visitor’s center, and a pedestrian plaza boasting a reflecting pool.

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At the northwest end of this city block sits the Conference Center, which, as one of the largest auditoriums ever built, holds 21,000 seats.

During our visit in late November, the plaza outside the Temple was decorated for Christmas, with a realistic, interactive Nativity Scene and rows and rows of trees dancing with string lights of different, dazzling colors (my friend and I were excited to see pink string lights represented!)

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Because the Temple is regarded as sacred, tours are not allowed; however, we did step inside the visitor’s center for an unguided tour of the history of Temple Square and gazed in awe at a majestic statue of Christ surrounded by a mural of the swirling galaxies.

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For a view of the entire campus, we climbed to the rooftop deck of the Conference Center and took in the city below, listening as our friends pointed out important and historic buildings.

The snow continued to follow us for the rest of our trip, which took us to Park City for a day of sledding, shopping, and Olympic-history-learning!