We broke up our 13.5 hour drive from Glen Cove NY (Long Island) to Chicago with a perfectly serviceable overnight just west of downtown Cleveland near Lake Erie.
As we were driving past large lakefront homes along Lake Road (route 6) in/around Avon Lake, Ohio (searching for an indie bakery that turned out to be too indie, located in private home in a residential neighborhood), we wondered if we were in Taylor and Travis’s new neighborhood but turns out Bratenahl is east of downtown.
Not Paris.
The courtyard by Marriott Cleveland Westlake is conveniently located off Interstate 90, quiet, clean, bland, inexpensive ($128) — no breakfast included so we ended up at Paris Baguette, a chain with, again, serviceable fare and a view of a Menard’s across a pancake-flat road. (The long baguette was excellent; pastries, yes, serviceable.)
Dinner was at Banana Blossom Thai, again serviceable fare, in a slightly gritty Cleveland neighborhood (with character including a disheveled person who panhandled tables vs. the bland suburban/exurban strip with our hotel and bakery cafe).
Our drive from NYC on a Sunday midday was easy, with only a little congestion around the George Washington bridge over the beautiful Hudson River. Some day I may drive through the Pennsylvania mountains along Interstate80 without rain and fog but that day has not come.
Back in sea cliff
The leaves were changing, entertaining us with fiery reds, oranges and yellows. We stopped for apples (honey crisps) outside of Bloomsburg, Pa. at a do-it-yourself veg and fruit stand (after finding the nearby OHF orchards a pick-your-own option only. (No time for picking. Just passing through.)
I didn’t give this segment of the trip my usual careful attention since we were just passing through, with a one-night stop. And it showed. Our Airbnb was in a “historical” (read “transitional” or “iffy”) neighborhood in western Cleveland (may have been Ohio City), with houses in various stages of disrepair or repair. Ours looked like a mess from the outside (which explains why there were only interior photos on the Airbnb listing).
Inside it was nicer and clean but still had a musty old smell. The decor was shabby chic teetering on shabby. The bed and pillows were predictably soft. The blinds were off-white verging on dirty white, and closed, presumably so we didn’t see the very transitional wooden deck. Now I will have to decide what to do about my Airbnb review. I don’t like to give bad reviews because often the hosts depend on their Airbnb for income and they are well-intended. But the flip side is I feel a responsibility to future Airbnb customers to give them a heads up if a place isn’t so great. It doesn’t help that these hosts overtly requested a 5 star review, mentioning this in their directions by inviting us to text if we need anything (and presumably find something lacking). What I may do is offer faint public praise and mention the soft bed (since I would want to know this …) and then offer constructive criticism/suggestions in private comments to the host.
As for stars, I cannot give it 5. That was our DC Airbnb, which cost twice as much as the Cleveland one, had a great bed and everything else.
Our 5-star Airbnb in DC
We drove around Cleveland a bit, trying to find a way to park quickly and affordably so we could pop inside old buildings to see some of the gorgeous-looking shopping arcades, inspired by arcades in Milan, but I refused to pay $7.50 per 15 minutes. I also would have liked to look closer at some of the stately old buildings and park monuments. (Several are mentioned in this sort of stale travel story: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/06/29/travel/what-to-do-36-hours-cleveland.html)
We also went to the much touted (by NYT travel writer) Gordon Square Arts District/Detroit Shoreway but this seemed outdated or aspirational. Didn’t help that the few shops we found were closed on a Monday. The pandemic may also have done its damage.
To get our bearings, we did a quick drive by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Flats, Little Italy and the Case Western Campus. We found some cool ethic-themed gardens along MLKing Parkway that I learned are known as The Cleveland Cultural Gardens. Dating back to 1916, the 33 separate gardens are each designed and tended by a particular cultural or nationality group. I’d like to return and explore on bike and foot.
I don’t know why Cleveland’s lakefront is so less noticeable or seemingly less people-friendly than Chicago’s and Milwaukee’s. (Too industrial?)
We did pop into the famously atmospheric West Side Market, just before it closed at 5 pm (and we discovered wouldn’t reopen until Wednesday. Oops.) Dinner was nearby at a trendy Mexican place Avo (as in avocado). Good service. Food okay. The best things were the margarita and the carne asada grilled meat. It was too cold to eat outside so we requested a socially-distanced table which worked well. The place wasn’t too crowded.
For my neighbors who are heading to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (BRUCE!!!) over spring break, here are a few finds in Cleveland:
– West Side Market (1979 West 25th Street; 216-664-3387; www.westsidemarket.com) – cavernous old indoor market made of yellow brick (as I recall) and dozens of stands selling good stuff – meat, cheese, middle eastern food, sweets. It’s not THAT far from the RR Hall of Fame, downtown. It’s a National Historic Landmark to boot.
– Guarino’s, an old-fashioned southern Italian restaurant in Cleveland’s little Italy – There are hipper places but nothing older, apparently. This is Cleveland’s oldest restaurant – opened in 1918 – and has an old world feel, and a mean red-sauce. http://www.guarinoscleveland.com/
– Little Italy isn’t far from Case Western, which we visited briefly to see the Frank Gehry building on campus. (also worth a drive by.)
