Girls just want to have fun in Cleveland the best kept secret!

[caption id="attachment_1574" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Me and the girls[/caption]

Yes, girls do want to have fun, especially this girl (Carol Ann), for it's another of my wonderful Country Inn Days. (Hurray!)

I could call this particular  Country Inn Day an "Adventure Day" for I traveled  far across the city of Cleveland to parts unknown to me.  I headed for West 65th Street and a restaurant known as Stone Madd.

[caption id="attachment_1602" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Stone Madd[/caption]

It's here I met up with a band of merry girlfriends, girls who want to have fun and girls who manage fun quite regularly.  Everyone should have a band of merry girlfriends.  Do you?

Stone Madd is owned and operated by people who came straight from Ireland, so I consulted my friend Olive  who was born and raised in Ireland too, for though it seemed obvious the owners were mad about stone from the  look of the stone tables and benches, and the

   stone arches,

and stone flower boxes,

and the massive stone fountain,

I suspected there was more to the name stone madd than that, and I was right!  Olive explained stone madd is an old Irish expression.  Her father used it often to describe a person who was acting really crazy. (example:  "Kathleen, your behavior is wild and peculiar.  I think you've gone stone madd."

Since the day was lovely my friends and I enjoyed dining outside, but we did peek inside to admire the dark wood of the bar and  the various dining rooms.  There were a few dining rooms.

Here's just one of those dining rooms

We were all impressed with the attention to detail given to this establishment.  From the shamrocks in the windows to the Gaelic words mounted in the sidewalk at the  entrance door.  Olive translated those words for me.  The words mean

A hundred thousand welcomes

I wonder how many people pass through the front door never realizing what those words are saying to them.  It's details like this that make a place special and worthy of my business.

There's more too.  Take a look at the decorative gate.

Something tells me there are some Gaelic symbols woven into this design.

And you wouldn't believe the gorgeous tile work in the rest rooms.  Here are just a few images.

Entire walls of the restrooms are filled with hundreds of these tiny tiles creating a most beautiful and artful space.  I don't know about you, but I'd rather frequent establishments that go this extra mile creating ambiance for their patrons.

Everything from the flower and ivy-filled walls around the parking lot

to our friendly and fun waiter, Travis, (seen here with one of the girls)

made our time at Stone Madd most enjoyable.  And did I mention the food?  It was delicious and quite snazzy.  Cleveland is becoming famous for its many fine chefs and restaurants.  I should have taken some pictures of our food, but we were all too anxious to eat it up!

We talked.  We laughed.  We hugged.  We ate.  We drank.  We explored.  We girls had a ball together and it was another great Country Inn Day for me.

On my way home I drove through a bit of downtown Cleveland and enjoyed a few glimpses of the city.  I would've shown you more, but it's not easy taking  pictures while driving.  Luckily I had a few red lights.

You know, Cleveland gets a lot of bad press, but we like that because Cleveland has much to offer and is a great place to live.  If too many people realize this they'll all start moving in and crowding us out!  Take a peek at my city.

So ---  when it came to naming this post I couldn't decide.  Should I call it Girls just want to have fun (for we do) or Cleveland the best kept secret (for it is)?  Finally,  after much deliberation, I decided on calling it Girls just want to have fun in Cleveland the best kept secret!

Hope you're having fun too