Fort Wayne Women: According to Laura Allan, a writer for the Movoto Real Estate website, Fort Wayne has been ranked as the 5th most boring (big) city in America. So, we set out to prove otherwise.

Fort Wayne was ranked as the 5th most boring city in America in an article on Motovo.com, a real estate brokerage that provides customers with tools and information on top agents, listings, and various cities. The 2014 article admitted that Fort Wayne "does have a ton of festivals and some really decent minor league sports...[b]ut once you're sick of those, there aren't many alternatives." And because we love Fort Wayne and all that it has to offer, we set out to prove otherwise. Here are some of the awesome people and places we found:

• We had lunch at Fortezza Coffee, a new and unique dining option right across the street from Pint n’ Slice. The food was great, and the iced vanilla lattes were some of the best we’ve ever had. Not to mention our seats from the window bar provided us with a great view of downtown Fort Wayne.
• As we were strolling down West Wayne Street, we discovered Emily’s Haute Cottage, a boutique full of re-purposed home décor and unique homemade gifts, all from local artists!
• Just down the street from Emiley’s, we visited Castle Gallery, one of the most historic buildings of downtown Fort Wayne. Current homeowners Jody Hemphill and Mark Paul Smith have turned their home into an art gallery which features local artists.
• Creative Women of the World is a woman-owned local business that is dedicated to inspiring creative business and marketing solutions for women around the world who are seeking to rise out of extreme poverty or very unfortunate situations. These women, from all over the world, are trained by these Fort Wayne ladies to perfect a craft which is then sold at the Creative Women of the World Store Front. The proceeds from each purchase then go back to aiding these women around the world.

The hardworking, passionate women that we met is really what amazed us the most about our day out. Emily at Emily’s Haute Cottage shared her inspiring story of gathering enough courage to open her store after losing her job a few years ago. At Castle Gallery, Jody welcomed us cheerfully into her home and gave us a full tour, sharing life stories and the intense restoration process from when they first purchased the place. And at Creative Women of the World, we were greeted with excitement and given the tour along with the touching stories behind each product. We left downtown feeling inspired and convinced that the list of most boring cities is nothing to take seriously. It just goes to show that it is important to remember not to judge a book by its cover.