Hey, Raleigh. If you haven't heard yet, our sister newsletter CLTtoday just launched. The City of Oaks will always have our hearts, but it's fun to visit our NC neighbors. To share the good news, we took a day trip via an easy Amtrak ride to explore the Queen City and meet the City Editors behind CLTtoday.

City Editors Allie + Cat boarded the Carolinian/Piedmont train to Charlotte and had a train-quil time riding the rails through NC. The boarding process was easy, and the train was comfortable and wide open with great views of NC flying past us.

We got a peek at Charlotte's skyline while pulling into the Amtrak station. | Photo by RALtoday

The ride clocked in at just three hours, not too much longer than a car ride and with none of the traffic, gas, and parking woes. We even prepared a newsletter right from our seats with complimentary on-board internet and refreshments.

Now, meet City Editors Jack and Maria. These two are serious CLT experts, and Jack took us through the city to some of his favorite spots that we think you'll like too.

We loved the vibes of Not Just Coffee to get some work done and chat with our new coworker. | Photo by RALtoday

We started the day at Not Just Coffee, a hip spot that made a big city like Charlotte feel a bit smaller. We loved the quiche, baked goods, and of course, the house-roasted coffee.

For lunch, we headed over to Suffolk Punch in South End and munched on upscale tacos and flatbreads and sipped quality brews + seltzers with a view of the light rail into Uptown.

We loved the food — and rustic vibe — at Suffolk Punch. | Photo by RALtoday

Before we headed back to the 919, we ended our day with a sightseeing trip through Uptown, also called Center City — don't let a local hear you call it downtown — to see Bank of America Stadium, home of the Panthers and Charlotte FC, and Truist Field, home to the minor league Knights.

The City of Oaks will always have our hearts — but we can admit the Queen City has got some cool stuff, too. Subscribe to the CLTtoday newsletter (launching today) and keep up with the happenings in both cities, including local businesses featured on the new season of “Love is Blind,” filmed in Charlotte's Uptown.