Carmel By The Sea

M's short film was an official selection of the Carmel Art & Film Festival (and was in the best of shorts block)  so we decided to make a long weekend of it and head up the road to Carmel.  Here we are at the festival.

If you are ever in Carmel, I would recommend going during the festival.  It is really chill, not pretentious in the least, and it just adds a lot of additional things to do while you are there.  Other than M's film we saw Amour and The Sessions.  These are two adult films worth seeing if they ever play in your area and, if not, I am sure you will be able get them from Netflix later. 

Other than the festival we spent some much needed time at the beach.  If you walk straight down Ocean Street in Carmel it leads to a lovely beach that we discovered on our second day there.

We also ate at some charming restaurants while we were there, and I would recommend them all if you are looking for a place to eat in the area.  But alas, I do not want this post to be too long so I will just write about my favorite, Le Bicyclette.  (We also ate at Cassanova, The Trailside Cafe and Coffee House, Massaro and Santos)

This was my number one meal of the trip, and yes it was a ham and cheese sandwich or a croque-monsieur. To die for! The cheese was so good.  I paired mine with a sparkling wine which was perfect.

M got the salmon salad which was also good, but not as good as mine.

The other food on the menu also looked good:

 

But we saved the best for last -- a pumpkin creme brulee with a raspberry caviar and scone.  And best of all...it was served in a pumpkin. 

  And you can't leave Carmel without doing some wine tasting:

 

Next, we headed out on the 17 mile drive which is a windy road that takes you along Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove.  On this ride you will see beautiful views of the ocean intermixed with golfers. 

 

Okay . . . so far .  . . so good, but really the best part of our trip was the drive home.  The drive from Carmel to San Simeon on the PCH is probably the most beautiful drive I have ever taken. I took most of the pictures below from our car while we were driving . . . so the pictures do not give the drive justice, but at least you will get the idea.

 

 

About an hour or two after you leave Carmel, you will see a big sign for Nepenthe.  This is a great place to stop and have lunch.  The food is good, but the view is absolutely great.  You literally sit up at treat level and look over the ocean.  It opens at 11:30 a.m., and it fills up fast so try and get there early.

 

 

 

A few more hours down the road, right before you reach San Simeon, there is a beach that you can't miss where hundreds of Elephant Seals hang out part of the year.

 

 

 

Last, but not least, Hearst Castle is a must stop if you are driving down the PCH.  (Be sure to book your reservations on line before you make the trip.)

 

I could do this trip over and over again...there is just so much to do, eat and see.  I am hoping M and I can make this trip an annual event.

Ms. W.

 

Oh and I almost forgot to post my favorite picture from the weekend.

 

 

A Lazy Daisy Sunday

Sunday . . . Is usually the day of the week I dislike the most.  Why?  Because by Sunday morning, it feels like Monday morning is looming, but I have to say today was one of those Sundays I could do over and over again.

For Christmas last year M's mom got M a season membership to the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens so today we thought we would spend the day tooling around in Pasadena/San Marino. 

We started our day off with lunch, which in my opinion, is the best meal to start a Sunday off with.  We went to Abricott, which is a lovely Asian eclectic cafe I tried a few months ago with a friend. 

We had Pho -- a Vietnamese noodle soup with brisket, cilantro, basil, and lime -- and Banh Mi sandwich -- marinated pork belly with lightly pickled cucumbers.  Sounds amazing, am I right?  And, yes it so was.

I apologize about these pictures, but I didn't want to use my big nice camera at the restaurant  (thought it may be a little obnoxious).

Anyway, so after lunch we went to Huntington, and here are some shots from our wonderful day :)

The rose garden

The mansion, which is now the art gallary..

The Japanese Gardens -- happy to say, fully restored after the wind storm last year.

 

Have a wonderful Monday!

 

Ms. W.