We had a lovely holiday by the ocean last week in Carmel. We stayed at a friend's gorgeous home, where Mr. Urban had close access to WIFI and my girl and I had close access to the beach, and everyone felt very happy.
We enjoy traveling to Carmel frequently, but staying there for five days really made us fall in love. Each day, a great succession to the previous day's lineup of spending time playing and relaxing at the beach, taking coffee breaks at one or the other great cafes, walking along Ocean Ave or one of the other equally cute side streets, and dining at one of the many, many fabulous restaurants (which by the way was impossible to get a table at, even at 3:00 pm!).
I have told you before of a favorite restaurant (or better said cafeteria) called Carmel Belle. Everything they make is a work of art and delicious too. They say that their offering is California's best artisanal cheeses, charcuterie and wine. I say, it is also great coffee and espresso drinks, country fresh breads, organic housemade jams, freshly picked fruits and herbs, and the best poached eggs I have ever had. Ever. And that is why for for five brunches we re-Belled!
One night we scored a table at a rustic French (and very romantic) restaurant, La Bicyclette. This restaurant is beautiful and charming, every inch of it meticulously designed with artistic woodwork and bottles and bottles of wine. Mr. Urban and I ordered from their set three course menu made up of the day's freshest ingredients they can find.
The first course was prosciutto with melon and olive oil, which was really good, but I was surprised at how little prosciutto was on the plate. Mr. Urban, ever the positive companion commented that any more prosciutto would have overwhelmed the palate.
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| Let's play a game of "Can you find the Prosciutto?" |
Next was a french lentil soup served at our table from a hot copper pot of soup....
By the time our last course, the main course, arrived, we were a little more focused on getting our girl home rather than the gorgeous filet mignon. Not only had it been a long day, but the next table with a couple trying to have a romantic dinner was placed way too close to us (for their comfort).
So after that, it was mostly about child-welcomed restaurants for dinners. A friend had recommended Dametra, a tiny Mediterranean restaurant where the owner sings and plays a six-string oud (something like a guitar). It was REALLY hard to get a table at this restaurant. They were fully booked, with no room for walk-ins. But we managed to get a tiny table at 3:00 pm on a Sunday, and the food was well worth the odd eating time, which some how wasn't even odd when you saw the entire restaurant packed and line of people outside the door.
A highlight of our trip was when friends of ours mentioned that they happen to be staying at the neighboring Monterey on that same weekend, and drove up to visit with us. We had a great time talking and laughing late into the night, closing a coffee shop down while our girl slept under a cozy blanket in her stroller.
On our last day, we found Carmel's Coffee and CoCo Bar. With eight flavors of coco, one awesome cappuccino and the best vanilla pound cake/coffee cake, it is a must try on every visit to Carmel.
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| Waiting for her minty coco to arrive. |
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