Monday, January 3, 2022

A Winter Day in Carmel

On a mild winter day, Inna and I decided to enjoy our last day of Christmas vacation by visiting Carmel-by-the-Sea. Traffic was relatively light since it was Monday, January 3rd, and we arrived in Carmel at about 12:20.


On the way there, Inna made lunch reservations at Stationaery, one of our favorite lunch bistros (for 13:00.) Having arrived a bit early, we parked the minivan on Dolores Street and walked downhill to the ocean. Although it was winter, the beach was crammed with people and countless dogs running around and chasing each other.


Since we didn't have time to enjoy many of the numerous art galleries, we returned to Stationaery for lunch and revisited the art galleries afterward.


At Stationery, we were seated indoors (for the first time) and ordered the following items:

  • Boris: Mocha, Burger (medium) with potato salad
  • Inna: Seasonal Latte, Chef's Breakfast plate

Since I played tennis in the morning, I was hungry and ordered a Burger. It was delicious! Inna also liked her Chef's Breakfast plate.


After breakfast, we stopped by a few galleries and walked to the beach. Once we reached the beach, we walked along the path southward to Mara Beach. Along the shore, we enjoyed looking at the beautiful homes (some still had Christmas decorations) and at multiple people walking their dogs.


Since Inna wanted to explore some of the countless boutiques and shops, we stopped by a Cafe (where I could rest) while Inna looked around. Unfortunately, all the coffee shops were closed (by 16:30), so I sat down in a courtyard while Inna explored.


At around 16:50, she returned, and we ate dinner at La Bicyclette. After checking in, we were seated outdoors, next to an excellent heater, while we looked at the menu. We ended up ordering the following items:

  • Share: Salade Hiver (Winter Salad), Pains du Jour (Bread), Champignons Pizza (Mushroom)
  • Boris: English Breakfast Tea, 
  • Inna: Soup du Jour (Mushroom), Earl Gray Tea
  • Dessert: Profiteroles

We really enjoyed our dinner, especially the Salad Hiver and Champignons Pizza. The Profiteroles were also delicious. 


After dinner, we returned home via US-101, as it was a few minutes faster than US-17.

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