From Yosemite we made our way down the coast to the beautiful Monterey. We stayed in a lovely hotel right on Cannery Row. Our first stop in this beach side town, was to visit their famous aquarium. I always love a visit to an aquarium, and this visit did not disappoint!
"In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous."
- Aristotle -
Jelly fish are always one of my favorite parts of any aquarium.
I find them endlessly fascinating.
I have never seen a nautilus in real life!!! I was so excited!! I wrote my college thesis on nautilus cups from dutch still lives in the 17th century, so I have done tons of research on these amazing creatures. I am completely fascinated by their shells, and actually bought one earlier on this trip on pier 39 in San Fransisco. There were TONS of them in this exhibit.
After our close encounters with the creatures from the deep, we headed back to our wonderful hotel for a nap and to get ready for tonights dinner at the famous Sardine Factory!
Don't let the name fool you, this is a fancy restaurant that serves AMAZING food! And they are super accommodating to gluten free people like me! I got a sea food fetticini that was to die for! Their presentations are gorgeous.
While scanning the dessert menu, I noticed that next to the ice cream pops, it had Dramatic Presentation, in parenthesis. I. Could. Not. Resist. I HAD to know what the dramatic presentation entailed.
It did not disappoint
The server paused outside our dinning room to prepare. The platter had a bowl full of dry ice underneath the small serving plate with the chocolate covered ice cream pops on it. Our server poured water on it as he entered the room, the entire room filled with smoke as he walked to our table. As he placed our dessert down in front of us, we were instantly enveloped in the cool smoke. It was so much fun! And definitely a memorable evening.
After our exciting meal, we went to take a peek at the other dinning rooms in the restaurant. It is a huge establishment, and every room is decorated completely different. Pictured above is the lavishly decorated bathrooms, they were gorgeous!
So fun to remember this pleasant day by the coast, and the fabulous dinner at the Sardine Factory, long a favorite of ours. It has only gotten better and better over the years. Your sea life pictures were lovely.
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