Downtown Carmel

The next day we had a relaxing morning at the house. V and Beth did some painting together.

V and I took lots of silly pics together.

Then we all headed to the Tuck Box for brunch, one our family's all time favorite places in Carmel. This charming restaurant was built in the 1920s and then was taken over by a couple of English ladies int the 1940s who turned it into an english tea room, many of their delicious British tea recipes are still in use today. 

The Tuck box is itty bitty, our party of 10 took up the majority of the indoor dining area.

We all ordered hot chocolate which was delivered in varying, unique tea pots.

The Tuck Box is most well known for their buttery, toasted scones which are served with raspberry jam, orange marmalade and whipped cream. They are heavenly.

After brunch, we set out to stroll through the charming streets of downtown Carmel. There are tons of art galleries, antique shops, cafes, clothing boutiques, and fun, little novelty shops to stroll through, it is the most delightful city.

This is a well known Spanish Mission that is just a 5 minute drive from our Air bnb, we made a stop there before heading to the airport the day we left, pictures from our visit are coming in the next post.

I ended up taking the charming oil painting of the Tuck Box home. I love collecting art that has sentimental value to it.

It hangs in my home just below a picture of a carousel in Florence, Italy that I would pass by all the time on my study abroad. We would pass by it on our way to the movie theater, and I have pictures of me and my friends riding that exact carousel. 

So these two paintings are of two of my favorite places in the world, and I have very happy memories at both.

We were all fascinated by this gorgeous Macaw that was sitting outside an antique store, his feathers were so vibrant.

I loved the sweet bond he has with his owner.

The Macaw's antique shop was stunning. It was a labyrinth of treasures from Asia.

One of my Mom's favorite art galleries.

We were all enchanted with the White Rabbit shop that sold mostly vintage Alice in Wonderland items.

Next, we made a stop at the Cottage of Sweets

I love these little Turkish Delights, I can only find them at novelty candy shops.

We sat for a little while to people and dog watch, I have never seen so many dogs! 

We tried to pet as many of the dogs as we could.

Vienne absolutely adores Jenny, they have such a cute relationship, Jenny is constantly making V laugh.

For dinner that night, we ate at Tarpy's Roadhouse, a steak house that serves southern comfort food. The building doesn't match the vibe of the restaurant, it has gorgeous patios overgrown with beautiful vines and flowers.

We celebrated Karin's birthday tonight! Happy 40th Kare Bear! You don't look a day over 25

Bethy gave Karin a really sweet present, a photo album of Karin when she was a little girl. There were several pictures from when Mom and Dad brought Karin to Carmel as a baby.

We were met with the most gorgeous sunset when we walked out of the restaurant. My mom always calls this kind of sunset, sky-blue pink a term she got from her dad.

When we got back to the house, we brought out our Turkish Delight and Baklava we had bought yesterday and had a fun taste test. 

All of the flavors were delicious, but the two everyone liked the best were the currant pistachio and rose hip.