Breakfast/Brunch – Page 7

Road Trip – Jean Pierre Bakery & Wine Bar (Durango), Kakawa Chocolate House, and the “Miraculous Staircase” of the Lorreto Chapel (Santa Fe)

February 18, 2023 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Chocolate, Colorado, New Mexico, Road Trip, Santa Fe/Taos, New Mexico, Travel

We headed out from Mesa Verde fairly early in the morning. It would be almost a five hour drive to our next destination, Santa Fe. The Missus enjoyed the drive on the 160 East thru the greenery. There was hardly any traffic on this, a mellow Sunday morning. I had heard some nice things about the town of Durango and I'd read about a nice bakery-breakfast spot in there, so we decided to stop.

We found street parking and walked over to Jean Pierre Bakery, which was doing some good business on this day.

The front area holds a bakery, while there's a restaurant area to the side. And on this morning, a piano player was in attendance.

After a quick discussion we decided to relax and dine in as most of the folks were taking pastries to go and the dining area was empty.

The service was friendly and we got our caffeine fix and shared a nice, refreshing Melon Bowl.

It was a pleasant stop and we'd eat here again if in the area. And we saw Jean Pierre walk to the dining area and engage in a lively conversation with another gentleman……in full on French. The Missus and I loved it!

I'll be sure to try the croissants next time!

Jean Pierre Bakery & Wine Bar
601 Main Ave.
Durango, CO 81301

After breakfast, the Missus and I decided to take a little stroll around town.

There's a definite outdoorsy – "old west" vibe to the town.

Durango is also known as the starting point for the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. And folks were picking up their package lunches at the depot and boarding the train as we walked pass.

You know me and trains, right? This might be something we'll want to do in the near future.

We headed across the tracks and spent a bit of time exploring the D&S Rail Road Museum.

I'm sure we'll be back this way one day.

From Durango, we headed down the 550, passing thru towns with names like Aztec and Cuba, until we got to Albuquerque, where we swung up Highway 25 into Santa Fe. We were a bit early for check-in, so we made a stop at a place on our "list"; Kakawa Chocolate House.

Man, this place was quite busy. The lines did move quickly though. The Missus bought some chocolates and a couple of bags of "elixirs" and we headed on out.

The folks did a really nice job of packing things and even marked the box so the Missus would know what She's trying.

Kakawa Chocolate House
1300 Rufina Circle A4
Santa Fe, NM 87507

And while the chocolates were pretty good; we had them after checking in at our hotel. It was the elixirs that we really enjoyed after returning home.

While we had arrived too early to check-in at the Inn of the Governors, the nice staff told us that we could park and explore. One of the reasons I had chosen the hotel was the location and free parking.

There was one place I wanted to see right away, the Loretto Chapel. The Missus didn't understand why I was so interested in visiting this church until She saw it.

Apparently, She had seen an an Episode of Unsolved Mysteries about the chapel.

Well, to be more specific; it's about the staircase in the chapel. The construction of the Lorreto Chapel was completed in 1878. Unfortunately, due to some weird "oversight", there was no way to reach the choir loft which was 22 feet above. After many consultations the Sisters of Loretto were told that the only way to access the choir loft would be by ladder as a staircase would interfere with the design of the chapel. At wits end, the Sisters started praying to the Patron Saint of Carpenters, Saint Joseph. On the ninth, and last day of prayer a stranger appeared on a donkey with a toolbox! He started work on the staircase and months later it was finished. The man then promptly disappeared without requesting to be paid, never to be seen again.

The Sisters tried to find the mystery man, even placing an add in the newspaper to no avail. And that is just one of the mysteries of the staircase. To quote Atlas Obscura:

"When the Sisters and others examined the stairs, they were shocked to see it was apparently holding itself up with no supports and was made of a non-native wood which they didn’t know how or where the stranger had acquired. To top it off, the staircase, which was made with no nails, had exactly 33 stairs. (In the bible, 33 was the age at which Jesus was crucified.)"

"The twenty-foot-tall, tightly wound stairs make two full 360-degree revolutions, and indeed have no central support."

The outer railing was added 10 years after the staircase was built.

We love stories like this! And whatever the case may be, it was fun visiting the Lorreto Chapel.

Thanks for stopping by!

Oaxaca – Barrio Xochimilco and Chepiche Cafe

January 29, 2023 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Mexico, Oaxaca, Travel

We had enjoyed exploring Jalatlaco so much, that we decided the morning of our last full day in Oaxaca checking out the oldest neighborhood Xochimilco, which was founded in 1486. We started at the Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán area and headed North.

Passing what had now become some pretty familiar sites like Xochimilco Aqueduct. From here we headed North on Rufino Tamayo.

To say that the street art was amazing is an understatement.

Things were very relaxed and quiet; even more so after we crossed the highway and the street became Calle José López Alavez . But things were no less colorful.

It was non-stop colors and textures…

By now we were getting a bit hungry. I had a place on my list close by called Chepiche Cafe. Tucked away on a side street, with an unassuming street facing storefront, you head thru a gate and then down some stairs and get to the lively, lovely courtyard dining area.

We were seated, the place had a definite modern, almost hipster vibe to it. Service was friendly and professional.

The Missus got some hot chocolate, which was kind of weak and watered down.

Our meals at Boulenc had gotten the Missus to focus in on Avocado Toast, which is what She ordered ($75/MX – $3.90/US).

This was fine though nowhere as refined and tasty as the version at Boulenc. You can't beat the creamy, almost sweet avocados in Mexico. The toast was a bit on the burnt side and the Missus needed more salt for this, but it did the job.

Still being fixated on Hoya Santa, I ordered the La Santa ($105/MX – $5.50/US). Man, this was much more food than I expected.

In some ways this really represented the neighborhood, bright colors and varying textures. The poached eggs were cooked to perfection, just wonderfully runny, with no off flavors. I really got to appreciate the peppery-minty-anise tones of hoya santa. The hoya santa rellena was filled with mildly milky and sharp queso menonita and even more tasty beans. Didn't care much for the "salsa" which was watery and weak. The plantains was an interesting addition, though perhaps it made things a bit too sweet for me.

Overall a decent brunch and no complaints about the portions or prices.

Chepiche Cafe
Genaro Vásquez 6 A
Barrio de Xochimilco, 68040 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico

We enjoyed the splashes of color as we headed back to Centro.

For some reason, on the way to the hotel we decided to drop back in at a ceramic shop we'd visited earlier. As I mentioned in an earlier post, they didn't have anything the Missus wanted. All the items She saw was awaiting sale to businesses. When we returned however, the young lady remembered us and took us into a room. Apparently when they create works for various restaurants and such, they make extras, and the Missus found some cups She liked for hot chocolate.

Such thoughtful service!

Tierra Quemada
Labastida 115
Centro, 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico

From here we walked back to the hotel to escape from the afternoon heat.

It seems that even the street dogs are mellow and follow their own "code of conduct" here.

We stopped by the location of Mayordomo to get some chocolate to take home before relaxing back in our room.

There was something special about Oaxaca….the food, the colors, the sounds, and most of all the wonderful people.

Montpellier – Café Bun, Jardin des Plantes de Montpellier, and Brunch at Le Guru

January 6, 2023 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, Croissants, France, Toulouse, Montpellier, Carcassonne, and Occitania, Travel

We'd had a wonderful afternoon and a amazing dinner the previous day. So we were excited to see what surprises Montpellier had in store for us on this day.

It was a bright and sunny morning as we headed out to do some exploring.

And so we headed out to get our caffeine fix from a place I had on my "list" heading thru Place de la Comédie (of course).

Remember I mentioned that there always seemed to be something going on in Montpellier. Well, we noticed part of the square was blocked off. Specifically the street we were headed down, Rue des Étuves. Soon enough it became clear what was happening. There was a Cancer Run going on.

The sign says "La Courstache", which I believe means "the course", but we also noticed some of the folks had drawn moustaches on themselves…..so I'm thinking there's some funny "pun" in the works here.

Meanwhile, the runners were being cheered on from the folks sitting at the cafes.

Right past the Opera House was our destination, Café Bun.

The place was buzzing! The Missus got some kind of special roast and I got an Americano, which was quite good.

The croissant though, was not. It lacked butter, wasn't flaky and crisp, and was too doughy.

And one interesting fellow kept trying to converse with us in several languages. I spoke back in English and he looked surprised, but we had a nice little chat. Then I noticed the gentleman in the business next door could not open his front gate. A bicycle had locked itself to the gate and in the process locked the two sliding pieces together. I walked over to help. Of course the gentleman thought it was my bike, but I made it clear it wasn't. I helped him get to the point where he could squeeze himself onto the street. He then went to the café, but it wasn't anyone from there. He then started ringing up all the apartments across the street. And guess what? He got his man and was able to open his shop. It was quite an interesting morning so far.

Café Bun
5 rue des Etuves
34000 Montpellier, France

When the Missus and I did have a few minutes to chat during our coffee, I opened up the map and we came up with an outline of where we'd be walking this morning.

So, we crossed back on Place de la Comédie and I took another photo of the interesting building we were staying in.

I sent a copy of it to Cathy who replied in what I think is the quintessential Californian response; "Earthquake"!

We veered left and headed North thru Esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle a wonderful green space with restaurants, cafes, and lots of family friendly things to do.

After passing the park we took a left and went strolling thru the Ecusson (the old city).

And passed some lovely squares.

Winding our way until we came across the impressive Cathedral Saint-Pierre a massive structure.

We checked to see if the place was open, but it was not. I'd later do some checking and found the hours of operation and we'd return.

Right next to the Cathedral is the Faculty of Medicine. Montpellier is home to one of the oldest Medical Schools and there's a Museum of Anatomy we wanted to visit, but it has been closed since the beginning of the pandemic; so hopefully one day….

Right past all of this was the Jardin des Plants which was established by order of King Henry IV and is the oldest Botanical Garden in France; established in 1593. And even better; it's free!

It was winter so there wasn't a whole lot going on; but it was a nice escape from "the city".

We headed back to the apartment, thru the meandering old town, trying to decide on a place to have an early lunch. Just by sheer luck, we came across a place I had on my list, Le Guru. And though I mainly had this tiny corner restaurant on my list for the interesting Asian Fusion dishes, they served up a prix fixe brunch during weekends, so we thought, why not?

We got one of the tiny tables on the ground floor of the restaurant.

As part of the menu, one had to choose between two Oeuf Benedicte….hmmm, Eggs Benedict, not the Missus's favorite thing……She was having second thoughts, and this wasn't cheap at 23 Euroes a person. But we decided just to go for it.

Things started with a Smoothie and Boissons Chaude, hot chocolate.

The hot chocolate lacked flavor and was quite watery; but the passionfruit smoothie was tart and refreshing.

When the Viennoiseries arrived we started getting an understanding about the price. Holy smokes…..

The croissants were mediocre, but the sourdough bread was outstanding.

And then the Benedicts.

For the eggs, you could get either Smoked Salmon or Bacon, so we ordered one of each. The frites were nicely fried; hot and crisp, the small salad refreshing. As for the "Benedicte", well, to my surprise the Missus really liked the smoked salmon version. The Hollandaise sauce was creamy, but not overly assertive in that eggy-overly buttery manner. The smoked salmon was excellent; lightly briny and with a great smokiness, it reminded us of what we'd had in Scotland, The "bacon" was no slouch either; thick cut, but not tough, perfect salt, nicely smoked. The egg was a nice runny orb and "muffin" on the bottom was actually pretty light.

This meal turned out better than we thought and was well worth the price.

Le Guru
36 Rue de l'Argenterie
34000 Montpellier, France

And we enjoyed our "short escape" from French cuisine.

We had a nice stroll back to the apartment, which seemed quite close now. Montpellier was getting smaller by the hour it seems!

Paris – La Maison d’Isabelle (Yet Again), The Cluny Museum, Au Pied de Cochon, and Le Train Bleu

December 22, 2022 mmm-yoso Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, Croissants, France, French Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

When planning for our trips I'm careful not to over schedule ourselves. Yes, we could probably do three museums in a day, but would we really enjoy it? And especially when we return to our favorite locales, I tend to sprinkle out our planned activities, knowing that we'll probably return in the future. And since we'd be spending a good amount of time in Paris, I only scheduled or made reservations for about every other evening.

On this day, I made plans to visit the Cluny Museum whose collection covers the Middle Ages. I had always wanted to visit the Cluny for one main reason which I'll detail a bit further on in this post.

But first; did you know that there are 8 fontaine petillantes; that is, sparkling water fountains in Paris? Yes, for real, these fountains will dispense sparkling water at the press of a button. For free. There was one close to our hotel next to Les Halles so we decided to try it out.

I liked it; the Missus wasn't impressed. Perhaps if the weather was hotter it would have made more of an impact. I did think it was pretty neat though.

From here we headed off to the 5th passing all those familiar places.

And soon we were close to our destination. But first……the museum is located in the 5th Arrondissement which gave us an opportunity to revisit our favorite croissant purveyor yet again. Man, we could smell the butter a block away. And the line at La Maison d’Isabelle, which always moves quickly anyway, wasn't very long at all.

The shop is located right at one of the metro exits, just think, you'd be coming up the stairs or escalator from the Maubert – Mutualité metro station to be hit with the scent of butter in the air?

We got our croissant and headed on over to Square Samuel-Paty just like the last time to devour our croissants.

And it was a good as ever.

Crisp and flakey exterior, fluffy on the inside, great butter to salt ratio…..

Still our favorite in Paris.

La Maison d’Isabelle
47T Boulevard Saint-Germain
75005 Paris, France

And the Cluny is located basically across the street from Square Samuel-Paty. We arrived right after the 930am opening time, so the museum wasn't very busy, which made for a relaxed visit.

And while we loved the heads of kings of Judah that originally graced Notre Dame and were severed during the French Revolution ("off with their heads I say!!!!") in what is called vandalisme révolutionnaire, wonderful jewelry, Limoges Enamel, and the stunning stained glass from Sainte-Chapelle that depicts the story of Samson; there was one collection I wanted to see.

It's a series of 6 tapestries completed around 1500, famously known as The Lady and the Unicorn. Upon entering the room we were stunned; it is one of those times when seeing a renowned work was actually more impressive in person.

The 6 tapestries, made of wool and silk were amazing. It is generally accepted that each one represents one of the senses.

Though you might ask, "why are there six tapestries". The sixth work has the inscription “À mon seul désir” (To my only desire) and has been interpreted in many different ways.

As for me….well, I happened to see Frankie in the tapestry and perhaps he knew we would be visiting on this day! We'd have another reminder of F during this trip as well. We were comforted knowing he was watching over us.

Seeing this was one of the highlights of our trip….

I have a feeling we'll return; if only to see that tapestry again!

Musée de Cluny
28 Rue du Sommerard
75005 Paris, France

We strolled back to the hotel and took a nice break. We'd be headed to Montpellier the next morning. We had enjoyed our meal at Le Petit Bouillon Pharamond at the end of our last trip to Paris, a big plus was that it was very close to our hotel, that we went to see if we could get a table. Man, there was a line to get into the Boullion, even at the ungodly dining hour (for Paris) of 6pm! So, we needed a "plan B". There was a place I'd had on my "list" for a while, it seemed a bit touristy, but has quite a history. Au Pied de Cochon was founded in 1947, at that time Les Halles was still considered the "belly of Paris" and Au Pied de Cochon fed the hungry masses 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We thought it might be fun just to drop by and see if the place had an open table.

And this quite colorful brasserie still had tables available. You gotta love the decor as it just oozes almost stereotypical Frenchness.

As you can figure by the name of the place, pork is king here.

The bread provided was a nice and crusty baguette.

Which came in handy since the Missus, wanting Her beans, ordered the Cassoulet de Pied de Cochon ( 27 €).

She liked the beans, thin skinned and creamy. The garlic sausage was decent as well, though all that pork was a bit over-the-top for Her. This also needed some salt as well. The Missus did a nice job of finishing this off!

I got what is possibly the signature dish of the restaurant; the Tentation de Saint-Antoine ( 27 €) – "Temptation of Saint Anthony". If you recall from a previous post, Saint Anthony de Abad is the patron saint of pigs.

In case you're keeping score at home; this consists of breaded and fried pig's feet (pied de cochon), very tough and undercooked for my taste, snout, chewy and quite meaty went well with the Bernaise sauce, ears, too hard (still trying to find a version that lines up with what we had at that little Izakaya in Hiroshima, and the winnah, that pig tail…which was fairly tender with some nice crunchy bits, and was oh so porky. Maybe all the "stuff" that stuck to that tail when in use added to the flavor????

The Missus had a taste of all of this and agreed, that tail was good. The French couple sitting next to use had two tails as appetizers. I didn't see it on the menu; but we'd definitely come back for that.

Overall, a fun meal, and service was quite good as well.

Au Pied de Cochon
6 Rue Coquillière
75001 Paris, France

Needless to say, it was a food coma evening.

We awoke early the next morning and relaxed a bit before heading off on the metro to Gare de Lyon. I will often try to schedule our trips on the metro at hours when I believe things won't be too busy, especially when we have luggage. It's not always possible, but I try. I also try to schedule and coordinate check-out times at our locale with check-in times at our destination, and our scheduled arrival by train. We got to Gare de Lyon a bit early; this was because I wanted to grab some coffee and tea for the Missus at a place I'd heard about located in Gare de Lyon named Le Train Bleu. I had heard of Le Train Bleu, but had never really given much thought to visiting the place even though we'd been through Gare de Lyon a couple of time before. However, after listening to one of my favorites Podcasts on Paris; The Earful Tower, which I started listening to when I was missing our travels during Covid and after reading Oliver Gee's post on Le Train Bleu, I wanted to check the place out, if only for some coffee and tea. And so we got to Gare de Lyon, and found the rather discreet entrance to Le Train Bleu. And you can see why you might want to have at least some coffee here……

Le Train Bleu was originally built for the Paris Exposition of 1900 in the Belle Époque style. The setting is so regal, elegant, grand, and beautiful. It transports you to a different age.

And in the morning, it is perfectly fine to have coffee, tea, and maybe some yogurt while waiting for your train if you aren't keen of having lunch or dinner here.

The prices aren't cheap, but not bad overall.

And man, I could just keeping looking at paintings for hours…..

You might also want to read this post on Le Train Bleu.

Le Train Bleu (In Gare de Lyon)
Place Louis-Armand
75012 Paris, France

Thanks for stopping by!

Edinburgh (2022) – St Giles Cathedral, Dinner at Wedgewood, Deacon Brodie’s Tavern, and Breakfast from the Edinburgh Larder

November 6, 2022 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, British/Irish/Scottish Restaurants/Pubs, Edinburgh, Scotland, Travel

After checking out the Museums and Greyfriars Kirkland we headed back up to High Street. There was one more stop to make before we took a break in the action. Our trip would not be complete without a visit to what is considered Scotland's most important church, St Giles' Cathedral.

IMG_2937_02 And though we had passed the Cathedral several times a day, and even checked out the gravesite in the parking lot, we had yet to actually enter the cathedral. We were looking for a time when it wasn't too crowded and at this moment the place was fairly empty.

As you would figure for a church that is one, located in Edinburgh, and two, been around since 1124, there are a ton of stories and artifacts. Like, for instance that three-legged stool to the upper right. It's called a "cuttie-stool".

Here's the story:

Indeed St Giles has quite a tumultuous history. It was established as a Catholic Church and then came the Reformation and John Knox. Things were changing. It is said that the statue of the Patron Saint Giles was stolen and "drowned in Nor Loch". In 1559 the Lord of the Congregation, led by John Knox marched into the St Giles and took over. John Knox preached in St Giles for the first time….there was a "new sheriff in town". After a brief time when the Roman Catholic party retook the church and the Treaty of Berwick was signed, St Giles once again became a Protestant Church on April 1st, 1560! Whew……all of that in just a year!

If you you want more on the history if St Giles, this is the Cathedral's official website's history page.

Me, I'm just gonna enjoy some stained glass.

It was a fun stop.

We headed back to the apartment and took a short break before heading out to dinner. Unlike the previous evening tonight's dinner locale was close by, a place named Wedgwood The Restaurant.

It was a quaint little restaurant serving modern, seasonal cuisine, that gives you a "wee tour of Scotland".

We started with the amuse and a bit of "bubbly".

And some very tasty bread.

We weren't very hungry, so we went with three starters and a main to share.

Like just about all the seafood we had in Scotland, the Treacle Cured Salmon was delicious.

Treacle Cured Salmon - Wedgewood Edinburgh

It really didn't need all the soy and yuzu sauces; though the pickled beetroot was a nice touch.

The Laurencekirk Duck Breast looked lovely but was a bit on the dry side.

Laurencekirk Duck Breast - Wedgewood Edinburgh

We didn't care for the fennel which was quite strong in flavor and overwhelmed the dish.

The Missus enjoyed the Charred Midlothian Wild Leek.

Charred Midlothian Wild Leek Potato Creme Fraiche - Edinburgh

The wild leek had a nice mildly sweet almost pungent-garlicky flavor. The creme fraiche added a bit of mild acidity and richness. The potatoes had a nice starchiness and this was a good dish overall.

I was looking forward to the Avon Valley Roe Deer Loin and Venison Haggis.

Avon Valley Deer Loin Venison Haggis - Wedgewood Edinburgh The lean deer loin had a nice, moist toothsomeness, had been seared and seasoned nicely. It wasn't overly gamy, but you could tell it was venison. The jus was wonderful, not overly rich, and went well with the delicious potato pave. Loved the celeriac puree, but that round ball of venison haggis was super mild in flavor. It did have quite the gritty-grainy texture though.

Overall, a nice meal, great service.

Wedgwood The Restaurant
267 Canongate
Edinburgh, Scotland

We decided to go ahead and do our after dinner stroll and headed back to the Royal Mile. And of course we passed…..

We took a look at another placed we had passed oh, so many times on this trip, Deacon Brodie's Pub. It was such a nice evening, we thought we should do the "tourist thing" and grab a pint!

I went and ordered a pint; the Missus grabbed a table outside, and we watched all the happenings on the Royal Mile.

Like this guy with the owl and what looked like a television crew.

There's always something going on!

Deacon Brodies Tavern
435 Lawnmarket
Edinburgh, Scotland

We then headed back to the apartment.

Well, it was still early, so we decided to do some shopping and wandered along the various side streets.

We found a leather shop. My belt had taken a beating, so we walked in. The folks were awesome. They were closing in 20 minutes, but he selected the leather, belt style, and sized it for me. They'd be open at ten the next morning, they'd get it ready by the time they opened and I could pick it up then.

Somehow we ended up at Canongate Kirk.

With a statue of Scottish Poet Robert Fergusson "strolling" in front of it.

And of course Canongate Kirkyard, yet another cemetery surrounds the church.

What really kinda freaked us out was that there were apartments right next to the cemetery and the units overlooked the graveyard; not sure I would want to live here.

After this, we decided to call it a night and headed back to the apartment.

We slept well. Our flight wasn't until 5pm and the owners of the apartment said we were welcome to stay until one.

We took it easy in the morning. For breakfast we decided to do a takeout order from the very popular breakfast and lunch spot that was on the next block up from the apartment. I went and placed a takeout order and the Missus and I went to pick up my new belt which was ready. Man, the service here was awesome.

We then walked on back to the Edinburgh Larder to pick-up our order. There always seemed to be a line here.

We actually picked up our order from the "Little Larder".

It was the Hash Breakfast, which was enough for both the Missus and I.

Nice poached egg, sweet corn, wonderful red potatoes, smoked haddock, which was a bit too much for the Missus. The Chermoula Dressing was nice; a bit of nice cilantro tones, mild garlicky flavors, quite herbaceous.

We finally had a chance to avail ourselves of the generous amount of coffee pods in the apartment.

The Edinburgh Larder
5 Blackfriars St.
Edinburgh, Scotland

We left the apartment at around 1230 and walked on over to Princes Street and caught the tram to the airport. We made it in good time and were now getting excited about our next stop. It was back to Paris!

Edinburgh (2022) – Surgeons’ Hall Museums, National Museum of Scotland, Union Brew Lab, and Greyfriars Bobby

November 5, 2022 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, Edinburgh, Scotland, Travel

**** Not much food in this one; but it has some of my favorite sights/stops from this trip!

Our last full day in Edinburgh would be a busy one. There were several places I had on my "list"; things I just had to see. We headed out from our apartment on Blackfriars Street away from the Royal mile. We enjoyed this change of pace, less tourists, less crowds. And, you never know what you'll come across in Edinburgh. I saw this and decided we just had to turn down Niddry Street South.

You just never know what you'll see……

"He Who Is Without Mathematics Shall Not Enter". I guess they'll never let me in here, eh?

Our destination was the Surgeons' Hall Museums.

Which consists of an amazing Pathology Museum and a Museum of the History of Surgery and Dentistry (ouch).

We were blown away by the collection, if you're interested in Medicine (looking at you RD!) and especially surgery and pathology this is a must visit.

Sadly, photos aren't allowed, but this photo somehow jumped into the Missus' phone.

Good lord! There are some "interesting" items in the collection including William Burke's (Remember Burke and Hare) death mask and a pocket book made from his skin!

We'd go to the Musée d'Histoire de la Médecine in Paris on this trip as well, but it doesn't even come close to this Museum!

Surgeons' Hall Museums
Nicolson Street
Edinburgh, Scotland

Well, after the Surgeons' Hall Museums we were feeling a bit peckish……you know what I mean?

Right around the corner on the way to our next stop was a coffee shop that served light dishes named Union Brew Lab. This craft coffee shop was just down the Missus's coffee nerd alley.

The location, right around the corner from Edinburgh University was perfect for this shop as we saw students, remote workers, and such.

I got a cold brew (of course).

The Missus got something or other that came in it's own pot and a sand timer!

But what really caught the Missus's attention was the Avocado Toast with Smoked Salmon and Dill.

Like almost all the smoked seafood we had in Scotland, the smoked salmon was so good. Perfectly smoky, great meaty texture, wonderful with mashed avocado, on a nicely toasted sourdough. So basically, this is where the Missus first enjoyed avocado toast, and Boulenc made it an obsession.

Union Brew Lab
6-8 S College St.
Edinburgh, Scotland

After our light "brunch" our next stop was just a short walk away.

The huge National Museum of Scotland. Admission is free!

The museum's collection spans 5 floors with areas that cover history, technology, science, world cultures, and so on. We decided to pare down our visit and find the areas we were really interested in.

For me, it was finding Dolly the Sheep, the world first cloned sheep. Before Dolly, it was thought that cloning a mammal was impossible from an adult cell. Did you know that "Dolly" was named after this Dolly?

Dolly advanced our knowledge and in her own way was a pioneer. And as is often the case with pioneers there is risk. Dolly was euthanized at the age of six because of progressive lung disease. But she contributed much to mankind.

We were also visited the Kingdom of Scots Gallery in the museum, where there were some interesting items on display.

That beastly item above is called "the Maiden" and you know what it was used for right?

There was a lot to see. We were easily confused by the all the Roberts, Duncans, and James in the lineage of Scottish Royalty. I can't say we've got things straight now, but the displays in the museum helped…..a bit…I hope I don't get tested on it.

National Museum of Scotland
Chambers St.
Edinburgh, Scotland

I was really looking forward to our next stop. It was basically just a minute or two away from the museum. The statue of Greyfriars Bobby.

Much like Hachikō in Tokyo and our own Bum the Dog, the story of Greyfriars Bobby is the stuff of legends. Much like the story of Hachikō, the story of "Bobby" is one of true loyalty. In abbreviated form it goes as follows. In 1850, John Gray, a gardener, and his family moved to Edinburgh. He was unable to find work as a gardener, so he became a night watchman. Bobby became his companion for those long nights. John Gray caught tuberculosis and died of the disease on February 15th, 1858 and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. Bobby being the loyal companion, refused to leave the side of "partner" and would stay at John Gray's gravesite. Even though the keepers of Greyfriars Kirkyard tried to remove Bobby on many occasions, but to no avail. Eventually, they built Bobby a shelter and he remained loyal to his companion until his death in 1872.

Baroness Angelia Georgina Burdett-Coutts was so moved by Bobby's story that she asked the City Council for permission to erect a granite fountain with a statue of Bobby placed on top. And that's that you see above. The inscription on the stature reads:

"A tribute to the affectionate fidelity of Greyfriars Bobby. In 1858, this faithful dog followed the remains of his master to Greyfriars Churchyard and lingered near the spot until his death in 1872."

Of course, there's a tavern called Greyfriars Bobby's Bar right across the street. And of course there's the Disney movie as well. And if you check out the statue of Bum the Dog at the Horton-Davis House you'll find a statue of Greyfriars Bobby there too. Remember, Edinburgh and San Diego are sister cities.

Greyfriars Bobby is buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard which is right down the lane, so we decided to take a look. Greyfriars Kirkyard is also supposedly the most haunted graveyard in the world as well. So of course we had to check it out.

Greyfriars Bobby is buried just inside the gates of the Kirkyard. Instead of flowers people leave sticks for the little fella'.

His master John Gray is buried nearby.

I know, it would make sense for Bobby to be buried next to his master….but dogs (or any animal for that manner) cannot be buried in consecrated ground. So Bobby actually got prime territory right at the entrance to the cemetery!

We took a stroll around the cemetery and had the good fortune of not running into anything "strange".

And I think many folks would be interested to know that there's a Harry Potter connection with Greyfriars Kirkland as well.

From here we strolled back to the Royal Mile.

We had one more stop before taking a short break.

Thanks for stopping by!

Oaxaca (2022) – Breakfast at Boulenc, Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán, and La Cosecha Mercado de Organico

October 15, 2022 mmm-yoso Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Markets & Grocers, Mexico, Oaxaca, Travel

As I mentioned in my previous post, we were pretty full after our food tour and ended up not eating dinner. The next morning we decided to grab some breakfast before heading out on our explorations for the day. There was a bakery and restaurant named Boulenc on my list and Betsy from Me Encanta Oaxaca recommended it as well. It was just three blocks up the street from our hotel and pretty much on the way to the sites we'd be visiting.

The restaurant had a few folks waiting for seats when we arrived, but things moved quickly and we got a table upstairs in about 15 minutes.

Service was efficient and the folks here work hard, running up and down the stairs. The Missus got a Machiatto and I got an Americano, both serviceable.

The Missus, who had never really enjoyed avocado toast, strangely ordered the Aguacate y Cilantro ($70/MX – $3.50/US).

This was love at first bite! First off, the toasted sourdough bread at Boulenc is outstanding, wonderful yeasty-sour balance, nice and not overly chewy bread, it's a perfect foil for the perfectly ripe and abundant avocado and the wonderful hints of chloropyllic-citrusy tones from the cilantro and microgreens. The Missus loved the inhouse fermented, pickled beets. She loved this so much that we returned two more times during our stay!

I wanted some fruit and yogurt so I got the Turkish Yogurt with Fruits ($80/MX – $4/US).

Loved all the fresh and ripe fruits, nuts, and the yogurt. A perfect breakfast for me and just what I wanted.

Like I wrote earlier; we both really liked Boulenc and ended up coming here three times during our stay. That sourdough bread is fantastic.

Boulenc
Calle Porfirio Díaz 207
68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico

Here's an interesting post on Boulenc.

After breakfast we headed up to Plaza Santo Domingo. We had already checked out the Cathedral and wanted to do the same with the Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán.

Construction on this church started in 1551, but the final construction was completed in 1666.

The interior and ceiling were very impressive!

No wonder it took so long to complete.

I was fascinated by the bas relief of the family tree of Santo Domingo de Guzman (aka Saint Dominic), who founded the Dominican Order.

Along with the temple is a structure that used to be a Convent and is now a museum. We didn't have enough time to visit, but I'm sure we'll go the next time we're in Oaxaca.

From here we headed over one block and walked past the plaza.

And came across this…..

It was a cute little organic market and food stalls.

I decided to get some cucumber-lime juice from this stand.

It was quite refreshing.

Cheers!

Mercado Organico La Cosecha
Calle Macedonio Alcalá 806
68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico

Refreshed and revived we walked thru Plaza Cruz de Piedra.

To Calle de Manuel García Vigil and the aqueduct that we had seen the previous day.

We headed up the street to where it turns into Rufino Tamayo and took time to admire the street art that we had only glanced at the previous day.

And then we came across this fella' hanging out at the gate of one of the courtyards.

Little did we know that he was just the "lookout". When he spotted another pooch ambling up the street he sent out "word" and the whole "gang" appeared for a "bark session".

It was hilarious.

There was so much to see if you took your time.

I had planned checking out Xochimilco later on the trip so we'd be heading further up Rufino Tamayo then. So we cut back thru the plaza, then back down Macedonio Alcalá, taking a left down Humboldt.

And came to a park named Parque Juarez El Llano, with a Monument to Benito Juárez in it's center.

We passed folks relaxing in the nice green space as we crossed over to the opposite end. I was looking for a specific street. There is a neighborhood that I read about that was called a "secret jewel" and was named the 17th coolest neighborhood in the world by Timeout in 2019….Jalatlaco. I had seen photos of the street art and it looked so very charming. Betsy had also told us we would enjoy the street art and the "vibe". Two blocks past the park, at the corner of Republica and Miguel Hidalgo, there it was.

Barrio Jalatlaco!

So how was it? Well, you'll have to stay tuned and I'll cover that in my next post on Oaxaca!

Scotland (2022) – Breakfast at Port Charlotte Hotel, Bunnahabhain and Bowmore Distilleries, and Lunch at The Lochside Hotel & Restaurant (Islay)

October 2, 2022 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, British/Irish/Scottish Restaurants/Pubs, Distilleries, Scotland, Travel

On our first full day in Islay, we got up early, and decided to take a short stroll around Port Charlotte.

It was a charming town.

We headed back to the hotel for breakfast.

I saw something that I've always wanted to try on the menu.

It's hard to go wrong with any smoked fish in Scotland and the Missus ordered the Loch Fyne Smoked Salmon with Poached Eggs.

There was a bread, dairy, and cereal station available. The salmon was quite good and the eggs perfect.

I had always wanted to try Kippers and here I finally had a chance. I ordered the Loch Fyne Smoked Kippers.

Man, with the fried potato scone, this was so good. Deeply savory, wonderful smoked fish flavors, perfect salt. A squeeze of lemon to help cut the richness and we were good to go. The Missus had a taste and was sold. In fact, She would order this the next morning for breakfast!

Port Charlotte Hotel
Main St.
Port Charlotte PA48 7TU, Scotland

As usual Sean was on time for our pick-up. One of the benefits of having a private driver/tour is the flexibility. We found that doing three tastings in a day was a bit much for us and asked Sean if he could cut it down to two for this day. Which was no problem.

The first stop was just a quick one. Ardnahoe Distillery was fairly new, opening in 2019. Sean had never been there so he asked us if we'd like to take a look.

It was very modern and sleek looking. It was a nice stop to stretch our legs a bit and the Missus enjoyed all of the portraits of Her favorite animal; the Highland Cow….which they call "Heilan' Coo".

The next stop was Bunnahabhain Distillery. It was quite a drive to the distillery.

Our visits on this day revolved around tastings, though we were given an short walking tour of the distillery.

Bunnahabhain Distillery is known as the most remote distillery on Islay. We were told that the village of Bunnahbhain was created to actually house the distilleries employees! Their Scotch is also unique as they are known for their unpeated Scotch Whiskey.

When it was time for our tasting were were each given an impressive "tasting kit"!

There was no way the Missus and I would finish one each; so we split one and brought the other home, which I gave to "FOY" JeffP.

The Missus thought this a bit on the overly "sweet" side; while I really liked the 18yo and the Amontillado Cask versions.

We had quite the drive to our next destination; Bowmore and Sean made a stop at a wonderful ceramic shop named Persabus Pottery which the Missus loved.

She ended up buying a beautiful looking cup

And it looks like cats are loved and most welcomed here!

It was about a half hour drive to the town of Bowmore. Which, after staying in Port Charlotte, and visiting the distilleries and villages seemed like a big city (it's the Administrative Captial)….with a population of…..700!

We made a quick stop at the pharmacy, before heading off to Bowmore Distillery.

The Visitor Center seemed a bit more fancy than the other tasting rooms. And instead of a tour there was a video presentation. Bowmore was the first "legal" distillery on Islay, founded in 1779.

Which came with 2 free tasters of our choice.

It's nicely balanced, with nice fruity tones.

After this tasting we stopped for lunch at the The Lochside Hotel & Restaurant. We'd eaten quite a bit for breakfast, so the Missus and I went with some smaller, starter items.

The Missus enjoyed Her Stornoway Black Pudding.

Which was fairly crumbly, but pleasant to eat, quite moist, not overly "iodiney", and nicely seasoned, perhaps a bit on the salty side, which made it go good with the poached egg.

If you noticed; I've been looking for dishes I'd read or heard about during my meals on Islay. And here I got the Cullen Skink.

Basically a smoked haddock cream soup….think of it as a less thick smoky chowder if you will. Actually, I enjoyed the rustic bread the most! This was nice and filling.

The Lochside Hotel & Restaurant
20 Shore St.
Bowmore, Isle of Islay PA43 7LB, Scotland

Sean had noticed that we took a bit on interest in the rather unique looking church in the town. So after lunch we drove on up to Kilarrow Church.

It's quite an eye catcher to be sure. Built in 1767, Kilarrow Church is still used to this day, making it the oldest church still in use on Islay.

There's a cemetery right next to the church that caught my eye.

This is a Commonwealth War Graves site.

I was rather shocked to see many "Unknown" tombstones. According to this website there are:

"36 unknown seamen of the Merchant Navy"

Buried here. Very sad.

We started heading back to Port Charlotte, taking in the views….

Because it was still rather early in the day; Sean had one more stop in mind before dropping us at the hotel!

Stay Tuned!

Guanajuato (2022) – Museo Casa Diego Rivera and a Revisit to Mestizo

September 24, 2022 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, San Miguel de Allende/Guanajuato, Travel

After doing a good bit of walking earlier in the day, we relaxed and took a short siesta. Upon getting up, we decided to head on out. Guanajuato was a fine place to stroll and just take in the different plazas. Like Plaza de Los Angeles.

We needed to grab something from Oxxo, so we went down the stairs onto busy Avenida Benito Juarez and enjoyed the colorful buildings on the street.

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We had made very early dinner reservations with one stop in mind before our meal which was almost right across the street from the restaurant.

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Artist Diego Rivera was born in Guanajuato and though his family only lived there for a few years, the home he lived in has been made into a a museum.

IMG_2017 (2) Since we had already visited La Casa Azul earlier on the trip, I thought a visit here would be a nice "bookend". The building's restoration and conversion to a museum was initiated by Diego Rivera's daughter, Guadalupe Rivera Marin. As to how many children Diego Rivera had, well the numbers vary based on the source….

The museum is fairly small, but we enjoyed seeing the scope of Diego Rivera's work and the different styles he embraced from Cubism to Impressionism, to Post-Impressionism, and Muralism.

To be perfectly honest, before this trip, while I had read (and seen the movie) and seen the works of Frida Kahlo, I really did not know much about Diego Rivera.

Visiting Casa Azul, Museo Diego Rivera, and reading the various tales like how Leon Trotsky lived with the pair while in exile (Trotsky was assassinated in Coyoacán in 1940).

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IMG_2012 (2) According to this wonderful website Rivera feared for his life (it was uncovered in the 1990's that he was a informant for the US) and went the the American Embassy and ended up in San Francisco. During that time Frida and Diego got remarried and he lived out his life in Casa Azul.

Man, talk about real life being more interesting than fiction!

Museo Casa Diego Rivera
Positos 47
Zona Centro, 36000 Guanajuato, Mexico

Even though Mestizo is basically a few buildings over from the museum, it was still a bit early, so we decided to drop off the stuff we got from Oxxo at the hotel.

We noticed that the Basilica Guanajuato (full name – Basílica Colegiata de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato) was open as we exited the hotel, so we decided to take a peek.

And then headed off to dinner.

We had enjoyed our previous meal at Mestizo so much that we had made reservations for a follow-up dinner on our last night in the city.

Service was just as friendly this time around and we ordered our favorites from that earlier meal along with one addition.

We did notice something different on this visit.

The flavors and presentation for the Tartar de Atun en Chile Viejo and the Chinchulines con Guacamole weren't quite as on the mark as on our previous visit.

We tried the Carpaccio de Pulpo con Xoconostle y Polvo de Chili Secos. Basically octopus with prickly pear and chili de arbol powder.

As before the tortillas were up to the task though not outstanding. The pulpo was on the tougher end of things and we thought more citrus/sour tones were needed as well. We enjoyed the lemony-peppery-slightly anise tones of the epazote.

The one saving grace was that the Tuetano was just as wonderfully buttery and beefy as on the first visit.

So, while it seems that perhaps the "B" team was in charge on this evening, things ended on a high note for us.

Mestizo
Positos 69
Zona Centro, 36000 Guanajuato, Mexico

We then headed to La Clave Azul for a nightcap.

Since this was our last evening in Guanajuato and we had really enjoyed ourselves, we decided to do a little victory lap…starting with Jardin de la Union.

Where folks were out in full force.

We ran into the sweet gal selling cheesecake and we ended up paying for two and asked her to "pay it forward"!

As we got back to the hotel we noticed an interesting "scene"…..

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Hmmm, this fella looks familiar, right?

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There seems to always be something going on in Guanajuato!

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We slept well, got up, packed, and had breakfast at the hotel. The Nopales con Huevo were quite good.

After breakfast, we checked out, and met our driver Aaron, who as always was right on time and got us to the airport. It was time to head on home……

But….I'm sure we'll be back someday!

Thanks for stopping by!

Guanajuato (2022) – Breakfast at Santo Café

September 23, 2022 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, San Miguel de Allende/Guanajuato, Travel

On our second full day in Guanajuato, we stretched our boundaries a bit and ended up going from the Southeast side of the city to the Northwest side.

While doing my research on Guanajuato, I noticed several posts on a charming looking café with seating on a bridge overlooking a cobbled street named Santo Café. We had enjoyed walking in this wonderful city and even though it was a bit of "a truck" to the restaurant, we decided to head on over to Santo Café.

It was a pleasant walk, past places that were now familiar to us, Jardin de la Union, Teatro Juárez, and Templo de San Francisco.

We came across the street where Santo Café was located and walked up the stairs and crossed the bridge to the restaurant. It was fairly early and none of the three tables located on the bridge were taken.

We placed our order and took one of the tables on the bridge. The Missus got a Cortado ($32/MX – $1.55/US) and I got an Americano ($30/MX – $1.50/US) which were decent.

We got the Chilaquiles Verdes agrega dos Huevos ($117/MX – $5.80/US) to share, which ended up being more than enough for the Missus and I.

The eggs were perfectly done, crisp edges, runny yolk. The chips maintained a good crispness, the queso wasn't intrusive, and the Missus loved the tangy, mildly spicy green sauce. The beans were creamy and earthy. A decent breakfast that would hold us until dinner.

And for some reason, we enjoyed the view. A few folks even waved at us as they passed!

Santo Cafe
Del Campanero 4
Zona Centro, 36000 Guanajuato, Mexico

From here, we decided to head on out to of all places a cemetery. One of the most visited placed in Guanajuato is the Museo de las Momias, the mummy museum. The Missus wasn't interested in visiting, though during our walking tour, Susana mentioned that the cemetery where the mummies were found was actually next door to the museum. We decided to get some steps in and visit the cemetery.

So we headed on out.

One interesting tidbit about Guanajuato. Miguel Cervantes is quite popular here and Don Quixote even more so.

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There's even the La Casa del Quijote, the Don Quixote Museum.

IMG_1988_2 There's a Cervantes Festival in Guanajuato. And the Wikipedia page on the festival also mentions some of the background of why Cervantes is such a big part of the city.

Walking past Teatro Juárez and Iglesia de San Diego during the day provides a different view of things. At night, this is a bustling, lively area of the city and it's easy to miss things.

Like the two statues below. The one on the left is called "La Giganta". The one on the right is of a Rondalla Singer.

IMG_1996_02 From the center of town we made our way Northwest, past Mercado Hidalgo, then up the one of the hills that surround the town. Right past the Mummy Museum is Panteón Municipal Santa Paula, the cemetery.

Which was quite large…..

It was in this cemetery that the mummies for the museum were found. Apparently, there was a "burial tax" that had to be paid for perpetual burial. When taxes were not paid, the bodies were disinterred and stored in a nearby building. The environment of Guanajuato is conducive to mummification.