We had a wonderful two days in Carmel/Big Sur area to celebrate aa 50th birthday. We started the trip with a stop at the Big Artichoke in Castroville for some of those really good fried artichokes. These were great little nibbles before our lunch in Carmel.

We had a 12:30 reservation at Casanova for lunch. What a charming little place, I would have over=looked if not for this board. (Thanks to all who recommended it!) I fell in love with the place right away. We were seated out on the back patio, it was very full, even on a week day. We sat next to a very lively group of six moms who were celebrating their kids being back in school. They were having a great time!

I ordered the special which was a sea bass salad with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc from the Georis winery. The salad was simply the best I have ever had, the flavor were so wonderful and it paired very nicely with this white wine. I wanted to try wines from strictly the Carmel area on this trip.

My husband had a sandwich which he said was very good. We held out on dessert, we had dinner reservations at Bouchee for later that night. (ha ha)

We strolled around Carmel and enjoyed the many art galleries. I especially enjoyed the Portnoy Gallery at Sixth between Dolores & San Carlos. The Will Bullas art work is there, with the "dux in the city..." show going on. Really enjoyed viewing his work. I wished I could afford a painting for $6,000 of the ducks at the swimming pool.

We headed down to the beach in Carmel and soaked up the glorious sunshine and enjoyed the beautiful views of the ocean. It was almost time for check-in so we headed over to the Tickle Pink Inn.

I was very impressed with the Tickle Pink Inn, it is quaint and intimate. We were shown to Room 15 which was just a standard room, with an oceanview and a balcony. Wow, the views from this property are really pretty, you can see more of the ocean than some of the rooms at the Highland's Inn.

A knock at the door and there was chilled white wine, a red rose and some chocolates to welcome us. A very nice touch. We did some reading out on the balcony and browsed through all of the beautiful brochures we picked up at the art galleries in Carmel.

At 4:30 each afternoon, there is a wine/cheese reception. The wines that were featured were from the Chateau Julien vineyards. A nice Merlot for the red and a Sauv Blanc for the white. Enjoyed both very much. Fresh fruit, and variations of cheeses are also set out in a beautiful presentation.

The terrace room that the reception is held in is very lovely, with beautiful ocean views. We had a 6:45 reservation at Bouchee, so back to the room to dress for dinner.

We went out to our car to head to Carmel for a nice dinner @ Bouchee, my husband's choice. I was very much anticipating this meal. Well, guess what? DEAD BATTERY!!! Click, click, click, this car isn't going anywhere!!! Plan B's drive me crazy!! Especially on vacation.

There was a gentleman working on his car in the TPI parking lot and he came over to help us. No luck, this guy was a hot-rod mechanic from Texas who was staying in this plush $700/night suite with his wife. He had rented a Jag convertible for his trip. Very nice guy and really appreciated the help. 2 hrs. later, no luck.

Bouchee was holding our table for us but no way to get there. We thought of taking a cab, but just decided to walk up to California Market for dinner.

We were seated out on the patio, a lovely evening but I was really disappointed and crying, a little bit! I ordered a nice glass of Pinot Noir and the sea scallops. My DH had a bowl of clam chowder which was very good and the chicken entree, but it wasn't Bouchee. The meal was kind of uneventful and the bill was $70 for two with a shared dessert. I wanted to be at Bouchee, and this was what I had budgeted for our dinner there.

Well, a nice walk under the stars back tothe hotel. We put on our swimsuits had walked down to the jacuzzi. Had a very nice relaxing soak, then back to the room. I was very surprised that TPI didn't have turndown service, tho. The only complaint I have about the place was that the mattresses were rather hard and no down pillows or comforters.

The next am, we ordered the breakfast to our room. Everyone was right, the pasteries are very fresh and flaky, I ate more than I should have of those! We enjoyed the rest of the am sitting out on the balcony and taking in the gorgeous views. Check out is 12, which is nice.

We left very happy with our stay there, I would definitely return again. Room 15 has gorgeous views for a standard room. The staff was very acccomodating and friendly, also.

We got a charge and headed right to the Kragen in Monterey (how romantic, huh?) we bought a new battery and it worked! Cell phone call!! (Next time I'm leaving both of them home!) Daughter is out of dress code for her skirt! (There was fringe on it!)

We tracked someone down to pick her up (big brothers are wonderful!) and home she went. Turned the phones off and resumed our trip.

I wanted to stroll around Carmel again, so we did some more walking, window shopping and enjoyed sitting in the park there. I was excited I found some cannolli at the bakery there that I really like.

We then headed down the coast to the gorgeous Big Sur area, dinner at Sierra Mar at 5:30!!! The coastal drive was beautiful, I wished we had a convertible for this drive. Stopped a lot and took some pictures of the coast.

We didn't make it to Julia PB State Park, but instead went to Cielo where I could change for dinner. Their bathrooms are beautiufl there, BTW. We had some pre-dinner drinks out on the patio, then headed to the gift shop.

At 5:15 we went across the street to Sierra Mar. We were asked to wait out on the deck outside until our table was ready. We were then seated at a lovely booth.

This place is THE best! The views, the service, the ambiance. It was so perfect and made up for missing Bouchee. We both had the prix fixe dinner, I posted a full report on Chowhound.com

The sunset was the highlight of the dinner, so pretty. The $200 bill was worth every cent for the memories and the food was just the best yet! Every plate was perfect, no complaints or glitches in the service.

The three hour meal was so memorable and I know we will return again and again to Sierra Mar. It was a very nice two days for us.

The Tickle Pink Inn was also a wonderfully romantic place. I would recommend it highly to anyone in the area. We will make it to Bouchee some day, we may even do a day trip soon to try it. ***kim***

Sorry to hear you missed Bouchee. You might also want to check out their new smaller restaurant in the Auberge de Carmel hotel which was the old Sundial. The same people run it. Since you enjoy wines, next time take a trip out Carmel Valley Road where Chateau Julien has a tasting room. I don't know their wines but Bernardus and Talbott also on CV Road have some excellent wines.

Nice suggestion, I wished we had time to do the wine tasting in the Carmel Valley, especially since we're making some of our own at home now!

I enjoyed very much all that I tasted from this area. ***kim***

Good report, Kim. Sounds like a good trip, except for that dang car battery! I think I would have hailed a cab and worried about the car later, but no problem, you can always check out Bouchee next trip. Glad you enjoyed Casanova--it's been a family hang out for years. We took our daughter there when she was just 6 months old, more than 20 years ago--of course she slept right through dinner--and she still loves it even now. The Georis family are good people--they also own The Corkscrew Cafe in Carmel Valley and have their winery out there too.

Sierra Mar never disappoints--glad you were able to experience the wonder of it. Talk about being on the edge of the world! I'll be sure to have the couple of glasses of wine you missed out on because on Monday we're taking a convertible and heading up the coast to Big Sur for a few days ourselves-- dinner at Sierra Mar, Deetjen's, maybe Marinus at Bernardus and lots of wine tasting in the valley. Gotta try some of those great new Pinot Noirs from the "Gary's". I want to check out L'auberge Carmel too. I hear the restaurant there ("Bouchee #2") serves a 6-course tasting menu dinner, no a la carte. Thanks for the report!

Do you need reservations for Sierra Mar for lunch. If not, when would be less crowded, early around noon or later?

How wonderful Winerycat! The weather was VERY warm when we were there last week. How fun to have a convertible for that gorgeous drive!

I really wished we had more time to just hang around in Carmel. We always try to do so much in our short amount of time we have, flitting everywhere. Next time I would like to stay two nights, at a little Inn in Carmel (maybe Auberge!) and just hang around the town and beach and do some wine tasting in Carmel Valley.

Dinner at Bouchee is at the top of my list, and what about Christopher's? I've also been hearing good things about it lately.

Carmel Beach is so beautiful, with some pretty good waves. My hubby could even get some of his surfing in there which would be nice. Have a nice trip and report back on how it goes! ***kim***