Our day trip to Monterey and Carmel was a much needed one. We’ve both been really stressed over work and life in general so I decided we needed to just get in the car and go somewhere new. Let off some steam, eat some good food and relax. Our neighbor grew up in Carmel and suggested that we take Route 1 down, which is about an hour longer but is classic and beautiful….
As we were driving down I saw a sign for 7 avocados for $1, which is a crazy good deal. I made Robin stop so we could pick some up. We also got a basket of local strawberries that we are in about 5 minutes. We spent the morning in Monterey and the afternoon at Carmel Beach. As the evening was winding down, we finished up our walk along the beach looking for golf balls from Pebble Beach and headed up the hill to the town.
Our neighbor suggested Mundaka, a tapas place in downtown Carmel with tons of seafood, so we made a beeline there. I fell in love with it instantly – it’s in this cute little square with hanging lights and the bar next door had music playing loud so it felt like one of those classic summer nights. They didn’t have any empty tables outside but I didn’t want to eat indoors – It was warm and I spend too much of my time inside, so we asked if a table could be moved. My friends, when possible, always have dinner outside. It’s 100% better. We planned on sharing about 3-4 plates of tapas like we normally do for places like that, but on a whim decided to say fuck it and order the paella (paella is a bit expensive.This one was $60). But, as I mentioned on Instagram, always order paella when you have the chance. Not many places make it and it’s hard to make yourself.
We finished right around 8pm and headed back to the beach to see the most amazing sunset I have ever seen. Hands down. The whole sky was pink and red and blue. The air was warm and the beach was crowded, but in a good way. Everyone was happy and laughing, I could smell campfire smoke faintly and there was a newly-wed couple near us sharing a blanket and a bottle of wine. Sometimes moments feel like they’re in movies, and this was one of them. If you’re ever in Carmel, stay for the sunset. Next time we visit we’ll be staying the night so we can enjoy some wine over dinner and have more time to explore the town.
We got home late, but happy and relaxed. Where will our next roadtrip take us? Any suggestions?
