TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

If I have to be brutally honest about Carmel-by-the-Sea then I must say that I find this pretty village like a vestige of a Disney movie set production ergo a bit fakey. In fact the place reminds me of the board game my family used to play in the weekends when I was a kid. Ah, the Millionaires Game, those were the days. We used to play the game until the wee hours in the morning. Then there was Monopoly that followed as well. The Millionaires Game though was my favourite board game and I don’t know why Carmel-by-the-Sea helps remind me of it. Maybe because of the building structures? Nevertheless, the village obviously stinks with money, with art galleries, real estate offices and all, this village is for sure the playground of the rich and the old. I don’t really find anything trendy and cool in the village, I was not even able to spot an outdoor cafe terrace? You can tell that I was so disappointed. I was really hankering for a glass of wine and some people watching, but oh wel...

Last year Dutchman and I went to California, USA. The original plan was a winter sport holiday in the European Alps but I sprained my arm and my physical therapist says I cannot ski, thus the alternative trip to the USA came into the drawing board. One of our side trips in this holiday was Carmel-by-the-Sea. I have heard cool stories about it so I could not wait to go. It was a bit of a long drive from San Francisco which is our base, however, Dutchman loves driving in the USA. He actually hates cars and highways however the advantage of driving in the USA is that most highways are traffic-free. Well at least from a European-Netherlands standpoint where traffic can morph anytime and anywhere. We first went to the beach, parked the car and went out for a walk. Weather was cold, fresh and the wind was blowing strong. I have horrible-looking toes because of wearing high heels at a young age. I was expecting a boulevard on the beach lined up with inviting outdoor café terraces, o...