Carmel-by-the-Sea, the Perfect Fall Getaway

Carmel-by-the-Sea is a charming town located on the southern bend of the Monterey Peninsula in California.  It is 120 miles south of San Francisco and 350 miles north of Los Angeles.  Carmel-by-the-Sea is enchanting and a perfect Fall getaway for a romantic weekend, a family trip or a boys or girls getaway.  Carmel-by-the-Sea truly offers something for everyone.

 

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Located right on the Pacific Ocean, Carmel-by-the-Sea has amazing views.  If you love the outdoors you can go for a walk, jog, bike,  horseback ride, golf or just sit on the beach and enjoy its beautiful natural setting.  Also be sure to wander thru the residential areas where you will see rustic cottages, shingled beach houses, modern see through glass homes and log cabins many done by famous architects and all selling for an average of at least $1 million dollars.

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Carmel-by-the-Sea  features 45 unique and distinct Inns and Bed & Breakfasts ranging from casual to luxurious and elegant.   Doris Day is part owner of the historic Cypress Inn located right in the heart of Carmel by-the-Sea.  This Inn built in 1929 is not only well located but also provides a nice cozy homey feel.  The room we stayed in had a fireplace and there is also a lounge off the lobby where guests are able to relax and sit in front of a roaring fire.   There is also a lovely outdoor courtyard where guests can enjoy drinks from Terry’s Restaurant & Lounge or enjoy breakfast which is included with the cost of the room and is quite a nice spread including fruit, pastries, eggs, bacon cereal, oatmeal, coffee, tea & juice.  What is most unique about the Cyprus Inn is that legendary Hollywood actress and animal lover Doris Day allows guests to bring their dogs into their hotel rooms for the night.  In fact most of Carmel by-the-Sea is dog friendly with many shops leaving water bowls and treats out in front for dogs and not surprisingly dogs are can be spotted all over town.

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Carmel by-the-Sea has lots of unique boutiques to shop in, art galleries to explore, spas to pamper yourself at and a plethora of amazing restaurants.  We had brunch at Grasing’s a charming converted house with an outdoor patio where dogs are allowed.  The food is  contemporary coastal cuisine created by hands on chef and owner Kurt Grasing using fresh local produce and the  menu also features many locally made Central Coast wines.  The restaurant has been around since 1998 and the tastiness of its food is surely the reason for it longevity.  On our visit we enjoyed dungeness crab and avocado eggs benedict, homemade beer batter onion rings that were out of this world and fresh salmon over a green salad with locally sourced heirloom tomatoes all of which were quite tasty and very flavorful.

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Another fun thing to do in Carmel-by-the-Sea is to buy passes for Carmel Wine Walk.  The Carmel Wine Walk Wine Tasting Passport costs $65  and gives you access to 9 tastings at the 14 tasting rooms located in Carmel all of which you can walk to.  The passport does not expire so you can use it over the course of multiple visits if you want.  It can be purchased at the Carmel Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center on San Carlos between 5th & 6th in Carmel-by-the-Sea or online.  The Passport gives you 9 cards to use how you wish so you can give cards to others to use and all taste together or use a few and then save the rest for a later visit.  If you enjoy wine, I highly recommend a visit to Scheid’s tasting room as one of your passport stops or on your own.  Sheid is my favorite tasting room in Carmel with some amazing wines.  It is worth noting that all 14 of Carmel’s tasting rooms can be visited without the Passport by paying for tastings at each one you goto but if you plan to visit  several tasting rooms it works out to be a much better deal if you buy the Passport and you can always use it on your next visit if you aren’t able to get to 9 tasting rooms.

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 One of the great things about Carmel-by-the-Sea is that everything is located in a small easily accessible area so you can park you car on your arrival and then not drive it again until you leave.   If you do want to explore the area though  Carmel-by-the-Sea is close to the 17 mile drive, Cannery Row,  The Monterey Bay Aquarium and the many wineries of the Santa Lucia Valley.

My only regret about my last trip to Carmel-by-the-Sea was that we stayed just one night.  I’ll definitely need to make my way back soon and next time it will be for a few nights so I have time to see and explore more of the many things Carmel-by-the-Sea has to offer.  I suppose this is part of the charm of Carmel-by-the-Sea,  although it is quaint and small, there is always more to see and to do which will keep you coming back again and again!

For more information on Carmel by-the-Sea goto www.carmelcalifornia.com.  To learn more about Cypress Inn goto www.cypress-inn.com and for more information on Grasings goto www.grasings.com

 

 

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