First, we went on the 17 Mile Drive, a path along the coast of California. There, we were lucky enough to experience the intense waves of the sea, and watch the sea lions swim in the crystal clear water. At first, it was foggy and cold, but the weather soon cleared to reveal a beautiful set of scenery.
Panoramic photo taken courtesy of my iPhone XD
The beaches were gorgeous, with white sand and dark rocks along the shores. The waves crashed on the rocks, splashing white foam. A true display of Mother Nature's power.
After the 17 Mile Drive, we traveled to Castroville, a small town famous for... ARTICHOKES! I loove artichokes, so that was a fun time.
That's their welcoming sign! XD
In the town, we passed miles and miles of artichoke fields. The plants had some artichokes growing, with the crown shaped vegetables topping off each bush. We bough a batch of 20 fried artichokes; sounds healthy, right? Maybe not, but they were certainly delicious! Each artichoke was carefully peeled so that only the heart remained. Then, they were fried until a perfect golden crust coated it. The artichoke was meaty and full, an absolute delight. Personally, I'd pick them to French fries any day!
Aren't they beautiful? :')
The night's plan was very family-oriented. We were having dinner with my mom's cousins, so, of course, Chinese food. Let's just say that it was nice to have so many vegetables for once. I also made a discovery. My mom and her cousin look so much alike! It never struck me until tonight. Then again, that could be because I hadn't seen her cousin in 7 years... I'm not going to dwindle on te meal because it wasn't anything special, but I will dwindle on dessert.
Finally, when dinner was done and we said our goodbyes, we headed to a cafe in the plaza: Snowflake Tea House. The decor reminded me of a very Asian club, except no drinking and partying. Just the decor. We had a lychee bubble tea and red bean/green tea house bread. The tea was a bit sweet, but that could be because I forgot to ask the waitress to make it less sweet than usual. They have that option... There was a lot of lychee flavor though. :D The bubbles were soft and sticky, perfectly cooked. Then, the bread.
Presentation? 10 out of 10!
The bottom was a croissant-like bread, topped with green tea ice cream. The chuck of bread was hollowed out to make a pot, filled with red bean. Delicious!! Oh, I almost forgot. The cafe was also playing "Man of Steel" on their TV. (Henry Cavill! 😍) In case you haven't realized, I'm a big fan of Henry Cavill. Could this place get any better? I think not!
A satisfying end to a satisfying day. I just realized that I have to go to school in two days. School should be starting tomorrow, but I'm still going to be on vacation. School starting means that I have to learn my lines for the musical. Shoot, the musical... I'll get to that later. (Procrastination! :D) So the night ends now, with me writing another blog post. Until next time, this is Rachel Ma, and, in the words of Alton Brown, I bid you good eating.
Song I'm humming tonight: A Very Nice Prince from "Into the Woods"
Your commitment to keep blogging makes me feel like I should have some, too ._. The artichokes are beautiful, yes, though I can't say I like them that much. I actually went to Toronto, Canada for Spring Break (an Asian-oriented part of it) and saw/had a good amount of the desert-like stuff you mentioned/showed at the end. Always felt like I was too full at the end of the day :P
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