Big Sur Weekend

My boyfriend took me to Big Sur to celebrate my birthday. We saw some amazing views of course, even elephant seals and a rare California condor (only 200 in the world! check out the picture). We went on a few hikes and also to the Esalen Institute, a new agey retreat center on the coast where I had a massage. The views from Esalen were spectacular and the natural hot springs incredible. The only thing about this place is that it’s full of naked co-ed people in the spa and hot springs, which took me by surprise.

The organic food selection was great and local too. We ate dinner at Deetjens, a local inn and restaurant where they kindly let us in without reservations despite being a full house. Inside was a warm cottage that had three fireplaces, wooden floors, and a local coziness to it. We started with an organic local salad, and then I had a fresh vegetable risotto, and Vivek had the special of the day–swordfish. Their big fat and friendly cat, Fabio, was laying down next to me where I sat on the bench, quite content.

I won’t write about the place we stayed, a motel, because it was nothing special and noisy right on highway one, but I will say that in Big Sur, everything is really expensive, that even a motel will cost over $100 a night. If you can afford it, go to Post Ranch Inn or Ventana Inn. However, I’ve gone camping a few times, and there are some great sites if you can tough it out in Pfeiffer Big Sur State park and I’ve heard also that Julia Pfiffer State park is awesome to camp in.

For breakfast, we ate a wonderful bakery called Big Sur Bakery. It’s easy to miss, but as soon as you see the post office, turn into the shell station and walk up. Their goodies are made fresh everyday, and one of the bakers was trained at La Brea Bakery in LA, one of the best bakeries. We tried a fritatta and pain au chocolat. They had a huge organic loose leaf tea selection, which I chose matcha green tea. We then spent the rest of the day hiking and exploring, until it was time to head back north on 101. I’d love to go back again soon!