The capital city of Mexico was definitely the hidden gem of our trip. I’m not sure why, but in my head our time in Mexico City was a bit of a stop-gap on the way to more interesting places. Instead, I ended up loving the vibrant atmosphere, delicious food and drink and the wealth of culture on offer and wasn’t ready to leave!
We had an unexpectedly horrendous journey from Las Vegas to Mexico City and as a result nearly missed out on our reservation at Biko. Boy am I glad we made it just in time – set in the modern upmarket area of Polanco, Biko served up possibly the best food we ate during our time in Mexico.
If you are making the journey to Champagne and are happy to take a break from the bubbles themselves Arnaud Lallement’s L’Assiette Champenoise, France’s latest three Michelin star restaurant, is a perfect way to soak up the alcohol.
As it’s a no-travel week, I’m going to take advantage of the idea of Throwback Thursdays and allow myself to day-dream of where I was this time last year…Champagne. Given it’s by far and away my favourite tipple, I can’t quite believe that it took me almost ten years of legally being able to drink the bubbly stuff to make the hop, skip and jump over the Channel to the Champagne region. Just a two hour drive or so from Calais, it’s the perfect distance for a long weekend.
We arrived in the city of sin just in time for sundown but, given our long drive, weren’t really in the mood to hit the casinos just yet.
So it turns out that Angel’s Camp to Las Vegas (especially at the end of winter, when lots of the passes are closed) is a long old road…around ten or eleven hours to be precise! Our road trip to Las Vegas took us round the top of Yosemite via Lake Topaz, Mono Lake, past Mammoth Mountain and through Death Valley. Rather than recount every twist and turn, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.
After many days of eating and drinking I was keen to get out and about and see a different side to California. Luckily (or meticulously well planned depending on how you look at it) our next stop was hiking in Yosemite National Park.
Feeling surprisingly spritely after our tastings the day before our next stop was an early lunch at three Michelin starred the French Laundry.
Given our penchant for fine wine and food we couldn’t pass through California without stopping off for a spot of wine tasting in Napa. When we woke up, we were sad to see that the rainy weather had finally followed us from the UK – I guess this was bound to happen at some point! Still, what better place to be than an area where its acceptable to stay inside and taste wine from an hour that would more frequently be considered breakfast time…
Before waving goodbye to San Francisco, we managed to fit in one last meal. Having heard very good things about Frances, we turned up as it opened at half five hoping to nab a spot at the bar.
