By Gwendolyn
Another late morning - we slept till almost 1pm. We watched a bit of news and congratulated ourselves for not being stuck in New York City due to the crazy snow storms. About 2pm we got out of our room, and headed down to the hotel cafe where we enjoyed a large lunch and an overpriced bottle of wine: the Trio from Concha y Toro, which was a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Blanc. It was really quite lovely, but, as we were in a hotel, it was overpriced. On the good side, an overpriced menu at the hotel is equal to eating anywhere in San Francisco or New York. So it seemed normal there and when we’re outside of the hotel, everywhere else seems to be a deal. That afternoon we arrived back in our room where we looked out the window at the still gray and overcast skies. The pool was unusable. We watched the waves break over the side of the pool and drench the pavement as we ate lunch. Boredom can overtake you if you are at a beach for vacation and yet there is no beach. Or pool. Or sun. Most of our day was spent watching the waves as they hit the rocks and sides of the hotel. Apparently this is an unusual thing for the weather: chalk it up to bad timing on our part.
Later in the evening the weather did not improve. The overcast sky remained and our hotel did not even put out chairs for aperitifs outside. We had a glass of wine inside the bar and then we decided to try a restaurant we’d seen next to Felini’s called Pasta del Mar. We first stopped by the casino for a drink at the bar. There we found a waiter who spoke perfect English and two that spoke none. I had a very bad Sauvignon Blanc, but I was in a casino bar. At the restaurant, Pasta del Mar, Mike and I both had fish (sometimes it’s hard not to have seafood here). The waiter spoke English fairly well - enough to get by. Of course, most Spanish Mike and I have needed deals with food & wine. We paired our fish with a Casa Lapostalle Cuvee Alexandre Chardonnay, a common bottle even in the US. After dinner we headed to the casino, then to bed we went.