Sunday spree

Gas prices have been incredible. To fill my 15 gallon tank, I’ve been spending about $30 plus. It’s not so bad that I need to fill my tank about every two weeks if I don’t do any heavy driving. It’s one advantage of living about 2 miles away from work and being so close to everything. But I challenged my roommate to a weekend of no driving. That resolve was broken Saturday night when I decided to drive to the gym so I amended the challenge to no driving on Sunday.

I had the day worked out. Walk to Hillcrest Sunday morning for breakfast, preferably a place we had never gone before and explore the shops along the way. Darn it if it wasn’t as hot on Sunday morning as it was the day before and the heat only continued to rise.

Our first stop was Bread & Cie on University. We glanced at the pastries and decided we needed something more filling. Something with meat! So we went further east along University until we reached Whole Foods.

Everything is better with bacon.

I glanced lovingly at the hot breakfast bar. Problem was that we have been here numerous times and usually only for breakfast. But I could not pass up the pile of bacon. So I gave in and purchased four strips to be divided between me and my roomie in case we could not find any proper breakfast establishment. Cost for the bacon was a mere $.91. The cardboard box the used to carry the meats probably weighed more than the actual contents.

Pedestrian bridge overlooking the 163.

My roomie needed sun, I didn’t and was sporting a hat to protect my face from the sun. Unfortunately it didn’t help with the heat. There weren’t many places along University that were open for breakfast. I suggested a crepe place I had passed a few times and been meaning to try. But I was unsure how far east we would have to walk until we reached it. Further I didn’t know if it was still open for business especially seeing how fast restaurants seem to turn over in Hillcrest.

Painted electric box in Hillcrest.

With the sun now beating on us, I was ready to turn back, cut my losses and chow down on the bacon that still occupied my purse. But just as I was turning my heel, my roomie pointed out Crepes de Paris to me. It was open and packed with the Sunday breakfast crowd.

Outside seating at Crepes de Paris.

We were both famished and thristy. We opted for the outdoor seating. Actually it seemed like alley seating since we were situated between two buildings but we had shade and water. Who was I to be picky? Yet I should have guessed the seating area was sign of bad things to come. Service was dead slow and being outdoors only removed us from the waitress’ view. One other couple was there and was badly neglected as us. Once we placed our order, we didn’t see our waitress for what seemed like an eternity.

Smuggled bacon from Whole Foods.

All was not lost. I had bacon! That helped curb our hunger if only until our crepes arrived. That and the variety of sugar packets on our table: Splenda, Equal, Sweet N Low and real sugar.

Savory ham and cheese crepe.

The crepes were delicious but I still had a bad taste in my mouth about the service. That was further intensified when the lemonade order was forgotten. When the bill finally arrived, we decided on no tip and opted not to pay for the lemonade on the bill even though it was brought to us when my roomie gently reminded her of our drink order. The total bill came to $20.24 but we only left $18. Yeah, service sucked that bad. It only fueled my fire when she thought everything was fine although we responded with a stony silence when we asked us how our meal went.

Crepe stand at Farmers’ Market.

We quickly walked away from the establishment and headed a bit north to the Hillcrest Farmers’ Market. We agreed that we should have gotten a crepe made there. They would have been made before our eyes and while we waited. And there was a lemonade stand just a few feet away. Darn.

Guy in a chicken suit in 80 degree weather.

The walk back wasn’t as bad as I feared it would be at midday. With quick looks into air conditioned stores and one stop at a Mexican eatery for horchata we made it safely back to the condo with only a mild sunburn.