And if you can say that without hearing Bugs Bunny crooning, then you obviously grew up in a different generation than I did :) As for me, I was singing it in my head the whole day while we visited the mission.
As I've mentioned, we went down to the coast over Labor Day weekend. Able to squeeze in a few days of vacation over the holiday. One of our stops was to the mission at San Juan Capistrano. Growing up on the east coast, I know really very little about CA history, and the missions and so forth. The mission at San Juan Capistrano is very well preserved, with a lot of work gone into making it a very interesting historical center as well. Besides the mission's religious importance, San Juan Capistrano also was the center of the local Indian tribe (pre-Spanish) and had a big commercial importance as well - had interests in ranching and metal work and wine-production too. Was actually the site of the first wine production in Alta California (they can claim being the birthplace of the California wine industry!)
The gardens in the mission are absolutely stunning. I might be a little biased, since post really doesn't get much in the way of greenery or flowers. But, still, it was a beautiful garden. There were bright, bright fuchsia flowers cascading all over the walls, and a fountain in one of the courtyards that was full of koi and water lilies. So much was in bloom, and butterflies flitting around... if it hadn't been right in the center of town (with the associated traffic background noise), it would have been one of the most peaceful places I've ever been.
The gardens in the mission are absolutely stunning. I might be a little biased, since post really doesn't get much in the way of greenery or flowers. But, still, it was a beautiful garden. There were bright, bright fuchsia flowers cascading all over the walls, and a fountain in one of the courtyards that was full of koi and water lilies. So much was in bloom, and butterflies flitting around... if it hadn't been right in the center of town (with the associated traffic background noise), it would have been one of the most peaceful places I've ever been.
The town of San Juan Capistrano was very nice too, a very pleasant walking town. Plenty of standard quaint-little-town shops. There was a lovely shop where we browsed for a while - antiques and old books and so forth. Found several interesting old books, so was quite pleased. Another interesting shop was full of cooking stuff - not Williams-Sonoma sort, but more artsy (would've been perfect for you, Julie!). Lots of beautiful glass serving pieces. Very fun shop :)
The final high point of our trip to San Juan Capistrano was the restaurant where we had dinner. Granted that we have so few eating establishments here on post, that doesn't change the fact that Ciao Pasta was DELICIOUS!! I had a salad with mixed greens (not a bit of iceberg in sight!) and grilled salmon and strawberry vinaigrette. Simply delicious. Even makes me want to figure out a version for ourselves (their vinaigrette was homemade - if they can do it, so can we!). Heck, Zach even said that he'd eat salad with a dressing like that! (For a guy that normally eats so healthily, he's not a big salad person). The pasta was delicious (Zach got a pasta dish) and they are very open to customization. Yes, all in all, a simply delicious meal. Definitely worth stopping by if you ever head down to see the San Juan Capistrano mission.
The final high point of our trip to San Juan Capistrano was the restaurant where we had dinner. Granted that we have so few eating establishments here on post, that doesn't change the fact that Ciao Pasta was DELICIOUS!! I had a salad with mixed greens (not a bit of iceberg in sight!) and grilled salmon and strawberry vinaigrette. Simply delicious. Even makes me want to figure out a version for ourselves (their vinaigrette was homemade - if they can do it, so can we!). Heck, Zach even said that he'd eat salad with a dressing like that! (For a guy that normally eats so healthily, he's not a big salad person). The pasta was delicious (Zach got a pasta dish) and they are very open to customization. Yes, all in all, a simply delicious meal. Definitely worth stopping by if you ever head down to see the San Juan Capistrano mission.
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