Pantiles Court and Passageway

After my Secret Garden discovery I’ve been intrigued with the Passageways of Carmel. I’ve heard there are between 9-15 passageways within the city. I’m sure I can get a map and find them all, but I prefer the thrill of randomly finding them when I’m on my walkabout.

On my way back from the post office today, I noticed a small sign (practically next door to The Secret Garden!) that said, “Thru way to San Carlos” – let the adventure begin.

My objective for this walkabout was really the passageway, I will visit the shops on another day. As far as passageways go, this one was a little mysterious. As I entered the courtyard I wasn’t really sure how the pathway continued; however, I did note there is a public restroom – always good to tuck this type of information away! Towards the back of the courtyard I noticed a stairway on my right so I walked up to see where it goes and it led to some sort of business that was closed for the day. Back down the stairs I rounded the corner and met Steve, working at the Carmel Frame Shop. Steve was a wealth of information. Apparently this courtyard was previously owned by John Madden and the area upstairs was his ‘hang out’. Now there is an artist of some sort using the space as a studio.

I told Steve that I was checking out the passageway today and he shared with me that he and his daughter use to wander the streets of Carmel looking for all the alleys, passageways, and courtyards. Kindred spirits! Steve also told me that he loves succulent gardens and he was responsible for planting and maintaining the small brick planter box in the courtyard.

After chatting with Steve I continued along the passageway. The area from the Carmel Frame Shop to the Hogs Breath patio isn’t very exciting. I actually felt like I was in an area where I wasn’t supposed to be – but this is Carmel so it’s all about wandering around and discovering different things.

Om Rhythms

Lately I’ve been going to the post office a lot and I’m trying to incorporate my walkabout with my errands, it’s a nice way to get work done and see more of the town. Depending on the weather, I usually walk on the side of the street with the most sunshine. Today I headed south of Mission and since their door was wide open and they had a cute dress in the doorway, I decided to pop in to Om Rhythms.

Om Rhythms specialized in ethnic influenced clothing for women, ethnic bags and scarfs, unique gifts, and handicrafts from Nepal, India, Tibet and Indonesia. The store space is quite large with half of the space dedicated to fashion type items and the other half has more of a meditative vibe with statues and brass bowls.

This shop is a treat for the senses. The incense scent in the store is a quite lovely aroma, the Hindu-esque music is almost trance-like and relaxing, and the colors and textures of the merchandise are wonderful to see and touch.

The Secret Garden

Back in January I visited Pilgrim’s Way (see blog post on January 14^th). As I noted in my blog, I completely missed the Secret Garden. So today on my way back from the post office I decided to check it out and I’m so glad that I did. Pure enchantment!

This by far has to be one of my favorite discoveries. I’ve always known there were lots of hidden courtyards and mysterious passageways, but until now I have never taken the time to seek them out. What a surprise. This passageway is very clearly marked and welcoming. I entered the Secret Garden from Dolores with zero expectations. The pathway is fairly narrow with a nice selection of plants, succulents, and garden-type knick-knacks (think engraved rocks, small statues, etc.). I took my time and strolled along the path taking in the relaxing ambiance and was completely surprised when the pathway opened up and I happened upon the greenhouse-esque gift shop in the middle of the alley. It was hard not to feel like I had made some amazing secret discovery. From gardening gifts to scented candles, from books to plants, this shop has a little of bit of everything.

After browsing around the shop I continued along the pathway and exited on San Carlos Street. I completely felt like a little kid that just had an amazing adventure – it was so unexpected and left me feeling a little bit giddy. I’m actually looking forward to out-of-town friends and family to visit so I can recommend this mini adventure.    

93921 Post Office

Since the homes and business in downtown Carmel don’t have street numbers, PO Boxes are very coveted and hard to come by at the downtown 93921 post office. I remember hearing about this when we moved to the area over 17 years ago – but I never really thought about it too much since I’ve always had an at home mail box.

The Carmel By The Sea post office is always a buzz with people going in and out, sorting their mail at the counter height tables, or standing in line to send mail or pick up packages. It’s quite a social scene – which is slightly unusual considering this is a post office for goodness sakes.

Hard to imagine, but somehow even the post office in Carmel oozes with charm! With so many mail and shipping stores these days it’s nice to take a step back in time and see the (still very operational) quaint, brass mail boxes with the dial locks and small glass window.

Pamplemousse

I can still remember my French name from my high school French class: Jacqueline. It was in French class that I was introduced to my favorite chocolate: Lindt Lindor…which is actually pretty funny since it was my French teacher that got me hooked on Swiss chocolate. And for some reason I had two favorite French words in high school that I always tried to fit in to sentences: sac à dos (backpack) and pamplemousse (grapefruit) –I just liked the way those two words rolled off my tongue.

I love grapefruit! I share a pink grapefruit everyday with my husband. On days that I work, I peel the grapefruit in the morning, section it in half, pack my half up for lunch and leave Graham’s half for him in the refrigerator. Even my kids love grapefruit! We go through a 10 lb Costco bag of grapefruit a week. So, with a shop name like Pamplemousse, I knew I was going to love this place.

Pamplemousse is in a prime location on Ocean Avenue with great windows for displaying a lovely selection of women’s clothing and apparel. Currently on one of the mannequins is a super cute pink and black shift dress that has a hip yet sophisticated look – it’s the perfect dress for bringing people in to the store to see more. In addition to some great dresses, Pamplemousse has jewelry, clutches, and a lovely selection of skinny jeans.

From their website, Pamplemousse is “A chic boutique with a Euro feel, featuring freshly squeezed fashions from New York, LA, and abroad.” There are some really fun pieces in this store that would be perfect for date night…I really need to start going out more so I can have a reason to splurge on some of these great outfits!