Trip Report (Part 2)

Ok, back at it here.....

Tuesday - We woke up to a bright, wonderful day, much more relaxed than the full stomachs and discomfort from the night before......so, time to eat again! There was a great place that KB found online called the Blue Moon Cafe, located down the road a bit on Aliceanna Street (still a nice walk, considering it was nearly 65 degrees at 9:00. So, we went walking, and found our breakfast spot. Inside we discovered a small, wooden-floored nook that would have fit well on Lark Street, complete with the "artsy" looking help, adorned with tattoos and unusual piercings. However, the place was great...neat, trendy breakfast menu, eclectic decor...good place to start the day. I endulged with the "traditional" potato pancakes, made with chopped bacon and other nice touches.......KB started the day with vegetarian eggs benedict adorned with a side of hash browns, smothered in hollandaise sauce. Yum. We ate our meal and waddled out the door, already deciding to come back the next day before we left town. We walked to an area of town called Fell's Point, a nice little are filled with art shops, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. We had no itinerary, so it was nice to wander aimlessly. We did that for a bit, down by the water, etc. Did I mention the perfect weather? 75-80 degrees, slight breeze, not a cloud to be found. Anyway, we walked back towards our hotel.....but not before KB hawk-eyed a Whole Foods Market around the corner. Now, I thought she had died and gone to culinary heaven. Not only is she a vegetarian, but she also loves to check out other people's supermarkets.....so, this was a golden opportunity. And, it didn't disappoint. Aisles upon aisles of organic/vegetarian/earth-friendly/gourmet food choices that was among the best any of us have ever seen. From the bakery (featuring some of the nicest goods I have ever seen) to the sushi and hot bar (ditto), this place had it all. We were overwhelmed so much that we only bought a few things to drink and some cookies, and went back.
Back at the beautiful Mariott, we rested a bit....then went to explore the harbor area (featuring a large collection of shops called Harborplace). Nothing too impressive, past the scenery.....filled with great shops and restaurants (including a Tir na nOg). We did that for a bit, walking around....not realizing it was almost 4:30, andwe had 7:00 dinner reservations at La Tavola. Our way home found us walking by the Little Italy area , so we decided to check out the menu for our restaurant choice (Big thing all over Baltimore....the menus outside. Nice move.) As we were perusing the choices, a local walked by and told us, "You don't want to go there.....go check out Chiaparella's instead...." Well, we took the advice of the local (moron) and went to his suggestion......bad move. Upon arrival, we waited 10 minutes for anyone to even approach us to seat us (plenty of "we'll be right with you", though). We sat....2 minutes later, we were asked what we wanted to eat. (Should have realized something was wrong....way too quick....felt rushed). Not ready yet, the waitress told us, "well, you get salad with the meal, so Ill get that for you". Runners take your mark.....and they're off! The salads came, or whatever they were (iceberg soaked in a bleu cheese-parmesan bath....uggh)....we ordered, and 5 minutes later, our dinners arrived. No joke. They were rather good, but digestion wasnt an option......we passed on dessert and coffee (the waitress ever recommended another place, Vaccaro's, for cannolis and such). We were out in less than 45 minutes, including the wait. Uggh. We hit Vaccaro's, went home, had some cannolis, and went to bed....

The view from our room (thats Camden Yards all lit up)