We spent one day of our honeymoon road tripping around Monterey. We started off with the 17-mile drive with beautiful scenes of rocky shore, old cypress trees, and serene golf courses. Then we ended our drive in the charming coastal town of Carmel. We didn’t spend too much time, but certainly enough to split a bottle of wine for lunch and relax by the sea.

We had heard good reviews of La Bicyclette, so we wanted to try it for ourselves. The atmosphere was bright and bustling, though the restaurant was a quaint small cafe. Whimsical decor with chalkboard signs throughout made sitting and waiting for our server an experience in itself.

We ordered a bottle of wine to split with a Margherita pizza made in their wood-fired oven. Tres lovely, no?

The ingredients were fresh, it had (for me) the most divine ratio of sauce to cheese (just a little more sauce, than cheese, please). The crust was crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside and was covered in wood-fired flavor. We shared a bottle of Tomero Malbec. So sweet and delicious—I can taste it now. Splitting that bottle is one of our favorite memories of the trip. Going on a honeymoon any time soon? I suggest you do something like that.

Then, of course, we ordered dessert.

This was the Lemon Verbena-Peach Napoleon.

The puff pastry was crisp, sugar glazed, with lovely decadent peach cream in the center. Caramelized slices of peaches provided a slight bitterness that contrasted well with the fluffy sweetness beside it.

Beside that was a cream-filled apricot with a garnish of mint and peach sorbet sitting on a bed of sweet crumble.

We walked off our lunch and our wine with a trip to the shore. Everyone was dressed in sweaters. It was much too cold for bathing suits.

Here we are! I know we’re a little cheesy—or at least I am, but I’m ready and willing to admit it. Oh well, until next time! We’ll be daydreaming about the pizza and beautiful coast for days to come.