Being retired means getting to take a longer vacation. We've both been recalling how our employed selves would arrive at vacation exhausted and would need the first week just to recuperate. Then maybe we had a second week and back at it again. Now we can take 3 weeks, really settle in and enjoy "la dolce far niente" (the sweetness of doing nothing).
Rockridge is a neighborhood that straddles the border between the south of Berkeley and the north of Oakland. It was a place I remember as a high schooler where we hung out to feel cool. Much gentrified since then, but still sweet. Monday we started at Kitchen Story because Linda loves breakfast and they are famous for it. Linda had her eggs with the "millionaire's bacon" which is mentioned in all the reviews of the place. It’s marinated in maple syrup and then has some sort of spicy heat added.
I had a chicken sausage and spinach scramble which was also tasty. The potatoes were also particularly good - crispy and seasoned with rosemary
We wandered along College Avenue and visited Pegasus Books (there are actually two independent bookstores within a few blocks!).
I was tempted by this one since the sloth is my spirit animal:
In the end though I purchased this one as possible book club material:
The best discovery though was that the Women Street Photographers book that includes Linda was featured in the bookcase near the entrance!
This shelf amused me
As did this front yard later in our travels. Hard to discern any unifying thought. I guess we’re free to interpret as we will
