"What would you like for breakfast this morning?" my husband, Wayne, asked one dreary February morning as we were sitting at home in El Paso, Texas.
"Eggs Benedict at Wynn's Hotel in Dublin," I replied facetiously. Our travel funds were in short supply with the stock market bouncing up and down, and we had no plans to travel to faraway lands anytime soon. But at least we have our breakfast memories.
Not all travelers may agree, but to us breakfast in a new city is one of the highlights of a trip. (We have friends and relatives who prefer to sleep in and miss breakfast, can you imagine?) We began to reminisce about breakfast meals we have enjoyed in our travels.
First place goes to Wynn's Hotel in Dublin, Ireland. Wynn's is a traditional (shall I say staid?) Victorian hotel located near the famous Abbey Theatre. A maitre d' ushers guests into the elegant dining room with views of passersby on Abbey Street Lower. Your coffee cup in filled with steaming strong coffee as you are being seated. Wayne invariably orders Eggs Benedict and swears that they are the best he has ever had.
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| Wynn's Hotel, Dublin Ireland |
The runner-up for our best breakfast memory goes to La Fonda On the Plaza Hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Santa Fe is only a six hour drive from our home (close by Texas standards), so we have been guests at the hotel many times, often during the Christmas season. The breakfast room, La Plazuela, is a large, bright area with a fountain in the middle and hand painted glass tiles on doorways. Eggs Benedict is again usually Wayne's menu choice.
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| La Fonda on the Plaza, Santa Fe, New Mexico |
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| La Fonda Hotel on the Plaza, Santa Fe, New Mexico |
Another breakfast memory is not so much about the food but rather the incredible views from the balcony where breakfast is served at the CS Vintage House Hotel in Pinhão, Portugal. This picturesque small city is located on the Douro River in the wine country. I could sit all day and watch the boats on the river and gaze across to the vineyards on the hills.
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| Pinhão, Portugal |
A much less extravagant breakfast that still brings us happy memories was in a small tea shop in the village of Greenwich, UK. I look forward to ordering tea (hot tea we would call it in Texas) in Britain because you are served not just a cup but a whole pot of tea with sugar and cream on the side. Scones with clotted cream and jam are the perfect accompaniment to the tea, which always tastes better to me than our American tea.
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| Greenwich, United Kingdom |
A breakfast we can have any time we feel like driving about an hour from our home is in a small restaurant called The Shed in Las Cruces, New Mexico. What a perfect place to start a relaxed Saturday enjoying the multicultural atmosphere of the "City of the Crosses." We have to remind ourselves to bring a hearty appetite, because servings are quite large. The quiche comes with a variety of fresh fruit and crusty bread.
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| The Shed, Las Cruces, New Mexico |
Our last standout memory are the breakfasts served on the long distance VIA Canadian train between Toronto and Vancouver. We have taken the four-day trip both ways, east to west and west to east, once in the dead of winter. I can't say enough about how much we love to the travel on the Canadian. And being served a sumptuous breakfast while watching the Canadian landscape pass by through large picture windows is about as much fun as a person should be allowed to have.
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| VIA Rail Canada |
I'm not sure where our travels will take us next. To the Isle of Skye in Scotland? Northern Spain? A train trip in British Columbia? Wherever it is, I know Wayne will ask me, "What do suppose they serve for breakfast?"
