hotel congress

yeah. that's all we do. eat! an historic southwestern hotel in downtown tucson on congress ave, the breakfast was raved about...which was divine (something with roasted potatos and cream sauce), although i'm not going to write about it because it was several weeks ago and since i have no photos, well, i can't remember...so while we waited for our outside dining table, we wondered around inside...

delightfully vaudeville

hello, operator?!

flirting

fighting

fussing

bloody mary and mimos sunday

ethiopian and tanque verde

our weekends in tucson are typically spent eating and hiking in the surrounding national forests. like every big city there is a plethora of restaurants, but we're particularly interested in the ethnically different selections, like ETHIOPIAN! (last week it was Indian...yum mango lasse and lamb korma!). i've never had ethiopian so this was all kinds of new surprises for my palette. traditionally served on a community platter lined with steamed bread kind of like a tortilla, we chose 6 different samples from main entrees. i can't remember the names of everything we had, but it was all delish!

the art and decor was authentic...the owner and our server was from ethiopia...what i liked the best was a wooden serving spoon and fork set with carved handles and wrapped wire...identical to the set i own and inherited from my granny...i always wondered where they came from.

tanque verde is a popular hangout place for locals, and not far from town, mainly because here in the sonoran desert a swimming hole of any size is a commodity. a short 1/2 mile to the lower falls took us to the most famous swimming hole...depth unknown, but deep enough to jump off the peering rocky cliffs. woohoo!!

indiana is the bestest...won't let anything bad happen to his momma...tying to save me

cafe passe

a very cool coffee shop on 4th in tucson, is quickly becoming my favorite place to frequent. across the street from my herb class is cafe passe. i can always appreciate a barrista who knows how to make my americano thick with glorious crema...mmmm.

also currently featured is the painter richard dennis, who's specialty is desert scenery, but instead of the blase kind i usually see in this area, his clouds and terrain are whimsical. i am in love with these !