And finally - Palo Alto lodging and food - delightful!

As much as I was not inspired by Palo Alto I have to say the little hotel we stayed in was a delight. It was minutes from Stanford as well as great food but felt like a little nature retreat. 

It's called Creekside Inn and I highly recommend it. The room was very well appointed and the staff were wonderful. We had a balcony that looked out on a squirrel's nest!

I have never been eye level with a squirrel's nest before. There was a beautiful courtyard with little tables, a nice pool, an on-site restaurant, and a little convenient mart. 

And minutes away there was a Trader Joe's and this restaurant that we found and loved. We had a lovely dinner and drinks here the first night and went back for a quick lunch before leaving town. I wish I had taken a photo of our meal. But you can see some of the food they serve here:

http://www.calafiapaloalto.com/#!images/c1oyq

For anyone following the debacle about bathrooms in North Carolina (where I live) you will appreciate my obsession with this totally cool bathroom set up in Calafia.

There were beads hanging in the very wide entrance behind me - totally see-through - and a row of six (three on each side) unisex private bathrooms that shared this sink.

Why aren't all bathrooms in restaurants designed this way? I love it.

If you end up traveling to Palo Alto I highly recommend the Creekside Inn and a meal at Calafia. It was a delightful respite between Stanford and UC-Santa Cruz, which is up next in my travelogue.