Costeaux

Costeaux is the Hotel Petaluma's in-house coffee shop. Unfortunately it was "momentarily" closed, which forced us to hang out and wait in their beautiful lobby. That was okay because it gave us a chance to talk to the front desk clerk, and we learned a thing or two about Petaluma and its coffee scene.

Hotel Petaluma

The 1923-built Hotel Petaluma, now a Hilton-operated boutique hotel. We almost stayed here but instead enjoyed a coffee in their nice restored lobby. The U-shaped configuration reminded us of the historic hotels of west Texas.

Amy's Kitchen

Wandering around the historic core of Petaluma, we stumbled upon the national headquarters of Amy's Kitchen. As someone who has probably consumed a hundred cans of their soup and just recently enjoyed their frozen Asian Stir-Fry, this was meaningful. Their Thai Coconut Soup in particular has personal significance. Perhaps somewhere in the back of my head I knew they were based here, but otherwise I forgot.

 

historic core of Petaluma

That day, which happened to be our anniversary, we took our exploration of downtown Petaluma to a deeper level and discovered something very old, solid, and historic. Above, the 1885 Mutual Relief building, designed by Bay Area architect John M. Curtis. Below, the street known as Kentucky Street.

steel the one

Wickersham Park

Right behind the Metro Hotel was this delightful park, and along with that a delightful neighborhood that strongly reminded us of Portland, OR. These made for some positively pleasant strolls.

petit dejeuner

In addition to boules, The Metro Hotel offered a French-style breakfast consisting of coffee and crêpes with strawberry, banana and Nutella. Plus a side of French pop music.