THE Most Glorious Sunday of the Year!

Hola Bloggies:

The Fiancé and I happened to be in Boise over the Easter weekend. And although it would have been very easy to skip out on church, given that we were travelling, we were determined to make it to Easter Sunday service. Initially, we thought of going to a nearby Salvation Army Church but it turned out just to be a thrift store. We didn’t know were to go to worship so we decided to start driving on one of the main thoroughfares heading towards the Capitol. Not too far from downtown we came across the beautiful First Baptist Church.

You see how spectacular the building looked against the perfectly blue sky? And the service was just wonderful. Honestly, when you combined the glorious architecture with the miraculous occasion I was thrilled to pieces with my Easter Sunday. My soul was happy and we got to worship in a lovely place even though far from our Rocky Mountain Casa.

After the service we parked by the Capitol and walked to Goldy’s. I had been waiting to eat there since before we left Canada! Goldy’s is another Boise institution – it’s an incredibly well known breakfast joint, once described by Bon Appétit magazine as their favourite place to have breakfast in North America!!!! High praise indeed!!!!

Goldy’s was bright, cheery, and teeny tiny. I don’t think you would have been able to fit even thirty people in the place. Aside from the seats you see above there was a relatively small area, which is where we were seated. The small seating area and the high praise are likely relevant for the line-ups out the door! In fact they take your cell number and give you a call when your table is ready. And in case you want to wait outside the restaurant they have coffee set up outside.

One of the brilliant things about Goldy’s was the service. All the waiters and waitresses were beyond helpful, the hot sauce/jam/cream selection at the table was ample, and our coffee cups (full of Boise’s own, Dawson Taylor Coffee) never even got half full. The waiters were always there ready to get you anything you wanted. And despite how busy the place was they did it with a smile.

When it came time to choosing our breakfast I was torn. Everything sounded absolutely delicious but in the end I chose the dish that Bon Appétit magazine raved about – the Andalusian eggs.

The Andalusian eggs were two poached eggs on top of a chorizo tomato sauce (I’m told there was also ham in there but I couldn’t actually taste any) that itself was on top of a whole whack of perfectly cooked asparagus. With my main dish I got to choose a side dish and although I was tempted by the pancakes I chose the raisin walnut cinnamon toast. That bread was absolutely delish!!! Most cinnamon toast is overly powdery. You couldn’t even see the cinnamon on the bread and yet you could taste it – perfection. The Andalusian eggs were really great too (and very healthy!). In particular I loved how wonderfully cooked the eggs were. All in all I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Goldy’s to anyone. I myself plan to return every time I’m in the neighbourhood!

After our late brunch we decided to head out for a drive around Boise. Time to get to know the city better. During our drive we came across some foothills that from the distance obviously had trails running through them. On a hunch we headed to one of the local parks and discovered a trail head. The skies were perfectly clear but it was windy. Nonetheless we decided to head out on a random exploration. There was a very strong headwind that meant aside from the up and down nature of the trails we were working hard to keep moving. Still it was a glorious day and it gave me an opportunity to test my Garmin for the first time!!!!

The hike was great but when we got further into the foothills (read higher up) it quickly became obvious that we weren’t dressed for the very harsh exposure to the strong wind. So we headed back. By the time we got back to the car the Garmin looked a little something like that! Well done new friend – the weather around these parts has been kind of yucky (lots of hail) so I haven’t been able to test it on a run yet but I’m totally looking forward to taking it out for a proper spin!

Ah Boise . . . who knew that the capital of Idaho (Seriously!?! Idaho!?!) would end up being so very cool. Great restaurants. Lovely hiking. Beautiful architecture. I loved it all!

Have you ever been surprised by a city that surpassed your expectations? Have you ever been disappointed by a city?