Once we checked into the Comfort Inn we went out into Salt Lake City. The hotel being on 400 South street we are just four blocks from the centre of Salt Lake City. We walked up towards Downtown passing the Salt Palace Convention Centre which had been used by the media during the 2002 Winter Olympics. Having come into a city with the temperature in the mid-90s it is hard to picture how this can be a winter Olympic city, but the weather in Salt Lake City and its surrounds has very hot summer and very cold winters, as the Beach Boys sang, if you listened to the song.
In a further block we were in the Temple Square area and all the buildings were related to the Mormons, their genealogical centre and their museum. We popped in to the museum, but within a minute we had been accosted by a member of the Mormons who wanted to tell us all about his religion. So we made a swift exit!
There is a Mormon building on the route between home and the Sainsburys we normally shop at on Saturdays. Drew has always suggested that they are white slavers and asked that I speed up as we turn past it. This view seems to remain now we are in Salt Lake City, as after the first encounter, Drew wasn't going into any more Mormon buildings.
We did however take photos of the Assembly Building and the Temple while walking around the grounds.
The grounds themselves are very well kept and the flowers are well tended. You get no sense of being in the desert when you are here.
We considered walking up to the Utah State Capitol building, but when we saw the steep climb, we took photos of it from where we were.
Drew was particularly taken by a reflecting pool just outside the Temple Square. As we sat there admiring the view a young couple started dancing with each other and kissing. Then he went into his bag and pulled out a ring, got down on his knees and proposed to her. She evidently said yes as she took the ring and they kissed as the other people around the pool began to clap.
We walked up from Temple Square to State Street and saw the Mormon Admin building along the way, it is a huge edifice.
By this time we were ready to eat. The last twice I visited Salt Lake City with other members of my family we eat at a Japanese restaurant called Benihana, we walked past this and took a photo for old times sake, but the area is going through renovation, and Drew wasn't keen on the idea of having his dinner cooked in front of him.
We came to Market Street, the same name as our street at home, and saw signs for the Market Street Grill, a fish restaurant. It looked really good, so we asked for a table for 2 and they squeezed us in. The place was packed. As it was a Monday night I was surprised to see how many people were out eating, but when we tasted the food we knew why the place was so popular.
We decided to share an appetiser and opted for crab stuffed mushrooms which came in a skillet covered with cheese. We had this with some lovely crusty sourdough bread.
For the next course I had a delightful clam chowder, as well as the lovely clams it had chunks of vegetables: leeks, carrots and onions being the most noticeable, it was excellent. Drew had a Tomato and Mozzarella salad, with the mozzarella finely crumbled over the tomatoes and the whole lot drizzled with balsamic vinegar, Drew thought it was delicious.
For mains I opted for Halibut Oscar, Halibut being such a strong succulent fish it handled the crab and bearnaise sauce very well. I was trying to remember when I had Halibut last, I certainly must have it again soon, it is such a lovely fish. Drew opted for mahi mahi with grilled pineapple, this was served with courgettes and rice. A tartar sauce was on the side.
For dessert Drew opted for Key Lime Pie, it was a large slice and had the jest of a lime over the top along with a slice of fresh lime. There was no conversation as Drew concentrated on eating, but have no doubt it all got finished.
The restaurant was just over two blocks from the hotel, so we were back there by 9.30 pm and soon to bed.
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