Of course I woke up early Monday morning. I checked the internets and such for an hour or so, and then went back to sleep till the rest of the house got up. It was cold, and very rainy. None of us was in a hurry to take off, so we hung out for a while, doing parallel play like little kids (I love that kind of hanging out, by the way). Carolyn played Civilization on the big tv, I uploaded and intereneted, and Eben did his own laptop thing.
Our plan for the day was to drive around the area and have a look. Of course if we could have gotten out and walked around various spots, it there would have been a lot more photos to show on this page. But what's a girl to do about the weather? It was still nice to look at driving by.
We drove along the Delaware river and it was quite lovely. Picturesque even. The trees and the water = beautiful. We drove past Washington Crossing where G. Washington and his men crossed the Delaware (during the Little Ice Age, by the way). I'd love to be there when the visitor's center was open and the reenactors were reenacting. I used to think that kind of thing was for dorky old people, but now I've become a dorky old person myself so I think it sounds very interesting.
Then, as now, thinking about it put the Shot Heard Round the World song from School House Rock in my head...
Though the next few years were rough,
General Washington's men proved they were tough,
Those hungry, ragged boys would not be beat.
One night they crossed the Delaware,
Surprised the Hessians in their lair,
And at Valley Forge they just bundled up their feet!
We drove through and around some lovely little towns, all only a few minutes from each other. Some looked rich, some looked quaint, some looked charming. I always forget the name of the one that was my favorite. We stopped in a gourmet grocery store and all got beverages. I think I lost mine somewhere.
When it was lunch time we headed to an Indian Restaurant for buffet lunch. Very yum. A couple errands to the bank and to CVS for me to print out some photos. Back at the Copples, I cut things out and they did some stuff. Eben played Civ, Carolyn helped him and looked at magazines I played with the MacBook until it was time to head downstairs for dinner at Eben's resaturant.
It was crazy full down there though, so we drove to a bar in a neighboring town and had a little beer. I don't even remember what I got. One of my own and half of Carolyn's (which is why I look kinda glowy in the photo bellow). We headed back to the Inn and to a table right away.

Eben ordered us all kinds of food. We shared the appetizers and pasta courses. Looking at it all again makes me really really want to eat it. It was beyond fantastic.

The table was made out of lots of different tiles. I dug it.
I don't remember what this was called. It was asparagus, green beans, peas, artichoke hearts. Something else. It tasted like the outside. Carolyn described it something like this: If you were out walking in the wood and fell face down in it, this is what it would taste like. We all loved it.

Duck dumplings with black vinegar sauce. I was nervous about the duck a little, but it was very tasty. The black vinegar sauce was good too. I almost always dig vinegar.

Truffle macaroni & cheese, roasted tomatoes, Oregon black & white truffles, cheddar & Comte cheese.
Earlier in the day, when Eben told me I'd like the mac and cheese best, I thought whatever. It's macaroni and cheese. I make it from the Kraft box all the time. But he was right! Again. Oh man it was good. The cheese, the truffles, the roasted tomatoes - and the bread crumbs. Perfectly yum.

This bad picture is of a very very tasty dish called wild nettle gnudi with mushrooms and truffle butter. The gnudi was so good it was ridiculous. The texture and the flavor were both amazing. I want some more of this soon, but I've never seen gnudi on any menu around here so good luck to me I guess.

This was my entree, slow roasted chicken breast, ramps, snap peas, tarragon, parmesan farina. Ramps are leafy things that grow wild in the woods, where Eben hunts and
finds them himself. Farina is like polenta but with flour instead of corn meal. It was really great. The chicken was cooked perfectly; tender, juicy, full of flavor.
We were all too full for dessert, but I did get an after dinner coffee drink.
The Yardley Inn has it's own website, where you can check out the menu. And their own Flickr, where you can see Much better pictures of the yummy food. If you live anywhere near there you should really check it out. Eben is an amazing chef and has a magic understanding of how food works. And I know I'm biased because he's one of my bffs, but I promise you'll be glad you ate his food.
We went upstairs and all crashed out pretty soon after that.
Excellent day, excited about Philly in the morning.