Day one of our vacation and we’ve learned so much about the city of New Bern, NC.  It’s the second oldest city in North Carolina and is the sister city to Bern, Switzerland.  Bern mean bear in Swiss and 4 years ago they celebrated the city’s 300th birthday and placed decorated bears all over.     But I’m getting a little ahead of my self.  Here’s some shots of our awesome B&B that we are staying at. Breakfast was wonderful but I didn’t get any shots of the actual food.  Every room was booked and the breakfast area was filled to capacity. I didn’t feel right snapping any food shots.  Ron had blueberry pancakes and I have almond French toast.  (I had dreamed that we overslept and didn’t have anything other than bacon and sausage so it was wonderful that we had other options.) Here are some shots of the breakfast area I captured later in the day. The first order of business today was a trip to the birthplace of Pepsi! I began a Coke girl and I do still love the advertising but sometime around college I switched over to Pepsi and I’ve never looked back.   We try to not drink sodas often but when I do, Diet Cherry Pepsi is my favorite. Ron’s favorite is Diet Mt. Dew! We walked around a little and then it was time to take the 90 minute trolley tour. We saw so much! Check out that snake eye window!   Cool huh? I loved the history in the Cedar Grove Cemetery and this cedar tree was so neat.  Thousands lost their lives in New Bern to yellow fever and many were buried in mass graves here. The next stop on the trolley tour was Christ Church.  We got to go inside and it was breathtaking. Notice the Star of David in this Christian church.  Christianity embraces both the old and the new covenant.  It is 2 triangles and the triangle represents the Trinity. After the trolley tour we were getting hungry and Ron found this little gem. We lucked out and found 2 vegetarian choices.  We got them both and shared.  A veggie wrap and a portabella mushroom burger with sweet potato fries.  We also both had this awesome strawberry and goat cheese salad. We try to stay away from dairy as a rule but since it was vacation we endulged! After lunch we rented bikes!  Ron said he hadn’t been on one in over 30 years and I hadn’t been on one since I did the Smithfield Tri back in 2012.  It was so fun! In this shot of me you can see the trolley in the background. Here’s some shots of the restaurant we ate at last night.   Captain Ratty’s was a wonderful seafood restaurant and quite the hopping place.  Not too veggie friendly however.  Ron got a scallop salad and I had salmon tacos which were actually divine. Next came some afternoon siesta time back at our room and then dinner at The Chelsea. It was Wonderful!   Check out the interior and the restored mosaic tile floors. They had 2 veggie selections and we got them both and shared.  Risotto and another portebella mushroom selection. Our appetizer was fried green tomatoes with fresh mozzarella. And I had my very first mint julep. Wowzer was it ever strong! For dessert it wasn’t vegan but boy was it good! Delicious coconut cream pie! I highly recommend  The Chelsea! So delicious. We still have our tickets to Tryon Palace for tomorrow and Ron has announced that we will be guests of Sound Fitness. When you are in NC, make sure to go to the place that the Trent and Nuese River meet and have yourself a blast with the bears!