I’m taking quite a few trips with my Nana this coming year, but even with a trip to Paris looming on the horizon, this little jaunt to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho was absolutely lovely. We went in early October, so it was definitely not tourist season anymore, and the air was brisk and the leaves were starting to change. It looks more like my old stomping grounds in Oregon than it does the parts of Idaho that I am familiar with. Everything was so green, and the lake, which is much larger than I’d imagined is gorgeous and impressive.

Since it’s only a thirty minute drive from Spokane, WA (a much longer drive from Boise), we flew into Spokane and made our way east. It was a very relaxed trip, but we definitely made the most of it and found some really cute places.

If you’re ever in Coeur d’Alene, these are the places I suggest hitting:

 

Gaiwan Tea House

This little tea house was so lovely. It’s in a remodeled Craftsman style house and is modern and Asian inspired inside. They make lovely tea lattes and they also sell loose leaf tea. But the real surprise was their curry, which was flavorful and full of vegetables.

Natural Grocers

You wouldn’t think a grocery store would make it on a best-of anywhere list, but my Nana and I had a blast shopping here. They had an amazing assortment of natural foods with decent pricing. Their baked goods were lovely (we bought a sourdough pumpkin loaf that we tore in chunks) and they had a great selection of giftable goodies like local soaps and items that had been produced in sustainable ways.

Culinary Stone Cooking Class

This giant kitchen store is really fun if you like kitchen stuff (which I do–I always love looking around these places), and this one is cooler than most since it has a tempting looking gourmet foods section with a small deli and a charming cafe attached.

A lot of big kitchen stores do classes, and this one was no exception. We thought taking a class might be a lot of fun, and we went in to see if there were any openings, but unfortunately they were all marked full on the calendar.

Luckily though, I spoke to the cashier, and she said there was so much interest in one of the classes that another had opened up and there were two spots left, which seemed pretty meant-to-be.

We came early to get a good seat (I highly advise this, since it’s much easier to hear and see and smell in the front), and bought a glass of wine while we were waiting. Patricia Hébert-Jenks, the chef, was French and lovely. She was very charismatic and her description of things tended towards the poetic, like the sound of butter singing in the pan. She urged us to make our own chicken stock and to take our time cooking–food is a pleasure that shouldn’t be rushed.

She made: Velouté de Pois Cassés aux Lardons et Aux Oignons (a velvety pea and potato soup topped with caramelized onions and tiny strips of bacon), Filet Mignon Farci à la Poire et au Romarin (baked stuffed pork tenderloin with shallots, pears, blue cheese, and rosemary), and Poached Pears with caramel sauce, the bottoms of which she filled with rum spiked whipped cream.

The food was so good, the more so for getting to watch her prepare it. And at the end you got to eat it all as well as the little chocolate they gave you to take home. It was the first cooking class I’d ever attended, and I loved it.

I would definitely recommend her class to anyone in the area–but note that they fill up quickly.

Paris Flea Market

The nice thing about antique stores in less busy cities is that they tend to have better prices. It’s also a great way to kill an afternoon, and an activity I love doing while traveling.

This particular antique store had two locations in the city. The original has a giant metal cow out front. Both are a lot of fun to poke around in.

Museum of North Idaho

I’m not usually in love with tiny local museums. I think it’s great to support them (usually the money you spend there goes to support local history work and other worthy causes), but they’re usually really boring and lackluster.

However, this museum, located right on the river, was actually pretty good. They had a number of interesting displays on homesteading, mining, logging, and fire watching, as well as Native American, geological, and military history. It was less expensive to get into than a lot of small museums, and you could spend a good hour there, especially if you watch the film (which we didn’t).

 

 

Have you ever been to Coeur d’Alene? Did I miss your favorite spot? Let me know in the comments.