Once upon a time, there lived a man named Hugh. He was a good man who liked to build things with his hands. One day, it was the leap year 1924, Hugh came to Carmel to visit his sister. As his good fortune would have it, he met a woman named Mayotta. She was a good woman who liked to make things with her hands. Their lives met, their souls touched and, a year later, Hugh Comstock and Mayotta Browne become husband and wife.
Mayotta was an artist who made little felt dolls she called the ”Otsy-Totsys”. She made more and more and then a few more, until there was no space left for the growing family in their home. Mayotta then asked her husband if he would build a doll house for her Otsy-Totsys. And so, Mayotta and Hugh, who were no architects nor designers but loved to make things with their hands, built the first wood cottage and named it Hansel. A little later, came Gretel and the rest followed in their gravel path.
Now, do you believe in fairy tales?
You can look for the real-life fairy tale cottages of Carmel on the Hugh Comstock Historical Hill District. Read more about them on this blog by Lynn Momboisse, who even went into the trouble of sketching a map, so you won’t miss even one!
And, if chasing fairy houses makes you hungry, Patisserie Boissiere is a mere magic wand’s flick away. The tale continues inside.
Carmel-by-the-Sea
July 10th, 2017
Greenwich Steps
The Humble Fabulist 