We've always been winos, in the good sense of the term. So its kind of surprising that we've never been to Napa Valley to go wine tasting. After we dropped Jo off at the airport, we set out to remedy that gap in our travel resume.
We set out in our rented car (a Prius, naturally) across the Bay Bridge and up to Napa. It's actually a remarkably short trip -- maybe 80 minutes with no traffic. But Napa is really a LOT farther away from San Francisco than that, in its atmosphere and culture.
Our first stop was the Napa Valley Lodge -- our hotel for the night. NVL is actually in Yountville, which is a small town about 1/2 way up the valley between Napa in the south and Calistoga in the north. NVL is pleasant enough and has some nice rooms, but its location is a bit challenging since it is literally the first building off the main highway (Rt 29) and through the night we often heard farm trucks shifting the gears as they drove by. On the whole a nice place, but if we go back to Yountville, we'll try somewhere else.
After checking in, it was off for an afternoon of wine tasting. We started at Goosecross Cellars, a small family winery just outside of Yountville. The tasting room is in a small cottage that you get to by driving down a lane through the vineyard. Very cozy place. The day we were there we were alone in the tasting room and had a leisurely time of it. We were blown away by a couple of wines, particularly their Howell Cabernet and so we joined the wine club here. [As a sign of remarkable coincidence, roughly 3 hours after I drafted this sentence, a gift arrived from Goosecross -- one of their Howell's! Now we really are in love]
Then it was on to Casa Nuestra, an even smaller winery just up the road that seems like it is stuck in the 1960s -- all funky and stuff. For example, they had a great Tinto wine that is "field blend" meritage. In other words, the proportion of different grapes reflects what is grown, not some calculated mix. This year's Tinto had a great deep taste. We also liked their dry Riesling. But what really knocked our socks of was the Zinfandel. We went back into the barrel rooms and got a barrel tasting -- they've never done a Zin before, but this one sure had power. We bought the next to last case and .. .yes, joined their wine club too!
Third and last stop was the Peju Winery -- far and away the most elegant winery we went to, but also the most commercial. They had 8 tasting tables up and gave us some light pours of the cheap stuff. We stuck around afterwards and made them give us some of their reserves -- we especially liked their 50/50 Cab Sauv/Cab Franc blend. If this were our first stop we'd probably not have bought anything, but we were a bit light headed by this point, so we ordered a few bottles anyway.
Then it was back to Yountville. We hadn't gotten into the French Laundry (nearly impossible) so we "settled" for Bistro Jeanty down the street. The food was exceedingly good and surprisingly reasonable in price. It was a traditional bistro fare (boudin, steak fritte, etc.) which was a bit heavy on our stomachs after the wine tasting -- but the tastes were great. If I had to do it over again, I'd have skipped the Cassaoulet, not because of how it tasted but just because it was so heavy.
The next morning was wonderful. We got up early for a walk, bought a copy of the NY Times at stopped at Bouchon Bakery for some fresh baked croissants and coffee. Nothing beats sitting outside on a sunny day reading the paper and drinking coffee. We spent the remainder of the morning doing some light art shopping and then finished the day off with a wonderful lunch at Hurleys -- a patio eatery that serves organics. No better end to the visit than a fresh glass of Chardonnay and some crab cakes.
Alas, the trip was all too short. After lunch we headed back to the airport and were homeward bound. But we were certain of one thing -- this is the type of place we will try to get back to.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
San Francisco with Jordana
Earlier this month we went to San Francisco with our niece Jordana. She had wanted to go to Italy, so the next best thing was San Francisco, where we got to see an Italian opera.
Our first day was spent doing the "official" sights and sounds of San Francisco -- things that everyone who goes there really has to do, or they can't say that they've seen the city. From our hotel on Nob Hill we first surveyed the beautiful panorama northwards -- the Golden Gate bridge and the Bay, while, turning east we saw the Bay Bridge and beyond it the hills of Oakland.
After a leisurely breakfast and a transfer back to our original hotel (see the hotel post for that whole story), we stared on a walk down to Union Square. Wandering in that area we saw a gathering of traditional Chinese herbalists and doctors as a prelude to a community walk-a-thon of some sort. Then we wandered into a near by art gallery, where we got to see a couple of original Chagall and Picasso paintings -- pretty neat.
After that it was the obligatory (and enjoyable) cable car ride up over the hill and down to Fisherman's Wharf for lunch. While we were there, the Navy Blue Angels were performing overhead (it was Fleet Week in SF, hence the press of crowds!). We got on one of the amphibious "Ducks" for a trip around town and out into the bay (Paul thought it was very cool to go into McCovey Cove and see the Giant's baseball park from the water!). We finished the day with a short walk down the water to the Ghiradeli chocolate outlet store, where Katy and Jo went crazy buying cocoa products.
The second day was more sedate. It started with a pleasant brunch at the hotel and then was occupied, almost exclusively by a trip to the San Francisco Opera to hear "The Marriage of Figaro" by Mozart. The music was delightful and the singing was quite fine. Jo loved it. And the superscript translations helped a lot so that you could understand what was happening. Though Katy likes opera more than Paul, we both enjoyed this adventure and the SF Opera House itself is a true classic to visit (the last time we were there, two of our friends had their wedding party in the atrium -- talk about cool!).
Day three was Monday and we took the time to go see some parts of the San Francisco beyond the downtown. We rented a Zipcar (great company!) and drove out across the Golden Gate bridge to Sausilito, where we wandered the town streets looking at art and jewelry and the view of SF back across the Bay. Then, for a good contrast, we took Jordana to Haight-Asbury so she could see how the counter-culture lives. Talk about oil/water mixes -- H-A is much as we remembered it. Filled with aging and young hippies hanging out, singing songs for money and reading progressive magazines and literature. They have a weekly protest against the war in Afghanistan at a local park, for which we saw flyers. In short -- two sides of the San Francisco coin -- progressive activists meet silicon valley zillionaires.
So, it wasn't Italy, but it was almost as good for Jo.
Our first day was spent doing the "official" sights and sounds of San Francisco -- things that everyone who goes there really has to do, or they can't say that they've seen the city. From our hotel on Nob Hill we first surveyed the beautiful panorama northwards -- the Golden Gate bridge and the Bay, while, turning east we saw the Bay Bridge and beyond it the hills of Oakland.
After a leisurely breakfast and a transfer back to our original hotel (see the hotel post for that whole story), we stared on a walk down to Union Square. Wandering in that area we saw a gathering of traditional Chinese herbalists and doctors as a prelude to a community walk-a-thon of some sort. Then we wandered into a near by art gallery, where we got to see a couple of original Chagall and Picasso paintings -- pretty neat.
After that it was the obligatory (and enjoyable) cable car ride up over the hill and down to Fisherman's Wharf for lunch. While we were there, the Navy Blue Angels were performing overhead (it was Fleet Week in SF, hence the press of crowds!). We got on one of the amphibious "Ducks" for a trip around town and out into the bay (Paul thought it was very cool to go into McCovey Cove and see the Giant's baseball park from the water!). We finished the day with a short walk down the water to the Ghiradeli chocolate outlet store, where Katy and Jo went crazy buying cocoa products.The second day was more sedate. It started with a pleasant brunch at the hotel and then was occupied, almost exclusively by a trip to the San Francisco Opera to hear "The Marriage of Figaro" by Mozart. The music was delightful and the singing was quite fine. Jo loved it. And the superscript translations helped a lot so that you could understand what was happening. Though Katy likes opera more than Paul, we both enjoyed this adventure and the SF Opera House itself is a true classic to visit (the last time we were there, two of our friends had their wedding party in the atrium -- talk about cool!).
Day three was Monday and we took the time to go see some parts of the San Francisco beyond the downtown. We rented a Zipcar (great company!) and drove out across the Golden Gate bridge to Sausilito, where we wandered the town streets looking at art and jewelry and the view of SF back across the Bay. Then, for a good contrast, we took Jordana to Haight-Asbury so she could see how the counter-culture lives. Talk about oil/water mixes -- H-A is much as we remembered it. Filled with aging and young hippies hanging out, singing songs for money and reading progressive magazines and literature. They have a weekly protest against the war in Afghanistan at a local park, for which we saw flyers. In short -- two sides of the San Francisco coin -- progressive activists meet silicon valley zillionaires.
So, it wasn't Italy, but it was almost as good for Jo.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Machu Picchu
We've been on a bit of a hiatus from blogging the past couple of weeks, first because we were in San Francisco and then because Paul was busy trying his hand at political blogging as part of the Washington Post pundit contest.
All of which reminded us that before we went on to blog our trip to San Francisco, we still had to finish up the great May trip to Peru and, most especially, the fantastic visit to Machu Picchu.
The trip into Aguas Calientes (the small town outside of Machu Picchu) was the last hike of the trip and a surprising challenging one. We started the day at the last Inn on the trail at about 7000 feet and then hiked up and over a pass at 10,000 feet where we had a fine, but misty view of Machu Picchu in the distance. And then, on the other side, it was down, down, down to the river -- about 3-4,000 feet down on a series of switchbacks. The hike was a true "knee killer." Worse yet, it had rained the day before and the path was all mud. So the hike was just "step, slide, balance; step, slide, balance" for 3 hours nearly straight down. Not fun at all. We arrived in town tired and quite happy to find a room with a strong, hot shower.
The next day was magic. Paul had been skeptical of Machu Picchu from the start. "It's just a bunch of old rocks." Boy was he wrong! The construction at Machu Picchu was stunning -- perfectly cut blocks of stone fitting together seamlessly without mortar. They were so strong that they had withstood the test of time and the shaken of many earthquakes -- something that could not be said for more recent man-made constructions in Lima! And they were so well preserved that, instead of just a jumble of old stones, you got a true sense of the history of the place. One could close ones eyes and almost imagine Incan families wandering about on the mountain top. Late in the day, the sun broke out and we sat basking in the light on one of the agricultural ledges watching the world go by. If you ever get a chance to go do so! Without hesitation.
And there ended our trip, for all intents and purposes. That evening we had a hellish ride back to Cusco. The rains have washed out the train tracks so the train goes only part way and then we got stuffed into a mini-bus for a 2 hour slog at midnight. [As an aside, rumor has it that Rail Peru has no plans to fix the railroad because they are making more money from the insurance payments they get than they would if the restarted operations!]. After another day wandering Cusco and shopping we headed back to Lima and then onto the long flight home to America.
On the whole, a most excellent adventure.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
San Francisco -- The Hotel
So, now we are in San Francisco. We've come here with our other niece, Jordana, for a visit. We arrived last night at the airport, and took a taxi to our hotel -- the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental on Nob Hill. We arrived at the front desk, happily expecting to be whisked away to our two-room suite.
Sadly, it was not to be. Through an enormous f#&k up, the hotel had overbooked itself by an amazingly inconsiderate 35 rooms. We had a confirmed reservation (in fact, we'd called and spoken to them not 72 hours earlier to arrange a roll-away bed) but apparently "confirmed" doesn't mean what you and I think it means. And so, after much anguish and unhappy remonstrations, we were unceremoniously exiled across the street to the Fairmont Hotel.
Now, the Fairmont was quite a fine alternative. And the Mark Hopkins did agree to pay for the night, but still ... it was annoying and disappointing.
At the Fairmont we also had a nice two-room suite. We quickly put ourselves to bed and woke up to a wonderful sunrise over the Bay. Our room had windows facing East and North and we saw Coit Towers, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate bridge in the morning sunlight.
The next morning, perforce, we checked out of the Fairmont and, once again, crossed the street to the Mark Hopkins. We must say that at this point we were felling fairly frazzled and a bit put out. But the Mark Hopkins made up for our inconvenience in a BIG way. When we checked in, instead of the small 2-room suite we were expecting, we were upgraded to the Penthouse Suite, on the top floor of the hotel. The suite comes complete with a livingroom/library, a dining room, a kitchen, two TVs, a master bedroom and bath. In short, its a massive suite bigger than most rental apartments. We are now happily ensconced here for the next 3 nights and well situated for our visit to San Francisco.
Sadly, it was not to be. Through an enormous f#&k up, the hotel had overbooked itself by an amazingly inconsiderate 35 rooms. We had a confirmed reservation (in fact, we'd called and spoken to them not 72 hours earlier to arrange a roll-away bed) but apparently "confirmed" doesn't mean what you and I think it means. And so, after much anguish and unhappy remonstrations, we were unceremoniously exiled across the street to the Fairmont Hotel.
Now, the Fairmont was quite a fine alternative. And the Mark Hopkins did agree to pay for the night, but still ... it was annoying and disappointing.
At the Fairmont we also had a nice two-room suite. We quickly put ourselves to bed and woke up to a wonderful sunrise over the Bay. Our room had windows facing East and North and we saw Coit Towers, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate bridge in the morning sunlight.
The next morning, perforce, we checked out of the Fairmont and, once again, crossed the street to the Mark Hopkins. We must say that at this point we were felling fairly frazzled and a bit put out. But the Mark Hopkins made up for our inconvenience in a BIG way. When we checked in, instead of the small 2-room suite we were expecting, we were upgraded to the Penthouse Suite, on the top floor of the hotel. The suite comes complete with a livingroom/library, a dining room, a kitchen, two TVs, a master bedroom and bath. In short, its a massive suite bigger than most rental apartments. We are now happily ensconced here for the next 3 nights and well situated for our visit to San Francisco.
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