Tuesday: We fly Virgin America airlines for the first time. We are greeted warmly at the counter and are told that we will not have any problems getting a seat as the plane is only 1/2 full. Yay! After boarding, we settle in and I take a nap. Upon waking, I discover an electronic Mahjong game as one of the entertainment choices on the headrest computer that is at every seat. Cool, I am good for the remainder of the flight. We arrive in San Francisco and take a cab just a few miles away to pick up our rental car. From there, we head for Napa, get lost a few times, and manage to get stuck in traffic that is absolutely unbelievable. I will NEVER complain about the traffic in Dallas ever again -- I do not know how people cope with going 12 miles in an hour - I know that I am not coping well and some horrid person has inhabited my body -- my poor Mister. We are routed over the Bay Bridge which is about the only good part of this drive. It takes us 3 hours to travel the distance we should have gone in 1 hour, but we arrive and check into our hotel. After dropping off our luggage, we are off to locate some food which we are both in dire need of. We find a place off the main road called Fume Bistro and Bar. Mostly locals, which is fine with us, so we sit back and enjoy a nice meal before returning to the hotel for some much needed sleep.
Wednesday: We wake early and point the car in the direction of Yountville, a quaint little town north of Napa. We stop at a group of old train cars that have been turned into a coffee shop, The Yountville Coffee Caboose. Sitting outside in the brisk morning air, we enjoy crepes, coffee, and hot chocolate. We are treated to watching hummingbirds, looking at beautiful flowers, and watching the locals start their day.
We then continue North towards Spring Mountain and drive up to the top of the mountain where Sweiger Vineyards is located. As soon as we step out of the car we are greeted by the vineyard dogs and James, our host. The crush pad is full of Pinot Noir grapes (from a neighbor's vineyard) in large plastic bins that are being dumped into the de-stemmer. We all grab a few to taste and James talks about the ripeness, seed color, and sugar content. James walks us out into the vineyard to taste their grapes and compare the Pinot Noir to the Cabernet he has on the vine. I am so surprised at how sweet they are -- sooooo much better than the grapes we purchase to eat fresh. The vineyard is absolutely beautiful with gorgeous bunches of grapes on the vines. I am enthralled. We continue on into the tasting room to learn about their wines while enjoying some great conversation and an incredible view of the grounds.
From there we go to the fermenting room full of stainless steel tanks waiting for grapes, and then down into the barrel room where they store/age their wine. What a great tour and the wines are quite lovely as well. We finish our time there and start the drive back down the mountain on our way to the next stop...
Frog's Leap Winery -- cool name for a vineyard (the original location of the vineyard had ponds to raise frogs for local restaurants). As we approach the main house, we see the gardens, the olive trees, and many other wonderful sights.
This is a sit-down tasting and so we are given a table on the porch overlooking the vineyards and gardens. They serve a nice little cheeseboard along with their wines and it is a completely pleasant time just enjoying the passing scenery.
We watch as the workers make their way to the vineyard where they start "thinning" the grapes and I am saddened by the waste that I see.
The grapes on the ground are absolutely magnificent and I really don't understand since they are only two weeks from being harvested and I have not seen this practice in any other vineyard as we have driven around. Ah - each winemaker has his own eccentricities, I know, but still . . . As we finish our wonderful snack we wander the grounds and weave our way around the gardens until we come upon the crush pad where they are working with Chardonnay grapes. I edge closer and closer until I can see all that is going on and am fascinated again with this process of de-stemming/crushing. We peek into an old barn and I spot a worker (turns out his name is Jesus) and he is adding yeast to a vat of wine and lets me watch. Then he asks if I would like to go upstairs and see into the vats -- oh my, of course I would! So off Mister and I go with him. We are in the barn loft, looking into the open tops of the fermenting tanks and seeing the different stages of the grape fermentation.
What an opportune moment and I enjoy every second of it. This has been a great stop -- thoroughly enamored with it all.We backtrack a little to the next winery, Grgich Hills Estates. This is a family winery with a history of amazing wines and great family names (Hills Brothers Coffee owners were partners in this venture) and a wonderful Eastern European (Croatian) tradition.
We were in time for a progressive tour and so signed up and started out in a "tasting" vineyard. Now, this was such fun to try all the different grapes used in wines and compare them. They are all wonderfully sweet and we were able to sample Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet, Pinot, Syrah, Merlot, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Syrah. Along the edge of this small vineyard, the hummingbirds were at it again. I miss those wonderful little birds so much as they were always part of my youth and they brought such a smile to my face. The tour continued through the fermenting/barrel room and into the tasting room.
It was a nice time and we were given two wine glasses as we left - a nice touch. On to our final stop for the day, located on the other side of Napa along the Silverado Trail.
Regusci Winery. What an absolutely beautiful drive as we arrive at this winery. It is one of the oldest wineries in the valley and the original building is still there. This is not a tour, just a tasting and we visit with some other people traveling the area and sample the wines.
I see some jewelry made from the wine bottles and think it is a great idea -- don't buy any, but like the creativity.From here we travel down into Napa and plan on shopping, but discover that everything closes here around 5 and we are so confused -- the wineries don't close until then -- would seem to us that that is when most shoppers would be out and about. Oh well, we continue into the downtown area and find Morimoto Napa Sushi restaurant and Mister wants to try the sushi from one of the "famous" Iron Chefs.
We stop in and take a seat at the sushi bar. Mister orders several types of sushi and a sake sampler. The exchange between the chefs and us is almost non-existent, which is a bummer, but I watch the chefs create some of the most beautiful dishes I have ever seen. Incredible. From there we drive over to the Oxbow Public Market to find dinner.
Most of the stores there are closing but the main attraction there is the Hog Island Oyster Company. We once again take our seats at the bar (not sure this trip includes many tables, ha ha). Mister orders a bowl of Chowder, made with fresh clams in the shell, that turns out to not only be beautiful, but excellent as well. It is fun to watch it all be prepared right in front of us. My grilled fish meal is also incredibly well done and oh so tasty. It is time to call it a night and we do just that.Thursday: It is a beautiful morning and we go into downtown Napa again for a cozy stop at Molinari Cafe for a warm drink and a sweet treat.
Great start to the day. We relax on the sofa in the sun and it feels just oh so nice. As we are leaving, Mister is taking a picture of the stores' sign and we hear, "Don't you want me in the picture too?" The owner's mother is walking down the sidewalk and stops under the sign, so we take her picture with a smile as she asks if we will send it to her son.I go into the shop to get his email and get into the car. As we are about to drive off, she is back and asking if we will mail a copy of the picture to her as well because "her son never remembers to email things to her". We laugh and get her info as we agree to send her a snap. Too funny and Mister says the picture isn't even all that good.
From here, we are heading over the mountain ridge and into the Sonoma valley. It is a beautiful winding drive up a narrow tree-covered roads, but I think Mister is on a racetrack sometimes and with all the curves, my tummy is doing dances that are not necessarily appealing. Windows down please. As we drop down into the valley, we can see the differences between Napa and Sonoma just in the size of the buildings and how it is so much more laid back on this side.
First stop - Deerfield Ranch: As we enter the grounds, we pass giant screens and chairs set up near the pond on our way to the parking area. Oh, and two large metal giraffe sculptures.We park and walk towards the entrance to the "cave" but signs are pointing in both directions and we are confused.
It must show because we are approached by a gentleman (we later discover he is the owner) and he takes us past the crushing pad, stopping to taste the Chardonnay grapes with us and on into the cave, giving us a tour as we go. We are met by Coralie and have the place all to ourselves to visit and taste the wines and look around. We learn that there is a film festival going on there and that is the reason for the outside screens and the one in the tasting room as well. It is a wonderful time and she recommends a few other places for us to check out as well as a good place for lunch. As we are leaving, the place is starting to get busy and a large group has started a tour outside. It was nice to have the one on one time. Next stop...
Audelssa. This was Coralie's recommendation. This winery has a tasting room in the quaint little village of Glen Ellen.
Their winery is on the top of the mountain and is for tours only, so we pop into the tasting room and do a sampling of their wines.They are quite nice and we visit for awhile with another couple who are vacationing from Europe. Soon, we are on our way again and headed for our last stop in Sonoma --
Little Vineyards Family Winery. We arrive and enter the tasting room to discover that they are in the middle of a rush, so Mister wanders outside taking pictures and I watch for a seat to open up.
Soon, the place is empty except for us and we have a chance to visit and learn about the wines, the winemaker, and the land. It is a nice, relaxed time and all too soon we have to head down the road as we have to return our rental car this evening before heading to the hotel in San Francisco and I absolutely do not want to get stuck in horrid traffic again. We drive into Boyes Hot Springs and stop at a little Mexican restaurant called El Molino Central for a quick lunch before completing our drive. It is a great little place that came highly recommended and they make my guacamole fresh right as I order. Mister has a Quesadilla Mercado Abastos and it is all quite yummy.
We sit out on a covered patio and enjoy the wonderful fall weather - a nice lunch all around. From there, we drive back through SF, only hitting traffic when we're right in the city and get back to the airport area. We drop the car and walk across the parking lot to the subway station for our trip to downtown. I buy our tickets and we roll our luggage down to the train. It's a quick trip (beats traffic any day) and we're right downtown, at the Powell Street Cable Car stop. We walk up Powell a couple of blocks, turn onto Sutter and our hotel is right there, the Larkspur. It's a cute little boutique hotel, and they are very efficient getting us checked in and up to our room we go.
We drop our bags, relax on the bed for a little while, and then walk over to Chinatown as the sun sets and the lights come on.We wander the streets (steep hills up and down) and notice signs saying a couple of blocks of the main street would be blocked off from 10pm - 6am. We find a security guard and find out it is for a new Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn movie, The Internship. We decide to go eat and then return to check it out.
Mister could walk forever to research each place, but with the hills and the long day, he decides on a little place we had walked past earlier, so we go in to eat. It's pretty empty, but the ducks hanging in the windows and the dumplings steaming on the stove look pretty good. Mister picks a chicken and mushroom dish served on a sizzling platter, and I pick a dim sum sampler. The next sound at the table is hysterical laughter coming from Mister. I am so confused -- he is laughing because I ordered dim sum --- isn't it just like tapas only Chinese? The things listed didn't sound all that bad. Now I am afraid to eat anything - seriously. He goes and gets the menu again so that I can check what was supposed to be on my plate. There are more items than are listed and so we have no idea what they are. He has totally freaked me out -- I may never eat Chinese again. I find the courage to continue and give most everything a shot -- there are only a couple I do not like, and neither does he. Hmmmm. Apparently, I am his entertainment for the evening.
From there, we head back to the main drag in Chinatown to see if they are setting up for the movie yet. They wet the street down and blocked traffic for a few blocks.We take up a corner post not far from the filming, but are soon asked to move further away. From where we are standing we can see the actors either fighting or dancing in the street down the block but that is all. The staff is ardently trying to stop photography which drives me and Mister nuts and soon he is pushing it until I see a staff member speak to a police officer and point at us. At this point, I suggest that we leave as we don't have a car for me to get about and bail my hubby's butt out of jail. We wander back to the hotel and call it a night.
It is a beautiful day and we are up and out on the streets heading to Pier 39 (Fisherman's Wharf) to see the seal lions.
As expected, they are lounging about on the docks as they have been for many years now. The pier is almost empty and so we have it pretty much to ourselves and the seals. They put on a show for us by shoving each other off the piers in a territorial stake as I giggle softly at them. I love it. Upon leaving the pier, we walk up to the western end of Lombard street (not the zig-zag section) and down Stockton to Mama's on Washington Square, a wonderful little cafe where the line outside has already formed and it has only been open about 15 minutes. We wait 45 minutes before entering the cafe and order our food while waiting for a table.
I have the silver dollar pancakes and Mister orders a french toast sampler. The food is delicious and so we savor it all and take our time relaxing in the restaurant. As we leave Mama's, we go back toward Lombard street and start climbing again as we go towards Coit Tower and Telegraph Hill. We arrive at the base of the tower and are rewarded with great views of the bay and hummingbirds zipping to and fro while I try to get a picture of them -- no success. We head up the stairs to the tower and come out onto the grounds where we see a group of people with nice cameras standing near an overlook to the Bay Bridge. As we walk up behind them, I hear them talking about waiting for something that had left Sacramento and was scheduled to arrive anytime. I ask what they are waiting for and they tell me that the space shuttle Endeavor is scheduled to make it's final flight from Sacramento to LA today and will pass by the tower as it does a loop around the bay. Cool. We stand and wait for a short while and then decide that since we had planned on going up into the tower, we would head up there now and so after purchasing our tickets, we ride the elevator up.I am disappointed to discover that the observation deck is enclosed with glass and so pictures will be a little more difficult, but that is how it is. We only wait about 10 minutes and the shuttle comes into view. We move around the top of the tower with the shuttle as it loops around the bay, snapping as many shots as we can get. It is so incredible that we get to see this.
From the tower, I also see some of the wild parrots that live on Telegraph Hill. We descend down the tower, taking in the murals on our way out, and start the walk down all 400 steps to the Embarcadero. We then walk back towards Market Street, through the Financial District, looking for our lunch stop - Sam's Grill. Since it is almost 1 o'clock now, we stop to have a quick lunch and then are back on our way. We walk down to Powell and grab the subway out to 15th and from there it is a short walk to the Dolores Mission where we buy tickets and take the self-guided tour through the old church and cemetery. It is nice and peaceful - a quiet moment in a busy city. We follow 16th down to Castro for a few shocking views of nekkid old guys sitting in lounge chairs in the streets. We stop at Castro Theater hoping to sneak inside for a look, but it is locked up.
From there, we continue down Castro toward "the Haight". A gentleman notices us taking pictures and tells us about a great overlook of the city across the street at the medical center. He leads us over there --- he is right -- it is incredible. What a nice man.
We snap a few pics and then head back towards Haight-Ashbury walking through it and enjoying the atmosphere. Beyond it lies Golden Gate Park, where I am hoping that we are not too late to go through the Conservatory of Flowers, but alas, by the time we get there it has closed. It is a Friday afternoon and it closed at 4 -- nuts. We sit on the steps for awhile and watch many, many people also walk up to find the same disappointment. For a city short on money, they sure turned a lot away today alone. Oh well --- we work our way back to the Haight to find a place for dinner. We stumble across a little microbrewery/restaurant called the Magnolia Gastropub and Brewery.What a little gem we have found! After ordering a couple of beers, we select a meal to share -- an appetizer of marinated olives with bread and these wonderful little pickled grapes, the main dish of Grilled Yellowtail with salametto piccante, clams, chickpeas, seared baby artichokes, and lemon aioli - probably the best dish I have ever eaten in my life. Dessert is a Chocolate Bourbon Pot De Creme of chocolate cookies and espresso whipped cream for desert. EVERYTHING was divine - so yummy. We catch a bus back to the hotel and crash. The day was glorious in so many ways and yet a very difficult day for me. I will be oh so glad when my body is back to normal -- whatever THAT means -- and I don't have such intense mood swings when bumps happen in life. Ugh.
A new day dawns and we are ready to go again. It is our last day here and we don't really have an agenda other than to go to the Ferry Building and to ride the cable cars. We walk toward Market Street, passing Union Square as we go -- there are tents set up and what looks like a cool art fair -- BUT, it doesn't open until 11:00 -- once again -- nuts. Once down to Market we head over to Mission street and the arts district as I am looking for the Ansel Adams Center. Mister darts into Peet's Coffee while I continue to look, but to no avail -- it is gone. We sit at a sidewalk table and share a scone while watching the locals running about trying to catch buses - quite entertaining really. From there it is down to the piers and the Ferry building where a large and wonderful Farmers/Crafters market is going on. 
We slowly go up and down the aisles checking it all out. There are a few beautiful displays of veggies and fruits that knock my socks off and I stop to stare often -- oh, and grab a wonderful California strawberry -- one thing I certainly remember from my childhood -- nothing so juicy and sweet anywhere else. We start walking back to Chinatown hoping that the food stores will be open this time. They are having a festival on the same street as the movie last night, lots of people out today.We ask about food stores, and are guided a couple of streets up the hill. It is different here than in Vancouver where I loved the bustle and open markets. Here, they are little individual shops mixed in with other stores.
It is busy though and soon we are wedged in as we try and make our way down the street. As it clears a little, we keep walking and soon find ourselves in North Beach or "Little Italy". Wow, just like that we are in a different culture and everything has changed. We search out a place for lunch and find Caffee Puccini - a cool little cafe with open windows and homemade ravioli. After we finish, we walk across the street to Z Cioccolato -- and purchase a piece of salted dark chocolate with almonds. It is so yummy and I eat the whole thing while we wander the neighborhood. Mister wants to ride the cable cars so we walk to the end of the line near Fisherman's wharf so he is able to have the "complete" experience by riding the full length. As we are walking, we spot the curvy section of Lombard Street in the distance and decide to forgo walking there -- we just look at it and snap a picture -- I know, lazy tourists. About an hour later, we arrive at the trolley depot, purchase our tickets, and get in line for the ride back. The first trolley arrives, is manually turned in place, fills with riders, and it looks like we will make the second one which will be here shortly. Ah - here it is and we take up positions standing on the front, left edge - hanging on -- cool. The ride is fun, with the wind blowing in our face and listening to the people chattering in various languages around us. We come to a stop at the Powell Street Depot and start the walk back up to the hotel to rest and search out a place for dinner. Mister decides he wants sushi again and so we go around the corner to Sushi Toni and take a spot at the bar. It is great in that Toni is working and he talks with people -- bar is too high to watch him work - dang- but the sushi is great and Mister orders a huge scallop that is presented so beautifully. Oh and he likes it too! We head back to the hotel to pack and crash as we have an early morning trip to the airport tomorrow.
We get to the airport and it turns out that I have screwed up the times and we could have slept for another couple of hours. Ugh. We grab a couple of seats and hang out until the counter opens and we can get boarding passes to go back into the terminal. I can be such an idiot sometimes. Time to go home --- was a fun weekend and would love to go back again. Here is the last view of San Francisco before we say a final goodbye.
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