SATURDAY | After a home breakfast, we were back on the streets of San Fran ready to retrieve our next car. It is a small white Nissan and Ash made the controversial decision to crown him MJ (given the transmission from black to white she was inspired by Michael Jackson). Once we'd settled in we were back on the road headed towards wine country. We arrived in the Sonoma region just before midday with a couple of wineries to check out before we headed into town. After being turned away in two of the parking lots due to our lack of wine tasting reservations we decided the best course of action was to head into town. Ditching the car at the hotel we headed to The Girl & The Fig for lunch but were informed it would be a hour wait. With Lady Gaga an advocate for its food we agreed to come back in an hour. Tucked behind the venue was Hawkes tasting room which allowed us to pass the time sampling some scrumptious reds from the local area. Our host Matt was also able to educate us that in Napa if you wanted to do tastings you had to pay (average price $30 for 5 wines) and that towns had tasting rooms that you could just rock up to but if you wanted to go to the winery, you generally had to book in advance. Over a delicious meal at The Girl and The Fig (shout out to Gaga for the hot tip) we had to reassess our Napa Valley plan given what we had just learnt. And the only way that we could efficiently come up with a new course of action was more wine. So, next stop after lunch was a tasting at Lake Sonoma Winery room which we paired with a dessert of Bloody Mary flavoured popcorn. Then it was on to Kamen Estate for a glass of rose' before we headed to our hotel to check in. Luggage dropped and beds assigned we were back in the Sonoma square (which is reminiscent of Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls) weighing up dinner options. We settled on OSO where we tucked into some tapas on the back patio. As we attempted to leave the couple at the table behind us stopped us for a chat, which delayed our exit by about 20 minutes. They recommended we head across the square to the dive bar in the Swiss hotel and so conversation complete off we trotted. At the Swiss Hotel we managed to score a seat at the bar which gave us the prime position for people watching. A couple of drinks in the couple next to us struck up a conversation. In between telling them about our trip we learnt they were locals who worked in the wine industry and who were raising their three kids in the area. Given their insider knowledge the wife was insistent on giving us recommendations and so as we continued to chat she took control of my phone and stated formulating lists of things for us to eat, drink and see. Everything was plodding along nicely until the wife decided to kick off a political conversation. As the words "Obama was never my president" escaped her lips it dawned on me that things were going to get uncomfortable. And it quickly did as she railroaded the conversation with her Trump support, concerns about immigrants and her distaste for Muslims. Whilst openly disagreeing with her views we tried to steer the conversation away from politics but their was a madness in her eyes as she continued to ramble opinions we didn't agree with. Luckily her husband scooped in and said it was time to get the kids and so we thanked them for their suggestions and also headed off into the night. Our next stop was Stieners Tavern. The DJ had yet to start playing and inside the locals watched the sport being projected across numerous bars. By chance out the front having a smoke was Matt, our wine tasting mate from earlier. After taking a few moments to recognise us he introduced us to his mate Marty and before long we were all inside enjoying some drinks. As the night rolled on we were introduced to many of Marty and Matts friends as we enjoyed people watching and playing pool. When the DJ stared playing just after 10pm the hens nights as well as the afterparties from a couple of weddings started to stream in. The place went from placid to manic in the space of half an hour. We stayed mingling with our new friends till just after midnight but when Matt decided to start doing accents (poorly) and just wouldn't stop I decided I was done for the night. Ash was keen to stay on and so I made the short walk back across the square to the hotel and within the hour Ash was also home tucked up in bed. SUNDAY | Our planning from yesterday meant we were much more prepared for navigating the Napa Valley today. First stop was a visit to a quaint historic town St Helena. We strolled the Main Street ducking into the range of clothing and house appliance shops they had. By the time, we'd finished browsing we'd worked up an appetite and so we stopped in at Sattui Winery for a picnic lunch in the gardens. After touring the grounds, we were back in the car off to Yountville but after a quick walk through the main strip we bailed after seeing the bucket loads of tourist groups going in and out of each of the tasting rooms. Our back up plan was to try our luck at the Miner Family Winery and the wine gods were thankfully on our side. Up on the patio overlooking the vineyard we were able to enjoy a flight of white wines all whilst the sun glistened down on us. We stayed here till well into the afternoon enjoying the quiet.
On our way back to Sonoma we dropped into The Black Stallion Winery and Luna winery but they only served wine by the bottle and by that point in late afternoon we only wanted a glass. So we aborted that plan and just headed back to town for a early dinner. Going off the recommendation of the crazy-political lady from the night before we hit up Maya for a Mexican feast and it did not disappoint. Good to know that even with whack repressive political views she can still appreciate good food. Post dinner we joins the hordes of families queuing at the ice parlour so I could get a after dinner treat. After a stroll around the square whilst I finished off my dessert we retreated to our hotel room and succumbed to the mindlessness of cable TV.
0 Comments
|
ArchivesCategories |