honey-mooning -- the honeymoon's over!

Well, yesterday was a little bittersweet. it was the last day of our trip, but we were going home to see our kitties and to be able to eat home cooked meals. It was also an entire day of travel (arrive airport SF time at 10 am and land MPLS time at 9 pm), which was a bit grueling.

We checked out of the Andrews and arrived at the airport way earlier than we needed to, and promptly got to sit around for a little over 2 hours before our plane boarded. then it was on to Salt Lake City airport for a layover of a little more than an hour. I have to say that if you can avoid it do not layover in the SLC airport. Salt Lake City must be the most poorly planned airport...ever. They have so many gates crammed into such a small area that there is always a huge crowd of people (literally elbow to elbow) standing and sitting at all times. Also, they have an automated announcement system which is constantly shouting out information. With all the gates so close, it is hard to tell what is being said about which flight, there is just this constant drone of a mechanical voice chirping along in a sing-songy way. What a headache! While there we had a wonderful lunch/dinner of airport food. (Not!) Liane at a deli, which ended up being to better choice than the cheese pizza and breadsticks I got from Pizza Hut.

Finally our flight to Minneapolis was ready, and it was time for the final lag of our journey home. Luckily we arrived about 20 minutes early into Minneapolis and after a lengthy wait for our bags (not sure where they disappeared to from the plane to the baggage area - but they took forever to arrive). My mom picked us up just outside the baggage claim area and we were on our way home to unwind and see our kitties. It was such a relief -- and in someways a big let down after all the excitement of the wedding, the gift opening, our travels/trip.

It took us a while to unwind, so we unpacked a little and sat around with our kitties and watched a bizarre "documentary" about Harvey Darger. It was disturbing, fascinating and compelling all at once. Harvey Darger was a gentleman with mental issues who documented his life and imaginary life in incredible detail - creating two huge novels, one being 15,000 pages (typed) single space and the other sequel ending unfinished after about 8,000 pages. Then there was the autobiography that was 13 volumes or so. He also kept detailed notes on the weather, his thoughts - deeds and religious experiences and ideas. He was obsessed with little girls, seemingly in a benign fashion, creating fictional worlds and countless sketches, images and illustrations with them at the center.

Also heard that Peter Jennings had died of lung cancer. Always surreal when someone who has played such a role in describing/bringing world events into America's livingrooms passes on.

That is it for us for the time being but we will definitely add to this wherever our travels take us.

honey-mooning -- day 6

Yesterday was our last full day in San Francisco. We decided to go to the Castro district for some shopping and lunch. Castro is the center of San Francisco’s gay community and is known for its boutiques, restaurants, antiques, and of course the famous Castro theatre. We were fortunate enough to chat with a gentleman on our train who gave us some pointers as to where to shop and eat, which was helpful as we really had no idea where to go! We found a number of second hand stores, however they really carried more consignment/used clothes versus classic vintage items. At any rate, we didn’t find anything worthy of hauling home in our already bulging suitcases, but it was fun to look!

We checked a few menus and found a wonderful Middle Eastern restaurant where we stopped for lunch. I think it was called La Mediterranean. Chris enjoyed traditional middle-eastern coffee, salad and some filo sandwiches with spinach, garlic and cheese. I had a chicken and lemon soup, which was wonderfully rich and tangy. Along with the soup I enjoyed a couple of chicken kabobs, which were nicely seasoned and perfectly cooked.

I was getting a bit worn out at this point, so we decided to head back to our hotel room to regroup. We talked about going to Japantown or the SF MOMA, but ended up deciding to check out Valencia St in the Mission district. We took the BART from Union Square to 16th and Mission and wandered along Mission to the 24th station. We stopped in on a number of interesting stores, including a fabulous store with a number of Japanese designed briefcases, bags and suitcases. We also found a cool antique store, a Mexican arts store and a couple of neat clothing stores and thrift shops. We stopped for a break at an airy coffee shop that was jam packed with folks in their 20s and 30s, many of which were surfing the net/typing away on Macs. It was interesting to note how many more Macs there were than PCs. Guess Mac has done a great job of capturing the imagination of this demographic!

Feeling a bit more refreshed/caffeinated. We wandered on toward 24th, stopping at a music shop (Aquarius Records) where Chris found all kinds of neat music. I think it was really hard for him to decide what he really wanted to buy, as there were so many interesting things there!

Finally we were at the 24th station, so we rode the BART back to Union Square where we stopped off for some last minute shopping at a giant Urban Outfitters a couple of blocks up from the Bart stop. It was getting on near dinnertime, so made our way back to our hotel and decided to get dinner at Fino, the wonderful Italian restaurant next door to our hotel. We enjoyed a glass of tasty house red (our hotel provides for a wine reception at the adjoining restaurant in the evenings) while waiting on our table. Chris ended up ordering the ravioli special for the evening, a blend of chicken and roasted garlic that was fabulously rich and flavorful. I got a calamari steak, which was also very flavorful (in a wine, lemon and garlic butter sauce), literally melting in my mouth! It was a delightful way to wind down for the night.

The night was still young as we finished dinner, so we decided to head out to one last Tiki bar, Trader Vic’s. The original Trader Vic’s opened in Emeryville across the bay from San Francisco and was originally called Hinky Dinks before turning into the Tiki paradise that they then sent across the world—including locations in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The original San Francisco location closed after the first wave of Tiki ended, but now with the resurgence of all things Tiki they have reopened a new location. Interestingly enough the alley next to our hotel is Trader Vic’s alley. With that and the tiki from Tiki Bob’s down the block this area must have been tiki central in the 50s and 60s. After our heavy meal, we decided to walk the 10 blocks to Trader Vic’s from our hotel, which made for more interesting sight seeing. San Francisco is truly a diverse city. From one block to the next you can feel you have traveled into separate worlds. From the underbelly, with sex clubs and “Lingerie” shows to Range Rover dealerships and high-end boutiques.

Once we reached Trader Vic’s, I tried a Pina Colada and a creamy, dessert drink called a “white cloud” which was mostly cream and coconut with a splash of coconut liqueur. Very tasty, but very rich. Chris had a tangy drink called “Dr Funk of Tahiti” which had an interesting herbal taste. He finished off with a Coffee Diablo, which came flaming with a big cinnamon stick in it. It was pretty strong, so only made it part way through that drink.

They had some nifty merchandise for sale at Trader Vic’s so we caved in and bought a commemorative glass in the traditional “Easter Island” shape. We tried to catch a cab on our way out but ended up just walking back to the hotel, as cabs were difficult to come by, even though it was only about 9pm!
Reaching our hotel decided we’d wrap up our night with one last big hurrah and stopped back at the Italian restaurant for a slice of cheesecake. It was delicious and just the perfect ending to a wonderful trip – and a truly memorable honeymoon!

Though it has been SO much fun, we are actually anxious to get back to our home, our cats and our usual routines. Traveling is wonderful, but there really is no place like home!

honey-mooning -- day 5

Woke up early this morning, looking forward to getting out and enjoying the sunny day! Hopped a bus near our hotel and rode it out to the Golden Gate park. The ride took a while, but allowed for lots of interesting people-watching!

Once we reached the park, we explored the botanical gardens. They are immense and beautiful! There are numerous different gardens, with plants native to certain parts of the world such as New Zealand, and Chile arranged in sections – so you could wander from one part of the world to another (botanically speaking) in a matter of minutes! It was neat to see how the differences and also the commonalities in plants throughout the world.

Our next stop was the Japanese Tea Garden. It was just amazing, containing a waterfall, pagoda, ponds, bridges and even a little tea house overlooking a stream. It was truly a peaceful place. I could have spent hours there! But we were excited to keep moving on and seeing more of the beautiful gardens.

Wandering along we came to the conservatory gardens. We decided not to tour the conservatory itself, just the grounds. There were huge gardens with colorful arrangements of annuals, creating diamonds and other geometric shapes using different colors and plant types. There was also a huge dahlia garden with more varieties of dahlias than I even knew existed! They are so interesting and other-wordly! Some of the dahlias were big, colorful balls, others were spikey orbs and still others were more delicate yet, with a spiral of wispy petals flowing out from the center.

On a hill near the conservatory we stopped to admire a garden of succulents and enjoy the vista. The sun was starting to intensify and it felt wonderful basking in its heat.

We walked the remainder of the garden, loosely following JFK drive until we came to Haight street. We stopped at Amoeba Records to shop for used CDs then holed up in a wonderful little Mexican place for tacos and burritos. The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering down Haight street, popping in on various vintage stores, clothing stores and of course, the Fluevog shoe store.

Returning toward home, we took a bus down to Market street and 4th street, near Union Square. We did more window shopping in some of the upscale boutiques and specialty stores such as Betsey Johnson, Paul Frank and Puma. By this time our feet were getting tired so we headed back to our hotel to do some quick research on restaurants for dinner.

We ended up picking an Indonesian restaurant near our hotel for dinner and it was wonderful! For an appetizer we shared roti (a buttery bread), which came with a dipping sauce that tasted like coconut milk and curry. It was divine! I ordered ginger tea, which was spicy and sweet – a perfect balance. Chris got the Thai iced tea, which was strong and rich, mixed with condensed milk or cream.

For dinner, I got a huge bowl of lemon grass soup, which had noodles, chicken and egg as well as plenty of green onion and garlic. Just what I needed to warm me up as the night grew chilly! Chris ordered a sweet and sour Tempeh and Tofu dish that had a bit of smoky, bar-be-que flavor and was loaded with tasty green beans and tomatoes. We were really pleased!

Finally, we experience a bit of San Francisco night-life! We went to the Tonga room, one of San Francisco’s original Tiki bars, which opened in the 1940’s. They serve tasty but not overly strong tiki drinks and best of all there is a rain shower INSIDE the restaurant every half hour. There is a pool in the center of the restaurant with a “boat” floating in the middle (where bands perform) and surrounding the pool is a porch, with tables that have straw canopies and on the other side it looks like a porch with a thatched roof. We sat at the bar so that we’d have a good view of the pool/boat for the rain shower. (The rain only occurs over the pool – so no one gets wet!) It was really neat!

We also stopped by Harry Denton’s Starlight lounge before heading home. The starlight lounge is on the 21st floor of the Sir Francis Drake hotel and has huge windows with expansive views of the San Francisco skyline. It was really foggy tonight – making it mysterious and fun to watch the fog drifting between the buildings/sky scrapers. It was also good people watching as they have a dance floor and live band. Tonight the band was playing funk music and there was quite a crowd dancing and having a good time. It was fun to watch and even better to step out onto the dance floor for a while too!

honey-mooning-- day 4

Today was our last day in Napa Valley, but our first day in San Francisco, so it was both bittersweet and exciting.

We began our day as we have the last couple, by having an excellent breakfast at Churchill Manor, and then it was off to St. Helena to do some shopping. First on our agenda was the Coach outlet, followed by the Napa Valley Olive Oil Mfg. Co. Then it was back to Napa to pick up our bags and wine and head off to Carneros.

We decided to add two final wineries to our agenda Viansa, and Roche, both of which are at the tail end of the region and whose wines are available only through their tasting rooms.

Viansa came first and as we entered the grounds we were blown away. In addition to olive trees and grape vines everywhere, they had a large area of wetlands and beautiful gardens. Viansa concentrates on Italian varietals and grows many grapes not grown anywhere in the Napa valley or outside of Italy for that matter. Our wine expert Josh was great help in navigating the enormous list that is available for tasting. After discovering what we enjoyed he suggested several others and gave us an additional blind taste that turned into one of our favorites. In the end though we could have purchased a few cases we ended up with two bottles, a 2003 Dolceterra and a 2002 Prindelo. A couple we considered but decided against for the time being were the 2002 Samuele and our only white of the tasting a 2003 “Pierina” Vernaccia. After tasting we picked up lunch in their great deli/marketplace and ate overlooking the gorgeous estate. The owners along with Ducks Unlimited recreated a wetland on 90 acres of land on the estate and it makes for a very picturesque landscape.

Next we came to Roche Winery, either the first or last winery of Napa/Sonoma depending on your direction of travel. On a former cattle ranch this boutique/cult winery manufactures about 8,500 cases of wine a year, and only sells through its tasting room. Dale, the gentleman in charge of tastings, was very fun and informative. We tried a large number of wines for the size of the winery, but fell in love with their 2003 Estate Chardonnay and the 2002 Carneros Pinot Noir both of which we decided to bring home. We were also tempted to join their Club Carneros, which gives you quarterly shipments of 3 bottles of wine—new releases, special wine club only wines and the like. At Roche we had one of our most memorable wine tasting moments, we were able to do a barrel tasting of three wines that they are currently selling as futures—a 2004 Pinot Noir, 2004 Merlot, and 2004 Syrah. They will not be bottled for a few months yet and so their taste may be altered slightly by the aging and bottling processes, but you got a great idea of where the wines were headed.

With this our Napa vacation came to an end and we began our San Francisco vacation.

We took the 101 past San Rafael and Sausolito then into San Francisco. As we came over the mountain edge on the highway by Sausolito we were greeted with an amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance with wisps of fog coming over the mountain above us—wow. After a drive through SF, we arrived at the Andrews Hotel and were greeted with a bottle of Champagne in our room. We got settled, drank our champagne and were off. We went to the Levis store at Union Square and then to the Millennium for dinner. Millennium is an upscale vegan/vegetarian restaurant near our hotel. We sat at the bar and had one of the most amazing meals ever! We started with rosemary roasted new potatoes and a corn puree soup. Liane had a black bean torte and I had a pasta dish with a cashew cream-vodka sauce with white beans and nuts. For dessert we had an amazing chocolate torte with a cashew crust and white mousse topping. Then it was back to the hotel to relax.

Liane decided to call it a night and I took a walk to the top of Nob Hill and I was able to see the fog rolling across the city. Then it was back to the hotel and to sleep to prepare for the next day.

honey-mooning-- day 3 pt.2

Another beautiful day in wine country! After our morning ride in Carneros, met up with the rest of our tour to explore the Calistoga region. We visited four wineries and even popped in on a cooperage!

After a rolling ride through lush green scenery we arrived at the Frank Family Vineyards. It is a small, unassuming winery whose tasting room was curiously decorated with faded Marilyn Monroe memorbilia (left over from the previous owner). The wines, however, make up for any lack of ambiance! We tried their 2004 Napa Chardonnay, 2003 Sangiovese, 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2000 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon as well as a few of their sparkling wines and their 2002 Napa Valley Zinfandel. While all were tasty, we ended up taking home the Zinfandel ($34.75) and the Sangiovese ($34.75). The Sangiovese had just been released and was an absolute standout. One of the better we have tried, so full of flavor and well balanced. Frank Family Vinyards sells their wine exclusively through their winery and mail order. So it is definitely worth seeking out if you are in the area!

Tasting at Frank Family Vinyards was free, a first for our tour so far. Usually tasting fees range from $5-$15 depending on the winery and/or the types of wines offered for tasting (the most expensive tasting fee we encountered was at Domain Chandon, for their sparkling wines).

After Frank Family Vinyards we took a winding tour through Calistoga, and even ended up sailing past "Old Faithful" an active geyser in the area. We did not, unfortunately, get a chance to see it "go off", but it was an interesting side note to our adventure none-the-less.

Eventually we came to Bennett Lane Vineyards. The landscaping and gardens at this winery were really gorgeous. And we had the opportunity to lunch beneath a trellissed patio overlooking some of their vinyards. What a great way to unwind! While there, we sampled some delicious wines including their 2003 Chardonnay, 2002 Maximus, 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon and Primus Reserve Cabernet. The Chardonnay was very refreshing, soft and mellow without being too rich or buttery. They are best known for the Cabernets, and this was evident upon tasting. The Primus Reserve ($85) was especially delicious, but a little too pricey for us!

On our way to our next wine stop, we took a quick stop off at a cooperage, or place where wine barrels are made. We had a chance to observe them toasting the oak, alligning the wood slats and placing the metal rings around the barrels. We learned that depending on the wine and desired level of "oakiness" a winery may use new oak, used oak, or neutral oak (barrels that no longer impart any features to the wine). I was amazed at the level of skill shown in creating the barrels.

A short distance down the road we turned into the drive for Chateau Montelena Winery. At the top of the steep driveway we were rewarded by a cool vision of a beautiful stone fountain. After a very hot ride (the temperature was over 90 degrees F at this point) it was tempting to dive right in! Fortunately, there was a cool, crisp Riesling awaiting us inside, which did a wonderful job of refreshing and delighting! We tried four wines in all, the Potter Valley Riesling ($18), 2002 Napa Valley Chardonnay ($33), 2002 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($40), and the Montelena Estate Zinfandel. The Riesling was our favorite, possibly as it was just so refreshing after our hot ride. We also really enjoyed the Zinfandel ($28), it was not too "jammy" but instead flavorful and light.

Chateau Montelena is probably best known for its 1972 Chardonnay which beat out french wines to win the Paris wine tasting organized by Spurrier. This was quite a coup for an american winery!

We rounded out our tour with a fun and fruitful stop at Vincent Arroyo Winery, a very small winery producing only 8,000 cases per year and selling primarily through their tasting room and mail order sales. Vincent Arroyo is a fun stop as they love dogs (have a few lounging about and hamming it up in the tasting room) and have a wonderful sense of humor. While we thought ALL the wines here were lovely, we ended up taking home a couple of bottles of their "Nameless" wine ($27), which got its name from the note, "nameless", on the barrels for this wine, which was a placeholder until a better name was chosen. Eventually, "Nameless" stuck and no further name was pursued. They also have wines named after their dogs, and their wine makers. Which I found refreshing... finally a winery that doesn't take itself so seriously!

In addition to a fun personality, this vineyard is well known for its Petit Syrah. While we did not get a chance to taste this wine, we DID try a port made from their Petit Syrah which was simply amazing. We also really loved their 2002 Merlot ($28) which was bold and well balanced.

Finally our day and our biking drew to a close. After relaxing back at the Churchill Manor for a bit we decided to take to the road, by CAR this time to try a wonderful mexican restaurant (Villa Corona) and then take a meandering route to Sonoma. The sun was just setting as we passed through the countryside - casting a golden glow on the vineyards and hills. It was a fleeting, yet glorious vision. And one that we hope to remember for some time!

honey-mooning-- day 3 pt.1

just got back from our workout ride with Brad the owner of Napa Valley Bike Tours. We decided we wanted a more bike-centered ride in addition to our tour rides, though we may have bittten off more than we could chew.

Brad met us at our B&B and took us through Napa into the Carneros appellation. Carneros was sheep country not that long ago, and it was assumed that you couldn't make good wine due to the "poor" soil and cooler climate. The French recognized that it had similar soil and climate to areas in France, however, and began growing wine in this area and now it is responsible for a lot of the champagne grapes from Napa Valley including pinot noir and chardonnay.

It was a chilly 57 degrees when we got up and was misty and damp throughout the ride. we rode down a street by our B&B that for one block the neighbors had decided to plant redwoods 80 years ago, and now they tower over this one lone block. Beautiful, but strange. We had a chance to ride straight up a "foothill" into Carneros, but decided to go around and into the region from a more leisurely route. We rode by vineyards owned by Robert Sinskey and Pine Ridge along the way, and we were surrounded by vines throughout the ride.

Unfortunately due to time constrictions and our level of biking the ride came to an end before too long and we climbed the back of the big hill we avoided initially and went back into Napa. A great way to start the day.

honey-mooning-- day 2

Woke up to a beautiful day for biking, it was sunny but a wonderful cool breeze kept it from getting too hot. Started our day with a wonderful breakfast at the Churchill Manor. We had polenta with jack cheese, salsa and a poached egg along with the usual rolls and fruit. (There is no shortage of tasty food nor wine in Napa!)

Then we were off to the bike shop to meet up for our ride. We were joined by two couples, one from Virginia and the other from San Diego. They were both very nice, but definitely in a different stage of life than we were. We have found that in general - Napa attracts older, well-heeled tourists. Since we are relatively young, and just getting established (i.e. not rich) one could say we are getting a head start on savoring some of life's pleasures. But really - why wait?


It was marvelous to be sailing through such amazing scenery today. The rows of green vines with grapes just ripening into maturity are really beautiful. Something about row after row of evenly planted vines stretching out as far as the eye can see is just breathtaking!

Today we stopped at Koves-Newlan , Clos Du Val , Robert Sinskey and Domain Chandon vinyards.

At Newlan we enjoyed a marvelous port and ended up taking home a tasty 2002 Estate Cabernet Franc ($30 - available only through the tasting room at this time). It was a bit lighter than their Cabernet Sauvignon but had enough depth and complexity to make it worth savoring.

At Clos Du Val we tried a fabulous Cabernet Savignon Reserve ($95) but the price was a bit steep so decided to pick up their 2003 Chardonnay ($21) which was very tasty and bright, not buttery but definitely not too tart either.

Robert Sinskey was probably our favorite stop, with amazing gardens and views from their patio. We had lunch here (provided by our biking tour) on the patio. (If you are in the mood to pack a picnic lunch - this is a good place for it!) Sinskey is well known for their Pinot Noir, and it definitely is nicely done. The typical characteristics of Pinot Noir shine through (berries, hint of spice, juicy finish). We REALLY enjoyed the 2000 Vinyard Reserve, however, which is a wonderful blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. It had a full, warm finish and lovely deep cherry color. Due to a labeling issue (original name infringed on a copyright) you can buy some cases for a song ($200 vs. $380) but only from the winery/tasting room.


We rounded out our day at Domain Chandon. We took the tour which didn't provide any startling revlations but was a nice refresher course on the making of Champagne and sparkling wine as well as its variations.

We tried their Reserve sparkling wines (Chandon Brut Classic, Chandon Blac de Noirs and Chandon Riche) but ended up taking home something we had sampled there yesterday, the Chandon Brut Rose ($18 with $2 off token from the tasting). It's not too sweet and very refreshing. One of the highlights of sampling wines at Domain Chandon was the amazing bar/tasting area which has glass doors behind the bar/tasting counter that can open fully, revealing the lush countryside behind and placing nothing more than a refeshing glass of bubbly between you and the gorgeous vista.

After all this wine and biking we were really looking forward to a nice dinner! We eneded up at Angele - which was good, but not exquisite. We had the cheese plate and a field greens salad to start, both of which were good - but not amazing. Our entrees were much better. Chris really enjoyed the Summer squash and wild mushroom risotto and my salmon with heirloom tomotoes was awesome. Dessert was fabulous too, and they have great coffee and espresso. They also have an impressive selection of wines, however after a full day of tasting we got a simple carafe of the house Rose and enjoyed its simplicity.

Another perfect day in Napa!

honey-mooning-- day 1

Being recent newly-weds (married now for over 48 hours!) we are relieved to have survived the wedding without doing anything stupid like forgetting our vows, or tripping down the isle. Hence it is with great pleasure we are now savoring beautiful weather, wine and cuisine in lovely Napa.

It is truly bliss. The weather in Napa is dry and sunny in early august with temps around 80 during the day and hovering in the low to mid 50s at night. Perfect for snuggling under a big warm quilt. Speaking of which, have holed up in a beautiful B&B called the Churchill Manor. It is conveniently located near wineries, restaurants and such (in walking distance of at least 5-10 good restaurants) and offers breezy porches, sweeping verandas, antiques and comfortable rooms. We even have a fireplace in our room! The owner is so kind, and they pay so much attention to details! There are cookies and tea in the afternoon, wine and cheese in the evening and a full breakfast in the morning. It's really heaven!

In addition to loving our new digs, we are totally jazzed about the biking wine tour we booked through Napa Valley Bike Tours - met the owner, Brad, this afternoon and he shares a similar philosophy to travel/exploring as we do - meaning we prefer the out of the way places that locals adore vs. the well advertised tourist destinations. We are stoked to head off tomorrow morning to visit Sinskey vineyards and other southern Sonoma destinations.

As we explore, we'll be sure to share the wonderful surprises we discover along the way!