California Getaway - Day 4

 The day stated off mighty fine as I actually slept in until 7:30 AM. Seven thirty! Thank you hotel blackout curtains! I forced my recovering gunky lungs to support my cardiovascular efforts and ran from our hotel down to the Oxbow Market where Graham met me for breakfast. We sipped Ritual Coffee again (ha, becoming quite the ritual!) and ate a breakfast taco with chorizo, black beans, avocado and other delicious goodness. We replenished our picnic supplies at the Fatted Calf and the bakery and then checked out of our hotel and headed toward Sonoma. 

We stopped briefly at Artesa to take in the views (they were lovely, as promised-pictured above) and then again at Domaine Carneros for the same reason.

Then onward we forged to Gloria Ferrar in Sonoma for a taste, sun and a picnic on the patio overlooking the valley. On our way out, we stumbled upon this over sized chair that was a picture must.

 After a brief stop in Sonoma (the town was cute but we felt no needs to stick around as we had free tastings to get to!) we headed north to the tiny town of Kenwood, our home for the following two nights. It was too early to check into our hotel so we stopped in at Chateau St Jean in Kenwood. It was here that I realized the truth: I LOVE LIME TREES! How did I not know this until now? They were all over the grounds (and, as it turns out, all over most of the valley when you paid close enough attention).

 Then it was time to check into our hotel – our big splurge of the trip.

 We’d booked a “deal” at the Kenwood Inn and Spa but still paid a pretty penny despite the heavy discount. But we weren’t disappointed! It was by far the nicest place we have ever, ever stayed in. And it’s probably safe to assume we will never stay anywhere quite that nice in the future. I mean, look at our room.

 It was complete with a chandelier, velvet curtains, fireplace, sunny outdoor patio with curtains for privacy, a giant feather bed, and huge bathroom with jetted tub (the shower alone was bigger than our entire bathroom at home).

Oh and our view out one of the windows was of this gorgeous waterwheel which serenaded us with soothing background noise.

And speaking of noise, when we were escorted to our room (yes, we were given a private tour of the grounds and were escorted personally to our room), the door swung open and we were greeted by Harry Connick Jr blasting from the in-room sound system* to which the bellman responded “Welcome Home!” Perfection.

(*As an aside, in-bathroom sound system is a must if ever we get to design our own home!) Anyway, after settling in our room, we immediately went poolside to soak up some sun and get our read on.

I'd made reservations in Healdsburg at Mateo's Cocina Latina the week before we left so we could be sure to enjoy their "Tendejon de la Calle" which was an all-out, multi-course feast on the back patio complete with suckling pig and all the sides! It turned out to be quite the drive to Healdsburg (it looked closer on the map) but we got to enjoy some gorgeous tree-covered roads.

 Oh man and was our dinner amazing! I think my face says it all in this picture - I was all grins as I devoured my plate of local, seasonal and colorful ingredients.

 The suckling pig was accompanied by a roasting tomato salsa and three different salads: a red wheat salad, a romano bean salad with lemon skins and Petrichor olive oil, and a tomato basil salad. And get this: sprinkled atop the romano beans were the most amazing seasoned and roasted watermelon seeds. WATERMELON SEEDS!! Who would have thought!? And the guacamole came in the most adorable little "ice cream cone" tortilla (they must know me...)

 Seriously, have you ever had a romano bean? If you haven't, do whatever you can to get your hands on one ASAP. I'd never tasted one before and quite honestly thought the side dishes were going to be lame when I saw them written on the menu. But they were to die for - so fresh and flavorful! For dessert, they served peaches and strawberries covered in a peach "foam" with purple basil flowers. My personal belief is that fruit does not equal dessert. Gasp. I realize every other dietitian you know has told you otherwise but it's true. I just don't do healthy desserts. But Graham practically caught me licking the bowl of this one. YUM!

 Graham did eat too but he didn't order the pig meal. He had a lamb dish and though it was delicious, we both agreed my meal "won." (Yes, life is a constant competition...) After we were stuffed to the brim, we returned to our luxury accommodations to sit off our dinner in front of the fire. I googled "get to know you questions" and fired questions at Graham like he was in an interview. It felt like we were dating and the more I think about it, I guess we were! :)

 

California Getaway - Day 3

One can’t go to Napa without tasting a bit of Thomas Keller’s cooking. Because Graham deemed French Laundry out of the question, we satisfied our appetites with coffee and chocolate almond croissants at the more affordable Bouchon Bakery. The pastries were top notch and I’d be willing to wager they were the best I’ve tasted since, well, France.

 

Today’s agenda began with a FREE tour at Mumm, a producer of sparkling wines. We got to get in the vineyard and taste all sorts of grape varietals. I always thought wine grapes tasted bad but when allowed to ripen, they are really sweet!

By the way, it’s COLD in northern California in the morning!! I did not quite pack for the early morning chill but thankfully the weather warmed by mid-morning and – perfectly timed with the end of our tour. We had a 2 for 1 coupon for a flute of bubbly which we sipped on the outdoor patio overlooking the valley. Gorgeous! My cuvee hit the spot and Graham liked his drier brute as well. One of the servers overheard us talking about sparkling reds and asked if we wanted to try a “sample” which turned out to be almost two more flutes full – for free!

As an aside, sparkling wines are delicious! And the sparkling reds supposedly are perfect for Thanksgiving dinner. Which got me thinking….I can’t wait until the day we can host the Thanksgiving meal! But I digress…

Next stop: Cakebread Cellars (weird name) where we enjoyed yet another tour with tastings that was quite informative. After picnicking at V. Suttai, we went back to our hotel for some sun and pool.

Dinner that evening was interesting, to say the least! We had reservations at Bottega (a James Beard award finalist) in downtown Yountville. We checked in, commenting that the restaurant was rather dimly lit but chalked it up to “mood lighting.” It wasn’t until we saw that the chefs were walking around the kitchen with flashlights that we realized something was up. Apparently the power had gone out in the entire town of Yountville for no apparent reason. The staff ushered us to the waiting area and gave us water, promising to alert us as soon as they knew anything. Eventually they told us that they would be working off a “limited menu” (read: only items from the grill) but we could be seated now if we chose to stay. We debated briefly as I had my heart set on pasta but decided to stay as the other restaurants in town were likely operating under the same circumstances.

We settled at our table and ordered a salad, planning to eat slowly and draw out our meals as long as possible in hopes that the power would return (and I could have pasta!!!) But then we learned that the grill in the back had just caught fire and no other items would be leaving the kitchen. Hmmmm. Plan fail. We munched on cold bread when all of a sudden, the lights flicks on and there was much cheering and happiness again in the dining room. Graham ended up ordering the special – duck ravioli in game broth – which was good but mine was the one worth writing home about! I ordered beet and robiola ravioli with a beet brown butter and broken beet vinaigrette. It was both beautiful and delicious and I recommended to the waiter that they bottle up that delectable sauce and start selling it for top dollar (if they weren’t doing that already). Of course, that was only after I guarded my plate from every busser until I was given more bread to sop up every last drop of it… So. Good.

California Getaway - Day 2

 We started Day 2, just like all the guidebooks recommend, at Napa's famous Oxbow Market for coffee from Ritual (too acidic for me but what do I know) and delicious crepes. I had tomato, mozzarella and prosciutto with pesto which was A-mazing. I don't even remember what Graham had because mine was certainly better!

 Next we began our food "foraging" in pursuit of the world's best picnic which I'm pretty sure we achieved. We got a hard gouda from the fromagerie that was by far my favorite, surprising given that I didn't think I like gouda. As it turns out, I don't like SMOKED gouda. Big difference. We also got a local hard cheese (ha - it was white and that's all I remember!) and a bleu. Next stop was the Fatted Calf Charcuterie for an aged Spanish chorizo and duck pate. We also tried this cured (but uncooked) pork that at best I can describe as feeling like uncooked pork in your mouth. My recent food safety recertification didn't allow me to enjoy this one fully. 

 We grabbed some bread from the bakery and found food "foraging" and chatting it up with the locals to be quite fun. Walmart (yes they have them in Foodiville) provided the last components of our picnic: a dandy styrofoam ice chest and paper plates. With only a loose plan in mind, we headed out on the Silverado Trail past this awful looking Persian monstrasity (read: creepy!) called Darioush. It's a winery but welcoming would not be an adjective I'd choose to describe it's facade. We stopped only long enough to snap a picture.

 The Napa countryside is GORGEOUS and we enjoyed our drive north to Duckhorn, one of the highlights of our trip. We had a 2 for 1 tasting coupon but still spent $30 (yes, that's $30 for ONE person - I'm telling ya, we are amongst high rollers!) It was well worth the money as we got to enjoy a seated tasting of 7 rather than the advertised 5 wines. Their cabs were the biggest hit for us and I would highly recommend this stop to anyone coming to Napa.

 It's harvest so pretty much everywhere we go, grapes are being delivered and we get to peak at the process (in the background below) - so cool! 

 Next we moved on to Chateau Montelena just to see the chateau that was filmed in the movie Bottleshock.

 

 The grounds were beautiful, with a pond (named Jade Lake) complete with a swan.

 

 Grape delivery!

 By this time it was getting late so we stopped at the Culinary Institute of America in St Helena to eat our picnic. Graham was determined to have wine accompany his food so he bought a $10 cab and a wine corkscrew because they refused to open the bottle for him.

 After our picnic, he told me he'd give me 10 bucks to return the corkscrew but I refused so he did it himself while I hid in the car. Apparently the lady said something to the effect of "But you just bought this." He told her his wife told him we already had enough corkscrews and made him return it. Ha!

 Last stop of the day: Beringer Winery but again just to admire the grounds and not taste. Pictured is the Rhine House which was incredibly ornate with the most beautiful stained glass I've ever seen in each room.

 We made it back to the hotel for some pool time before we made our reservation at Redd up the road in Yountville, a high end but super cute town (home of the famous French Laundry). We were feeling a bit squeamish about money and so ordered 3 appetizers and called it a night. The Yellowfin tuna tartare, asian pear, avocado, chili oil, fried rice and cilantro was definitely our favorite but the Carnaroli risotto, maine lobster, meyer lemon confit and truffle oil was pretty good as well. And let's not forget the Lamb meatballs tomato curry, pinenuts and mint yogurt - yum. I'm sure we were our waiter's lowest bill on record as all the tables around us seemed to be going to town. But we left quite satisfied and thoroughly enjoyed our day!

California Getaway - Day 1

Vacation. Amazing. Sigh...

 

This trip couldn't have come at a better time. Graham starts school next week. I weaned Emma last week. My half marathon is done and our MOPS year is underway with our leadership training event taking place the day before we departed. I didn't realize just how much I needed this trip until, well, until we were on it. Graham told me last night (though not in these exact words) that his favorite part of the trip so far has been having me back. I didn't realize how stressed out I was until I got away from it all. My doctor (if I could find one) I'm sure would prescribe me regular vacations to keep my blood pressure in check now that we've seen the affect they have on me. I mean, my biggest worry the past four days has been whether we'll make our dinner reservations on time. Seriously.

 

Our trip started on Sunday morning when my parents came by to pick up the girls and drive us to the airport. I (rather tearfully) put Isla to bed the night before, telling her I was a little sad to be leaving her and her sister. She, ever so matter-of-factly, told me, "But, you'll come back!!" So true. :)

 

We made it to our gate without a hitch (though I did have an airport worker spot me in the crowd and bring me kleenex after we said our goodbyes to the girls....) As it turned out, there was heavy fog in San Francisco so our flight was delayed by a couple of hours. No worries! We were on vacation so I enjoyed the extra time to blog and listen to our church's sermon online.

 

We successfully landed in SF and then after 3 phone calls and a 45 minute wait, our shuttle to our rental car finally arrived. We are proudly sporting a Kia Soul this week. Yes, please keep your jealousy reigned in. We drove through down town SF enroute to the Golden Gate Bridge.

 Enjoy the car shots! We are touring SF on the last leg of our trip so didn't get out to see the sights but snapped pictures as we drove. Below is City Hall (I think...)

 A cool roof top

 I'll be honest. I was a little giddy to be driving over the Golden Gate!

 Ah ha! The residual fog - the culprit for our late arrival into the city. So cool!

 Once out of the city, we stopped at the nearest In N Out (tradition) for a burger, fries and shake as this was going to be a foodie trip after all. The Sonoma Valley greeted us a short while later and we were suckered into our first winery stop at Jacuzzi. It turned out to be a good one as the tasting was complimentary (a rarity!) I was at the peak of a nice head cold which made wine tasting...umm...interesting.

We headed toward the Napa Valley Marriott, our home for the next 3 nights (thanks to priceline) which turned out to be a great location. The views along the way were gorgeous!

After enjoying their complimentary wine hour in the courtyard, we readied ourselves for dinner at Oenotri in downtown Napa. We didn't have reservations so our wait was quite lengthly but we passed the time by wandering the cute streets, stumbling upon a rather loud outdoor festival (which we soon realized was all in Spanish and we were pretty much the only non-hispanic people there - still down know what that was all about!) On a random whim, we decided to shop for sunglasses, something I haven't own or worn since EIGHTH GRADE. People always pass out when they hear that. But, we live in SEATTLE and I somehow have maintained a pretty good life without them. But, I gave in and bought a pair for 5 bucks, as many of my friends will be relieved to learn.

 

Back to dinner....we shared a salad of Stonefruit & Figs with Almond-Mint Condimento and Arugula - yum! I guess we sort of went with a fig and arugula theme because we followed that with a woodfire pizza of Figs, Gorgonzola Dolcelat Te, Mozzarella di Bufala, Cream, Black Pepper and Wild Arugula. It was all fabulous and put us into a wonderful sleep coma once back at the hotel. A very good first day!