california + the valley // part 2

The second half of our California vacation looked vastly different than the first. We left the busyness of the city for the rolling hills and vineyards of wine country - Sonoma + Napa Valley. It totally felt like two separate trips, adding the perceived length of the vacation which was an added bonus. :) We continued to be busy, visiting 4-5 wineries a day, but when busyness entails climbing castle roofs, exploring rich and decadent vineyard grounds, touring underground barrel rooms and resting on patios overlooking the acres of grapes and sipping fabulous wine, it's hard to put that label on it. 

Although these grapevine pictures probably look all the same to you, it was so interesting to see and learn about the differences in each winery - how they process, quantities of barrels, types of grapes grown in each region, types of vine, and then to actually taste, smell and appreciate the wine! We saw wineries ranging from small, family owned with no distribution to the big-box name brands that we can buy here at home. 

On our first day we ate lunch at a very small, family owned and run winery, and it was such a relaxing experience. They have 3 Labrador retrievers on the property, that they have actually named one of their wines after - 3 lab Cab - a delicious Cabernet Sauvignon. And their grounds are open to the public for lawn games, picnicking, and wandering the grapes. We loved Petey + Buster!

I was surprised at how big the grapes already were even though harvest is not until September/October depending on the variety. I'm so glad we got to see the beautiful bundles. Every other vineyard posed breathtaking views, just as beautiful of grapes, and although some had more impressive villas than others, I truly did love that we saw the whole spectrum. 

We loved the little house that we stayed at in Sonoma. It was nested right in the heart of the town, and we found some amazing places to eat dinner, grab some cheese, and have amazing fellowship. We celebrated my birthday (again, lucky me!) at one of our favorite restaurants of the whole trip, The Red Grape, and not only did we have a fabulous meal and dessert, but we had some of the most memorable conversation and fellowship ever.

Oh, that pear and Gorgonzola pizza was to die for. 

I'm saving the best for last, because our experience at Castello di Amorosa cannot be matched. This is a real castle in every sense. It was assembled brick by brick from Europe and restructured in Napa to the same exact specification that took 14 years to re-build! It has intricate cross-arching brickwork patterns that few in the world still practice. It has a grand barrel room underground that made me fee like I was in a dream. It has dungeons and turrets and knights in armor. And we saw it all.

And.... the grand barrel room. We tasted a Cabernet right from one of the barrels in here, and then wandered around a bit as we made our way into the dungeons which have been turned into beautiful tasting rooms to finish the remainder of our tour and tasting.

Their wine was fabulous. We shipped home a few bottles and have already enjoyed some in Dave and Rachel's company. We decided that all the wine we brought home together needed to be enjoyed together. So cheers, beautiful castle. You were a fabulous winery to mark the ending to an amazing trip.

The next morning on our way south back into San Francisco, we finally saw the Golden Gate bridge! The fog had it completely shrouded the whole first part of our trip, so it was such a treat that we got to see it! A wonderful last minute stop before hopping on the plane to come home.

We have every hope to make this same trip again with Dave & Rach - although we think we could do it without doubling up on anything. There was that much to see, and we had SUCH a good time traveling with them. Love you guys! We are so thankful for you and made such amazing memories! 

the fourth + all things usa

The fourth of July. I simply love love love the festivities, fireworks, time outdoors, fireworks, national spirit, fireworks, and the abundance of activities centered around our friends. Oh, and the fireworks. Any of you that knew me as a child (ahem, high school student) would be shocked at how much my feelings towards those things have changed. :) They are now my favorite part of the day! 

This fourth was truly centered around those latter two things. Friends and fireworks. 

This year we had the privilege of introducing a new friend into the group, Alison's boyfriend Wesley - and to top it off - he isn't American... making this holiday and all things USA even more interesting for him (and all of us!). If I was him, my highlight (you know, other than being over here from Ireland to visit my special someone ;) would have to have been listening to Proud to be an American blare over the PA system while sitting in a blacked-out outdoor baseball stadium at night watching fireworks go off the day before Independence Day after watching the Twins get beat by the Yankees. Wow. It doesn't get much more patriotic than that! (He loved it, by the way).

Jared and I also had the fun experience of being on the big screen during the 6th inning and doing a quiz! Fun experience! 

The rest of the weekend breezed by with beautiful weather, time outdoors grilling, talking on the patio, girl time, guy time, classic 4th food, and a new location for fireworks viewing over the Stone Arch bridge in downtown Minneapolis.

I'm probably going to get in major trouble for that picture.... ;) but it is totally accurate. We laugh.

The fireworks and fanfare are all well and good, I love it all and it is such a fun holiday, but I do want to stop and thank not only the handful of you reading this that I know, but all those who have served or are currently serving in our military. We get to celebrate this day with the joy and fanfare we do because of you. Because of the past service and current service, sacrifice, time, dedication and honor you have given to our country. I don't take that lightly. Thank you.