California Trip - Part 4 - Napa Valley

Ok, so I thought I was going to be able to do one more post to cover Napa and San Fran, but it was not to be.  I couldn't leave out that many photos.  Hopefully, there'll be only one more part after this, but we'll see.  I wanna have my whole trip on here so I can look back and remember!

On up the coast we drove on PCH 1.  We're getting into some really beautiful ocean scenery and the mountains are climbing up from the water, it seems at times.  Which means that we are driving on the side of the mountains along the coast-line just like you see in the movies, and most places, it's just a two lane highway!  A little scary in spots!  But we made it. At least if you're going north, you're on the inside lane closest to the mountain!  We stopped several places to take pictures and we met up with these little ground squirrels/chipmunks.  They were so cute and tame, they'd come right up to you and beg for food and see if you had anything in your hands!  I'd never seen these before - they had little speckles all over them!  You can definitely feel the temperature change the further up the coast you got. WOW!  It was nice to leave Texas and its 110 temps behind for a week!

We stayed in San Francisco for the night, but decided to take in Napa Valley the next morning and we visited several of the wineries there.  The two we liked the best were Nattui (?) and Castello di Amoroso (the Castle).  It was our favorite - it looked exactly like a Castle on the side of the hill, they were even building a small moat and drawbridge while we were there.  The grapevine-laden valley and basin areas were absolutely breathtaking.  Besides grapes, there were 100 year old olive trees, avocados, and all kinds of citrus.  Must be really a fertile place there - Alot of the vineyards also had their own vegetable gardens - especially those with  restaurants and eateries. 

Below is where we had lunch.  They had a little store where you could buy breads and crackers and fruits, deli meats and imported cheeses and of course, wine, and have picnic lunches on the grounds.  It was a gorgeous day and the temps were perfect!

Above is the Castello di Amoroso - it was filled with history - old wine barrels, old antique wine presses - I'm not talking little ones - I'm talking humongous.  We got to go down into the wine cellars where it was cool and have a wine tasting - that was fun - never did that before - we are not drinkers, but since it was vacation AND it was just the two of us, we decided to go for it!  It was fun!

See the rooster under the olive tree?  At the Castle, they had a gardners cottage and gardens, and chickens and even a pair of peacocks - sure made the whole atmosphere so much more beautiful and romantic!

Lots of old, old, OLD olive trees there and other places, too.  Look at the trunk of that tree (above)!!!

I could almost have sworn that I'd been to Italy, to Tuscany.  It was almost magical and dreamy!

Above - in the little town of Napa, near the visitor center, I spotted this place - I love Tyler Florence and his cooking show and recipes.  He's amazing.  Sadly, hubby wanted to get on the Napa trip and we didn't get to stop in...  The town of Napa itself is beautiful, pristine, slick as a whistle and clean and tidy, and manicured and landscaped.  It looks like a postcard.  Of course, it's because of all the tourists, but still - I really enjoyed it - lots of ritzy stores there, too...

Well, that's the end of my Napa trip.  Of course, I took tons of pictures but I'll leave you with this last photo. 

It was a beautiful and interesting place to go.  I'm glad I went and I would visit there again if I should ever find myself in San Francisco.  Thanks for looking. 

And keep your dress down...