The first day of my California trip was just perfect. My friends picked me up from the airport and we drove straight away to the gorgeous Domaine Carneros winery in Napa Valley. We wined and dined seated on a beautiful terrace overlooking the grounds, while pretending the place was our own private mansion. The sky was perfectly blue above vast green fields dotted with colorful flowers. One could not ask for a better day!
We then continued on to Carneros Inn vineyard / spa resort, where we toured the grounds, admiring the elegance of the place. It was resting at perfect harmony with mother nature (infinity pool on top of a mountain overlooking vineyards and fields? Yes, please!). If anyone is looking for a wedding location (and has lots of money to spend), this is THE spot! We also got a ride around the grounds from a guy who was a Longhorn fan. Out of politeness, I tried to pretend I know something about football as I demonstrated my “Hook ’em horns” skills. For those unfamiliar with this brilliance, it’s a sign that students at the University of Texas as well as its football fans make with their hand to demonstrate loyalty to the mascot – the Longhorn. It looks kind of similar to the West-Coast gesture but with different finger combination.
We had finally hit rock bottom at the last winery we visited – Peju. We were treated to a free wine tasting by the host to whose question “what do you do?” we replied that we were “unemployed”. “I was unemployed a couple of times in my life. I remember how it feels. I will make this tasting complementary”, he said. Ah, human kindness! I wonder what would have happened had I didn’t mention the homeless issue…
I think the guy at the highway toll booth on our way home also got the memo, because for some reason he said our toll is already paid for and we can just go..
So yes, life is good. Tomorrow, San Francisco adventures are to be had.
Grobetrotter 