Friday, August 1, 2008

California Dreaming

I made it! I'm in Lafayette, California, about 20 miles east of San Fransisco, visiting my best bud/former Central New Yorker for a week. Cindy and her husband John have this amazing mid-century decorated home in a gorgeous neighborhood. It looks like a movie star's home. Pix to follow.
The sunshine here is nothing like home. The sky stays blue with a rare cloud for eight months, morning to sunset. Amazing. I'm wearing sunglasses indoors. On my first day, Cindy, her best friend Colleen and I, traveled twenty minutes to wine country. Wine tasting in Napa at ten am. Does it get any better? :) And that was just he beginning. My favorite winery is Sittui. EVERYTHING tasted great. I bought lots, so expect wine tasting at my house! (if I come back) After the tasting we bought loads of food at their deli for a picnic lunch in their relaxing arbor. It's there that I met two wine lovers and advid romance readers. Waving hello to Traci from Chicago and Linda from West Va. Hope you enjoy Meltdown. The wineries here are so different than the Finger lakes. One in particular, Hall wineries, is expanding and Frank Gerhy is designing the new tasting room. The roof resembles those loom potholders we made as kids. There are steel sculptures among the vineyards. Way cool. Whitehall Lane winery had a beautiful tasting room, where I met Ashley, a wine consultant who loves her job. Can you blame her? At another winery, Grgich Hills, we tasted zinfandel wines off the vine and learned about biodynamic farming from Paul, our wine consultant. After a little nap, due to the time difference of three hours, not that I was drunk, John barbecued and we enjoyed our new purchases by the pool. A most enjoyable first day.