The rest of Napa!

After visiting Castello di Amorosa, my friend and I went to the V. Sattui winery (owned by the same people who own Castello, apparently), Bouchon bakery, and Domaine Chandon.

Although we didn't drink any champagne at Domaine Chandon, we took lots of pictures!  We actually shared a bottle of their "Etoile" champagne with my friend's cousins the night before Napa, hehe.  It was quite delicious, and I'm not much of a champagne person.

 No, these mushrooms are not edible ;) - @ Domaine Chandon.

V. Sattui Winery - photo taken by me.

The V. Sattui winery was much smaller than Castello, but it had wine that was just as amazing!  In fact, I bought a bottle of their moscato.  We had a really nice picnic on their grounds and ate some really yummy food from their deli.  If you ever go, it's expensive, but it is good!

 Enjoying the food @ V. Sattui.

Enjoying the Moscato @ V. Sattui.

Although I had a really good experience at the Bouchon bakery in Vegas (yummy macarons and foccaccia), I was SO disappointed with the brioche bread pudding at the Bouchon bakery in Napa.  Their baguette was good, but come on, make bread pudding that actually has some bread in it! 

@ Bouchon Bakery.

Bread pudding with 90% raisins/baked grapes.

Despite the Thomas Keller FAIL, I had a really good experience in Napa and cannot WAIT to go back again!  Sadly that probably won't be for a while, but I can hope...

Castello di Amorosa - Napa, CA

Admiring the view while cradling my wine :)  [Picture taken by Marthie]

Napa was much better than I had imagined it would be!

Well, I knew it would be beautiful... but I'm not a big drinker since I'm a lightweight, so I thought I'd be bored out of my mind.  How wrong I was!

View from a tower of the castle.  All pictures were taken by me unless noted otherwise.

Our first stop was Castello di Amorosa, and not only was the castle beautiful, but the surrounding land was so picturesque we could not stop taking photos.  Plus, their wine was AMAZING!

[Picture taken by Marthie]

We took the official tour for $31, and it was so worth it (it included wine tasting).  Our tour guide David was friendly and very knowledgeable, and it was a good learning experience in terms of how wine is made and stored, and the general history of wine in Napa.

We were also able to go down into their caves and taste wine from the barrel.  It was NOT ready for drinking, though, haha.

If you ever decide to take a trip to Napa, add Castello di Amorosa to your itinerary!  It's a bit out of the way, but it is so worth it.

SF

After stopping in Solvang my classmate Marthie and I were verrry excited to be on our way to SF!

First on the agenda was Twin Peaks, a spot high atop a hill with the BEST 360 degree view of SF.  Well, it just so happened that we came to SF on the coldest, foggiest, gloomiest day that they've had all week (as told to us by a waiter).

Here's what we should have seen (via sftravel.com):

....and here's what we did see:

Despite the disappointing view, the crazy wind and fog were entertaining for the 10 minutes we spent up there taking pictures and avoiding being blown away.

Next was Blue in the Castro area.  They're known for amazing mac and cheese, and they did NOT disappoint!  It was probably one of the best mac and cheese dishes I've had, but it was atypical in that it was spicy.  I also had the meatloaf with mushroom and onion gravy.  Definitely not as good as the mac and cheese, but it wasn't bad.

Both foodie pictures are courtesy of my classmate Marthie!

After that, we walked around Castro a bit and saw Harvey Milk station and the infamous penis cookie shop, Hot Cookie.  The people we met were so friendly, I loved it!

Since parking was super expensive, we didn't stay too long and headed over to our last SF stop: Mitchell's Ice Cream!

Despite being run by an Italian person, they have VERY Asian-influenced flavors like jackfruit, ube, lilikoi, and other exotic choices.  Instead of being adventurous, I stuck with my all-time favorite choice: Oreo cookie ice cream.  This one was g-o-o-d!  [BTW, Mitchell's has a free parking lot with around 8 spots for customers!  LOVED it!]

Despite being such a short visit, it was the perfect amount of time to spend in SF since it was freezing and Marthie and I have already been to all of the other touristy places.

Next stop... Napa!

Solvang

This past week I had a little road trip/vacation with a classmate, and it was so fun!

Solvang Restaurant

Our first stop was Solvang so that we could buy some goodies for the person we were staying with up in the Bay Area.  We went to Mortensens Danish Bakery to get some danish butter cookies and a pastry, but we later realized that it's super overpriced there!  Pastries and cookies were at least a dollar more at Mortensens than other bakeries we visited (like Danish Mill Bakery).

Then, we walked around the "main" shopping area on Copenhagen and stopped by Red Viking to eat some aebleskiver.  It was cheaper at Red Viking than at Solvang Restaurant, but I'm sure they're equally as delicious.  I loved the raspberry jam they serve with the aebleskiver so I bought a container to use at home.

Photo of me courtesy of my classmate Marthie!

I was very excited to eat the aebleskivers!

I've been to Solvang before during their "Taste of Solvang" event, and I love it in Solvang!  The people are so sweet, the food is good, and the buildings are so quaint and adorable.  I didn't get to spend as much time in Solvang during this past trip, but I'm sure I'll make another pit stop there the next time I drive up to NorCal.

Next stop... SF!

Early birthday present...

Since my boyfriend already kind of told me he isn't getting me a watch, I decided to spoil myself early.  I had to get the watch before it sells out, right?  ....That's what I keep telling myself since I broke my "no shopping" rule.  I have nothing better to do than shop when I visit his apartment (while he's at work)!

 Michael Kors MK5160 watch + the boyfriend's entertainment center in the background...

Close up!

It isn't one of my wish list watches, but it is cheaper than the gold ones and I really liked it when I tried it on.  I like the purely round shape (unlike the other gold one), and a navy blue face might not go with everything.