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Oops! I have been bad and not writing up my travel logs. 2007 will now be lost forever. Considering my memory, that could very well be true.
Cali, oh Cali. Well, I can't really give a fair critique of this trip, considering one night was spent throwing up, the next day was spent in bed and the rest of the trip I was nauseated and weak! And, NO, this wasn't my fault. The food poisoning gods had it in for me. I was so jazzed leading up to this trip. I was going to my motherland - Wine Country. I had it all mapped out, places I would like to see, wines I wanted to try. Sigh.
So starting from the beginning... we safely landed in San Fransisco, where half of our trip was to be spent. A quick shuttle ride to our rental car company and we were off to our hotel. Oh, first off, rental cars. I never get the cool ones. We got this horrendous green/sage colored Ford Focus. I guess the type of car was fine, but the color... awful, enough to make me throw up (HA!). We then left the rental car company and after an accidental tour of the neighborhood around Fox Rental Cars, we found the freeway and got ready to sit in traffic! UGH! Seriously, the directions we had were to go around San Fran and stay on the "scenic drive", while we were sitting there I thought that was a grave mistake (I learned when we were leaving that maybe it was not all that bad). We finally made it to our hotel, Buena Vista Motor Inn. Yes, Motor Inn, but you know what, it was an ideal location for us - walking distance to Fisherman's Wharf and other low-key cute neighborhoods, plus, free parking!
We had nearly the whole day ahead of us, so we set out for a quick lunch and then decided to hike it over to Ghirardelli Square . Cute shops, street vendors and free chocolate samples were the attraction here. We were also right by the Pacific Ocean. Now, I have been to the Atlantic Ocean side and gone swimming plenty of times, but this was the first time at the Pacific - I needed to at least get my feet wet, I figured I could wait though, I would have plenty of time (or so I thought).
Lots of walking this day, so I was ready to sit down and have some dinner. We settled upon a sushi place, since I only eat vegetarian sushi, I can't really comment, but I thought it was good! We then decided to do some driving around and see San Fran at night. We checked out the Golden Gate, all lit up at night and then drove around some more, not sure what we were looking for, but then we decided it was best we got some dessert. So we found a crepes place. The creation presented to me was beautiful, a delightful artistic piece of syrups and whipped cream. Unfortunately I got to see the piece again at about 2 in the morning and in very different light.
We were pretty beat, so after dessert we headed back to the hotel to call it a night. The stomach pains kicked in about midnight and by 2 am the bathroom had become my new bedroom. Poor, poor Rachel. The bathroom couldn't have been closer to the bed and should I mention here that the toilet was broken, wouldn't flush. Morning finally rolled around and Rachel was outta there! Sadly she had to roam San Fran by herself because I still couldn't keep down water. My view of San Fran that day was watching an episode of House Hunters on HGTV where the couple looked for a new home in San Fransisco. Sad.
Early afternoon was approaching and I had a big decision to make - could I rally and go on a tour of Alcatraz Island? I had to do it. I was going to do it. We had bought our tickets in advance and I was determined to make it to this island. Worst ferry ride ever. We went on the night tour so the ride over was layered with unbelievable shots of the sun setting behind the Island, but I couldn't move from my chair, I was scared to even blink. We finally hit dry land! It was a huge triumph to me to make it there and it was so cool. Straight to bed after Alcatraz.
The next morning we were ready to begin our journey to Sonoma. First though, I wanted to ride on one of the infamous cable cars. Side note, did you know that the cable cars were invented because horses couldn't make it up the steep hills in San Fran? We headed to downtown San Fran on the cars and got to see fantastic views of the Bay and we got off on Lombard Street (crookedest street in the city and super fun to drive on!). On the way out of town we had to make the obligatory stop to really see the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked half way across and got some great shots. Maybe half way between Sonoma and San Fran are the Muir Woods, a redwood forest. I didn't have much energy to hike (not sure if I was eating by then or not), but we strolled a bit through the park. It was quite impressive.
After our little stops along the way, we finally reached Sonoma and could check in at the Best Western Sonoma Valley Inn. So cute! Fireplace, large room, breakfast delivered to you in the morning in a cute little basket. Loved it.
I was in Sonoma for goodness sake, so I had to suck it up and go to some wineries. We visited:- Korbel: I am now in love with champagne.
- Armida: They are more into novelty than wine I think. I left with a bottle cuz it had a cute picture on it and was labeled, Poizin. Rachel left with a hoodie! The views were breathtaking though.
- Porter Creek: Just a guy in shack. I don't think he like us at first, but we won him over with our charm and then felt obligated to buy a bottle of wine.
- Mayo tasting room: Nice wine, but poor customer service.
On the way out of town, we made a stop at The Olive Press for an olive oil tasting. The stomach was still a little shaky or else I might have gorged myself at this place! The grounds were absolutely beautiful.
Pictures: Click Here!
~Posted by Ann
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