Please sir, may I have some more?

Friday has been our most relaxed day yet, though it very nearly ended with me vomiting meat and wine everywhere.

The day consisted of visiting different wineries and partaking in wine tasting sessions. As much as I do enjoy wine, I can only nod when we're told a wine is oaky, soft, or crispy. Those words for me don't describe wine, and I'd have preferred 'fizzier', or 'nicer'.

Still, I was very grateful to be given the opportunity and half the joy is in seeing these beautiful places.

Look at all that wine! Red is now my favourite.

Once this was done we retired back to our apartment and began our poolside barbeque. Starting at about eight o'clock, and finishing eating at about midnight. I could have gone longer, but I feared I would explode. Kate's dad is a master cook, and we enjoyed piles of meat, and some veg, including portabello mushrooms, cheese and bread, cheese and eggplant (auburgine), steak (with Boursin on bread! A new favourite) sausages, scallops wrapped in bacon, and giant racks of ribs. There were six of us, but it was still mountains of food.









And today (Saturday) me and Kate are off to explore San Francisco!

Food glorious food!

Food is one of my greatest passions. There's a lot to be said for gorging on sweet sugary foodstuffs, but my greatest pleasure is experiencing new and sophisticated flavours. It goes hand in hand with travel and I find it sad that people go abroad only to look for the nearest full English breakfast they can find. Defeats the whole point as far as I'm concerned.

Thursday consisted mostly of eating, and lots more wine. After a typical, and delicious, American breakfast in ihop (international house of pancakes) we set off on the road for a private wine tasting session at a woman's house which overlooked her vineyard and the valley. The view was amazing, I can't believe someone lives in such an inspiring place.

The vineyard is owned by her and her husband, and together they grow, manage and pick the grapes themselves. I'm not sure how much more they do in the process, but they have their own highly exclusive wine named E II, after their dog.

We sat on her balcony where she brought a selection of cheeses that are all made within a 5 miles radius, and treated us to her wines, both white and red. Both wine and cheese were stunning, and had I realized how high valued they were at the time I would have consumed much more. The four cheeses she had out for us was over 100 dollars in total! It's not the first time on this holiday I've felt spoilt and undeserving.

The biggest shock was the view, I don't think I'll ever again be so impressed by someone's back 'garden'. Can't say I miss my view of a beer garden in Bangor.

After this tasting we set off and headed for an area called Fort Baker, an area near Golden Gate bridge that once served as a defensive point for the area during the second world war.



Now the buildings in the area which look like manors or estates serve as restaurants or hotels for people much posher than myself.


At our table there was a manner of cutlery in front of me that I hadn't seen before, and with the help of Kate I managed not to offend. When studying the wine list we saw a bottle of white wine from the vineyard we'd just been to priced at 750 dollars! I gasped.

For my meal I chose fancy seafood, as it's all locally caught, and chose sole with squid risotto, covered in squid ink! This was too new and interesting, and after finding out it wasn't going to taste like pen ink, I had to try it.

It was probably the nicest meal I've ever eaten, and squid and rissoto are among my favourites anyway so it was bound to please. Turns out the ink doesn't taste of a great deal, thankfully, but rather acts as a colouring. It was the first time I've ever had sole and I'm impressed!

Another eye opening day, where I've realized how fortunate I am as I'd have never seen or eaten things like this if left to my own devices.

And for my mum, this is the vineyard owners dog. A mental dog that would not stop playing fetch.

Feeling fishy and Forrest Gumpy

Today was all about the fish, first seeing them and then eating them. There was also the briefest of moments where me and Kate touched a Sting Ray, but it was a harmless affair because it had a clipped spine. It felt slimey.

Our day started in a really fancy mall, where all we could afford was a McDonalds but the walk around was exciting enough to tide me over.

In the afternoon we visited Monterey, well known for it's cheese. The town is a pretty little town on the sea front, boasting an amazing aquarium. The iPhone was hardly up to the task, but I did manage a few good shots.









Other highlights included fighting otters, sleeping penguins and some disturbed octupi (octupuses?) who got off on pressing themselves against the glass. There was so much more that we saw, and the rest of those pictures are on facebook. Admittedly I find fish confusing, and appreciate them as a child might, pointing at the colours and laughing at the funny shapes. I did really enjoy the experience, but for me it got better when we went for food.


If you've seen Forrest Gump you might have a clue. This restaurant was called Bubba Gump and it's a chain inspired from the film, whereby 'Bubba' starts his own shrimp company, and it's what this chain specialises in. It's proximity to the sea makes it ideal, and it's an experience in itself before you even eat. The staff quiz you on Forrest Gump trivia while you wait for your table, and the place is littered with memorabilia as well.
The view from your table just adds to the whole vibe, even though you don't really pay mum attention when your food arrives.


I chose to eat shrimp heaven, a suitable name I think, and if I were a shrimp I wouldn't mind becoming so delicious once I passed over.




And how much did I enjoy it?



This much!

Bridges and Wine make a very good time!

Our second day is almost over and we're settled in our apartment now in Napa Valley.
Today has been full of highlights, from crossing over Golden Gate bridge, visiting a wine garden, staring at crabs and lobster in a fish tank before being boiled, trying to fell slanted trees at Half Moon Bay, and to Kate catching the maid using our toilet, it's all been rather interesting.

The weather has been very nice, with just the right amount of sun to ensure my ginger skin stays warm without my body succumbing to sun stroke. The day has mostly been filled with driving, and stopping in places to pick up food or taste the local wines. The Golden Gate bridge was an amazing site, and Alcatraz was in viewing distance too. The sense of scale of the bridge is immense, and all I can say is that it as really, really big.

And red. Not golden at all.

There's better pictures on facebook, and Flickr soon when I set that up.

The apartment that we're in now is the one we'll stay in for the rest of the week, and it's gorgeous. There's a massive walk in shower, a jacuzzi bath, a balcony and just a huge living room area and kitchen. The pictures don't do it justice, and again there's more on facebook.









For obviously sad reasons though, I seem
to feel most excited about the free WiFi service that's available.

My second day here has been much more exciting. The long drives have shown me the amazing Californian cities and countryside, if you can call it that, and coastline. The food here is amazing and worthy of the holiday itself, and the people are really nice. Despite all my preconceptions about Americans being loud and obnoxious I've found them to be very polite, even if they can't grasp the concept of queues.