Well Rested

This has been one of the most relaxing vacations that we've ever taken. We typically try to pack too much in, but after lots of wedding planning and a hectic pace at work, this is just what the doctor ordered.

We had a great time in Napa Valley exploring the smaller towns--Calistoga, St. Helena and Rutherford--while driving throughout the region to hit Sonoma and Santa Rosa, too. We're coming home with a bottle of Cremant Demi-Sec from Schramsberg (what a wonderful tour!) and a bottle of sparkling wine vinegar from St. Helena olive oil company. Our suitcase wouldn't hold much more than that...although I suppose we could have bought another suitcase and paid the check baggage fee, but what better excuse to just drink it while we were here.

It was a peaceful time in Lake Tahoe as well. The fall leaves were gorgeous--brilliant yellow aspen groves amidst the evergreens, and all was rather quiet as it's the off season between summer (lake activities) and winter (snow activities). We stayed at the Sunnyside Lodge, which was indeed very lodge-y, but was spacious, comfortable and right on the lake. Our small balcony was a perfect place for watching the sunrise, particularly since we never fully got off Eastern time. (See sunset photo to the right, added 10/27.)

We did a small bit of hiking at Fallen Leaf Lake, drove completely around the lake (to say we did), and spent 10 minutes gambling on the Nevada side in South Lake Tahoe (where we made $50 and resisted the urge to lose it just as quickly). (See fall foliage photo from Fallen Leaf Lake to the left, added 10/27.)

All in all, a great trip. Now, we're headed to the airport for a day of traveling before spending the next few days trying to get our house back in order after being quite disheveled during wedding mode.

Headed to Tahoe

We had an incredibly relaxing time in Napa Valley. Our cottage in Calistoga - (Cottage Grove Inn http://www.cottagegroveinn.com/) was very quaint and cozy. It was the perfect home base for exploring the wine country and just vegging...and the quiche at breakfast and afternoon wine and cheese were scrumptuous, too. (Updated 10/27 with photo of our cottage, right.)

Before heading to Tahoe, we went to St. Helena and strolled through the town along Main Street all the way to Beringer Brothers. We didn't take a tour or partake in a tasting, but opted to just check out the property, read a bit about its history and take some photos. (See photo on the let added 10/27.)

On the way back through town, we bought an incredible bottle of sparkling wine vinegar before heading to lunch at Pizzeria Tra Vigne where we had an amazing Vespa pizza, which consists of smoked mozzarella, chicken sausage, caramelized onions and spinach on a fluffy wood-fired crust. Pair that with a glass of Frog's Leap Savignon Blanc, and I was a happy girl!

Now, we're off to Lake Tahoe for the second half of our honeymoon.

Napa Valley

We are enjoying the second official day of our honeymoon and took the opportunity to visit Schramsberg (http://www.schramsberg.com/) in Calistoga this afternoon. Schramsberg primarily produces sparkling wine, and we learned a lot about the production process during the cave tour. The sparkling wines are stored in hand-dug caves and are hand riddled (the turning process to get the yeast setiment into the cap so it can be removed before final corking)--talk about a labor-intensive job!
We tasted 6 wines and ended up buying a dessert wine: a Cremant Demi-Sec. Very yummy!

I think I captured some cool pictures of the racks of bottles in the cave as well as the frog pond on the property, which I'll post next week.

Our cottage in Calistoga is very cute. More about that tomorrow.

(Updated 10/27/09 to include photos from Schramsberg.)

Honeymooning in Napa & Lake Tahoe

With our wedding less than 3 months away (how did that happen?), we've locked in our honeymoon plans - the California wine country and Lake Tahoe. We'll split our time equally between the two, and while we're staying in Napa, we'll surely visit Sonoma as well.

Our earlier plans were to visit Napa/Sonoma and then explore more of the western coast--hitting the Redwood National Park, Portland and Seattle, but after much contemplation, I finally convinced myself that it was simply too much traveling for what is supposed to be a very relaxing vacation. That's a hallmark of my vacation planning style--trying to do to much and going through several rounds of paring back. Even then, it's too much sometimes.

This go around our three primary itinerary items are drinking great wine, eating delicious food and getting plenty of sleep. The rest of our time we'll take day by day although I am already looking at kayaking options in both places. Come on; you didn't really think the planner in me would completely let go, did you?

Our Christchurch Photo Is On Schmap.com

As an update to our last post, we recently learned that one of our photos of Christchurch (New Zealand) is included in the newly released sixth edition of Schmap Christchurch Guide. If you click on Punting on the Avon within the Top Attractions section of the Christchurch guide, you'll see our photo (credited with my name) amongst numerous others.

Punting on the Avon is akin to a gondola ride in Venice, Italy. There's a river that runs through the city and taking the gondola ride is one of the key attractions. We didn't participate in this activity when we were in Christchurch--opting to walk through the city and along the river instead--but apparently, the photo we posted to Flickr caught the editor's attention.

I still haven't checked out the site thoroughly, but it seems to have some cool iPhone applications as well as some in beta for Nokia cell phones. Too bad I have neither.

So, with this bit of travel news, I'm renewing my commitment to updating this blog more frequently.

Fun NZ photo news, honeymoon planning and more

In a fun bit of news, I received a note via my Flickr photo account that one of our photos of New Zealand has been short listed for inclusion in the sixth edition of the Schmap Christchurch Guide, to be published early February 2009. At first, I thought it was spam, but the site looks legit.

I've never heard of it before, but its home page urges visitors to "Explore your destination online with our unique integration of maps, photos and place reviews." If you're planning a trip, you might want to check out your destination there to see what insights you might get in addition to your usual favorites. I'll certainly let everyone know if our "punting on the Avon" shot makes the final cut for inclusion in the Christchurch guide.

As for our honeymoon, we haven't explored any further since my last post, but my former roomie (and bridesmaid) Andy sent me a thoughtful gift for Christmas (100 Best Romantic Resorts of the World). I can't wait to dive into the book for some more ideas. Perhaps the long weekend will give me time to do so.