Day: December 30, 2003

Today was another tour day, this time going to Muir Woods, a national park filled with redwoods, and a drive through Sausalito on the way back. The forest was breathtaking. The road going there snaked up the mountain, with loopbacks that seemed to go on forever. Once we got off the bus, the air was crisp and fresh, smelling of eucalyptus and other natural smells that just brush worry away. We had a one-hour stroll planned. The wooden walkways were covered in loam that gave off a pleasant smell when you walk on it. Mg and I could have stayed there for the whole day… Sunlight filtering through the canopies, the sounds of a babbling brook, the smells of nature. I'm not normally a man of the outdoors, but I found it wonderful.

Sausalito seems like a nice place to live, but in retrospect, I could have done without the visit. We walked around the waterfront, but the tons of galleries and doodad shops didn't do it for us. They have beautiful glassworks, but we don't have the budget nor the house to properly appreciate the them.

On the way back, we stopped for 5 minutes at a lookout over the bay with a great view of the golden gate bridge. If it had been up to us, we would have split the time spent in Sausalito between Muir and the bay view, but hey, it wasn't up to us.

The weather forecast is calling for rain for the rest of the week, so we decided to cram as much outdoor walking as we could today. We came back to the hotel, dropped off the camera to recharge (we almost ran out of juice during the tour) and went to lunch. We ended up going to Fior d'Italia, apparently the oldest italian restaurant in america. It was good, but the expresso was crap.

After retrieving the camera, we headed off to Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world. Instead of taking the wussy way up and going by cable-car, we walked up the hill. After a big meal of pasta in cream sauce, I thought I was going to barf up a lung, as well as part of my lunch. Gawd, I'm out of shape… Anyway, after wheezing my way up the damn hill, we snapped a few pictures and headed off to Coit tower. I always knew that San Francisco was hilly, but dear lord, it's ridiculous. The sidewalks are covered in traction aids embedded in the cement to prevent people from falling to their deaths.

After admiring the view from the tower, we headed towards Chinatown. IMO, it's a letdown. It might be the biggest one in the world, but it looks pretty much like the one in Montreal (and Montreal's main gate is nicer). Anyway, I spent a few bucks to get some foo dog bookends and that was our Chinatown experience. A very odd moment though: when we walked into the shop where we made our purchases, we both did a double-take as the music playing in the background was gangsta' rap :)

Had dinner in a little italian cafe, where the food was ok and the expresso was excellent. We've been eating a lot of italian food recently (our hotel is just next door to little italy) but we're going to branch out starting tomorrow.

There are more pictures on the webpage, but I'm tired and I'm going to bed now. You can see them at your own leasure.

Today was our jaunt to wine country. The weather was really crappy, which sucked, but we managed to have a good time nonetheless. A shuttle bus picked us up and we were off to Sonoma Valley. Our tour driver was amusing, and was pointing out little details along the way. The golden gate bridge can sway 27 feet in gale-force winds, but can't stand an earthquake bigger than 8. A quote: “The cushion underneath you isn't a flotation device. If you feel water underneath you, kiss it goodbye, you're history. The good news is that our insurance is paid up and your heirs will be well off.” Other fun facts: a room with a view on the bayfront costs 500$ per sq. foot. A houseboat on the bay can go up to 1 million dollars!

The first winery we went to was the San Sebastiani Viansa. It looked quite promising from the outside, as the pictures on my webpage will attest to. The wine was very bleh though. The white was good, but the cab, merlot and zinfandel were dishwater-caliber. The atmosphere was also bad, as we went from a mock-up showpiece aging cellar to their gift shop. Very ordinary.

The second estate was the Cline winery. The people were much more relaxed in their commercial attempts, and the wine was quite good. I bought a very refreshing rose and a full-bodied, peppery syrah. At that point, it wasn't even noon and we were both tipsy. A nice way to spend a rainy day.

On our way to out lunch stop, we saw road flooding, and the driver had to improvise another route. It's never a good sign when your tour guide tells you “ladies and gentlemen, we're officially lost”. We got there nonetheless. An old estate that had been converted to a retail center, with decent shops and a good restaurant.

Out last stop was in Napa Valley, the Sattui winery. I bought a superb rose, and a top-notch riesling. I'm going to have to invite someone special to try that one. strychnyn, as I'm already bringing two more bottles than I can legally bring, you're first on the list :) I won't be able to bring you back any wine.

After a brief stint of “retail therapy”, as the driver repeatedly put it, we were headed back to the city. It took us forever to get to our hotel, at which point we were both fed up of the bus, the driver, and the FDA crowd.

One thing that came out of this trip is that Mg and I spend way too much time together. It's now at the point where we're synchronized in the idiocies we say. And we can answer each others questions BEFORE they're asked. That's scary…

Another thing that's coming out of it is that my wireless sucks.