{"id":787694,"date":"2013-04-30T06:06:23","date_gmt":"2013-04-30T06:06:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/?p=787694"},"modified":"2013-05-10T17:05:18","modified_gmt":"2013-05-10T17:05:18","slug":"napa-valley-girls-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/2013\/04\/30\/napa-valley-girls-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"Napa Valley Girls Weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every year, I get to go away for the weekend with three wonderful women! \u00a0We typically go to Nevada City, but this year we decided to do Napa Valley! \u00a0WOO HOO!<\/p>\n

We left early afternoon Friday. \u00a0DH loaned us his Jeep. First stop: Domaine Carneros<\/a>. \u00a0Since DH and I are members, we get to have a free tour for four once a year. \u00a0I took the girls on the tour. \u00a0It was Shanti’s first time trying sparking wine!<\/p>\n

\"IMG_2151\"<\/a> \"IMG_2185\"<\/a> \"IMG_2169\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Going behind the scenes….
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This is a neat vintage picture of men manually rotating the bottles. \u00a0Now, it is all done automatically via computer (see the crate photo). \u00a0The men wore lead aprons because the glass was thinner back then and corks would pop, causing them to fly HARD…
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The tour tasting room…
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We then drove to Cindy Pawlcyn’s Wood Grill and Wine Bar.<\/a>
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We shared appetizers:\u00a0EGGPLANT FRIES (BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND)\u00a0with thyme, sesame & spiced yoghurt, and\u00a0<\/em>SWEET CRISPY PORK BELLY\u00a0<\/em>with Thai chile jam & pickled garlic.<\/em><\/p>\n

For my main course, Tina and I shared a dozen ‘Bonita’ oysters from Washington state. YUM!
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I was thrilled to discover that the special dessert for the evening was Bananas Foster.<\/p>\n

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\nThis is pretty much my favorite dessert of all time! \u00a0We also had Affogato (vanilla ice cream with espresso poured over it. We made it decaf.) Perfect ending…<\/p>\n

Drove up to Calistoga and checked into our room. \u00a0Roman Spa Hot Springs Hotel<\/a>\u00a0is a decent property. \u00a0It could use some updating, but the property was well maintained. \u00a0It was perfect for our girls getaway because we were able to have four to a room and there was a little kitchen as well. \u00a0They have a couple of hot spring pools and we spent our first night alternating between the sauna and the pools. \u00a0I will say the whole staff was excellent; professional and courteous from beginning to end.<\/p>\n

The next morning, we ran a 5k. \u00a0It was not an organized fun run, just a nice run through Calistoga. Running is something we all enjoy doing together. It’s one of our many common bonds. We stopped for breakfast, then walked back to our room to get changed for a day of wine tasting.<\/p>\n

I love this cute store sign in Calistoga…
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First stop: Chateau Montelena<\/a><\/p>\n

This is a property I have been wanting to visit for quite a while. \u00a0I hadn’t yet because it was so far north. \u00a0Since we were staying north, it made sense to stop here. \u00a0Chateau Montelena has an incredible history. \u00a0A movie was even made about it.
\nCheck out Bottle Shock<\/a>.
\nChateau Montelena has a beautiful building, pond, and garden…
\n\"IMG_2121\"<\/a> \"IMG_2122\"<\/a> \"IMG_2124\"<\/a> \"IMG_2155\"<\/a> \"IMG_2128\"<\/a> \"IMG_2131\"<\/a> \"IMG_2157\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Next stop, a property I love to take friends to…Castello di Amorosa<\/a>, AKA, “Disneyland for adults”.
\n\"IMG_2158\"<\/a> \"IMG_2135\"<\/a> \"IMG_2143\"<\/a>
\nTouring the grounds…
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\nShanti enjoyed tasting the grapeseed oil bar…
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\nWe had the best host for our tasting! \u00a0Ecktor was funny, friendly, and engaging. \u00a0He really made the tasting one of our highlights of the trip. \u00a0If you visit, try to get him.
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A late picnic lunch\/dinner at Clos Pegase<\/a>\u00a0completed a wonderful day of wine tasting.\"IMG_2186\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We went back to our room and watched ‘bottle Shock’. \u00a0At first we watched it on Eun’s iPad, but it kept crashing. \u00a0Ended up watching it on my iPhone! \u00a0(Love the chocolate stash nearby!)
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Next morning, we picked up coffee and breakfast at a terrific little coffee place, Calistoga Roastery<\/a>.
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\nThese are olive trees that have cards that people write on and hang on the tree. \u00a0Each tree has a different theme…
\n‘Past Loves’. \u00a0‘I am grateful for…’. \u00a0‘I am happiest when…’ etc. \u00a0It was funny, touching, and poignant to read them.
\n\"IMG_2188\" \"IMG_2201\"<\/p>\n

Afterwards, we went to a little boutique called North Star. \u00a0Shanti, Tina, and I all found dresses, and Eun found some jewelry. \u00a0We are all wearing our new purchases in front of the store here:
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Drove down to Napa for the Gourmet Walks Culinary Tour<\/a>. We had the same wonderful guide I had before (Maria), and we were the only ones on the tour, making it was wonderful, personal, experience!<\/p>\n

The tour begins at the Oxbow Market<\/a>, one of my favorite stops in Napa. Our first bite was at C Casa<\/a> for a breakfast taco.
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Then, we moved to cheese tasting at the Oxbow Cheese & Wine Merchant<\/a>
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Olive oil tasting at The Olive Press<\/a>
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\nCharcuterie at The Fatted Calf<\/a>
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Crossing the bridge to downtown Napa…
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\n<\/a>Tuna ceviche, taro chips, and beer at Fish Story<\/a>….
\n\"IMG_2191\"<\/a> \"IMG_2192\"<\/a>
\nA few blocks to Anette’s Chocolates…<\/a>
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\n<\/a>Cacao pods!
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\nGroup shot with our guide, Maria!
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Eun, hugging a cork tree.
\n\"IMG_2210\"<\/a>
\nLast stop: wine tasting at the Vinter’s Collective<\/a>. \u00a0This is located in the oldest building in Napa. \u00a0It started out as a saloon, then a brothel, then a laundry…
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It was a fun, refueling weekend! \u00a0I love my friends!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every year, I get to go away for the weekend with three wonderful women! \u00a0We typically go to Nevada City, but this year we decided to do Napa Valley! \u00a0WOO HOO! We left early afternoon Friday. \u00a0DH loaned us his Jeep. First stop: Domaine Carneros. \u00a0Since DH and I are members, we get to have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-787694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-thisnthat"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=787694"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":787841,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787694\/revisions\/787841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=787694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=787694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.centerdeep2.com\/riverbendprep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=787694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}