The morning started with a trip to the local coffee shop, then a walk through a stone labyrinth across the street. John went around the entire thing twice in the time it took me to go once. Some people are just more efficient meditators, I guess.
We decided to head up the road to Sonoma County and made some stops at old familiar places. The Italian Swiss Colony was once a Disneyland of Wine in the 1970's, just off Highway 101 near Asti, but very little remains of the original except a historic plaque and some crumbling buildings.
There's a different winery on the site now, but the property is still beautiful and natural. I found a "neglected" arbor and helped myself to a snack of ripe grapes. It has a more agricultural feel in Sonoma County, so different than the ritzy and congested Napa Valley.
We had the place to ourselves...then back on 101 for a very different experience--The Francis Ford Coppola destination winery. It's not "just" a winery, but a living shrine to a great living genius, filled with artifacts from his life and movies. I wonder who his archivist is? You can hang out for the day, rent a pool cabana, eat, shop, drink to your heart's content or until your wallet is empty. Think of it like an Italian Swiss Colony for the new century.
A fancy lunch outdoors, and an important picture of Marlon Brando's desk from the Godfather movie. By then we were starting to miss Calistoga and headed back over the mountains to the Napa Valley.
A final stop and look at the Clos Pegase Winery art collection. This is an old favorite place of ours near Calistoga, but the winery was just sold,and the art will not be going along to the new owners. So this may be the last time we get to see "our thumb."
No comments:
Post a Comment