Best Stops in Napa & Sonoma

Napa and Sonoma Valley is well know throughout the USA and even in the world. It is home to many wineries that offer taste tests and tours. With this is mind, you can't just visit one winery! There is no one way to hop from winery to winery, in fact the weather is very favorable and cyling is very common way to do this. Of course for the people who want to see more and do it with class, there are limo services that offer extensive tours. But where to go? Let us help!

Let's start with the first commercial winery in California... Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma. Minus the historic significance, the wine is good too! Founded in 1857, this winery offers many types of tours. Also famous for the picnicking. Private tours.......$30pp; Barrel tours....... $35pp

Inglenook Winery, or formally known as Rubicon, located in Napa Valley, is one of the top five selling wines to US restaurants. Housing a beatiful chateau that includes tasting in caves, this is a must do! Daily Tours....... $50pp; Wine Education....... $45pp

Speaking of chateau, take a visit to Domaine Carneros Winery in Napa Valley. The chateau was inspired from the 18th century Château de la Marquetterie in Champagne, France. Focusing mostly on sparkling wines (supposedly the best) and pinot noir. Daily Tours....... $40pp; Connoisseur Tours....... $95pp

For the penny pinching crowd, we have Gloria Ferrer Winery in Sonoma. This was the first winery to mass produce sparkling wine in the area. In addition they also have pinot noir and chardonnay. They are also dog friendly! Daily Tours.......$20pp

Becky getting told a story from a bottle

O'Brien Estate Winery may seem like a typical Napa winery with a great view. They grow all their grapes organically and also add a special touch on their bottles. Their wine bottles tell a story, a romantic story. Daily Tours...... $25pp

Artesa Vineyard is neighbors with Domaine Carneros Winery. The set up of Artesa is the kicker... the vineyard sits a top a rolling hill giving it a great vantage point. Artesa stays away from the vintage historic look and embraces a modern architecture with and elaborate water fountain system. Daily Tours.......$20pp

The wonderful scenery was a major reason why we did our engagement photos in Sonoma. The wine was an added benefit :)

Denali National Park

AMAZING. 6 million acres of amazing. Denali strives to preserve the wildness of the park with very limited trails and only one real road that cuts 90 miles into the park.  This park is home to numerous species of wildlife, stretching from large mammals like moose, small mammals like foxes, and even birds of prey like the American Bald Eagle. The best part of this slice of heaven is that is is only 235 miles north of Anchorage. There is an expensive train that runs up to Denali which takes 7.5 hours, a bus, or another option of renting a car which takes 4 hours. There are 2 airports in the park, but I know nothing about them.

Made it!

Denali offers experiences for all walks of people. Our flight was full of senior citizens, many doing guided tours, but also visiting Denali National Park. I was a bit shocked to hear they were going to Denali after seeing pictures of mountain ranges jutting out of the earth. Then I was surprised to find the elevation change from park's main visitor center to the airport 90 miles away equals to a total of 2,000 feet. This should blow your mind because the Eielson Visitor Center (66 miles in) you can see Mt. McKinley at 20,320 feet.

Our view while hiking!

Enough of this, we will cut to the chase… How to tackle Denali National Park:

Experienced Backpackers

Not too enthused about no trails

Backcountry hiking is the best way to explore Denali in its natural environment. This is very easy to do, but MUST BE DONE IN PERSON. How do you do that? Upon arriving, head to the Wilderness Access Center (WAC)/ Backcountry Information Center (BIC). At the BIC, you will check in with the park rangers. A disadvantage to reserving in person is not knowing which units (zones) will be available. Denali’s goal is to replicate solidarity and maintain the wilderness, and this is done by limiting the amount of campers allowed in each unit. This makes it near impossible to plan ahead of time. If you plan to camp in multiple zones… please note that the mileage you cover will be significantly less than normal trail hikes. Denali is TRAILLESS. A good place to start is to cut the number of miles you do in a day on a trail in half. Knowing the dates that you will be camping will help the park ranger and your group put together

No campsites!

a good itinerary. After the itinerary is put into place, there is a mandatory safety video (~30 mins). Then the rangers will put on a demonstration with the bear canisters which will be issued free of charge (make sure to return them or a fine of $80 will be charged per canister). Backcountry permits take at least one day to obtain. Our method helped eliminate this. Get to Denali towards  the end of the day, write down  the unit availabilities (they are posted on the door of the BIC), and watch the safety video at the BIC or WAC. Go to the BIC when it opens the next morning and get your permit.
Please know your experience level as this is NOT for the typical day hiker. 

*Note: Denali Camper Bus is FREE for the first 15 miles (Salvage River) BUT if your backcountry zone has you going past this, you will have to take the bus. Go to the WAC after getting your permit and pay the $35 for a bus ticket (it’s worth the drive out to Eielson Visitor Center anyways).

Campground Hikers

Riley Creek Campground

Love to hike, but would rather have basic amenities at your disposal? Denali has 6 campsites that accommodate backpackers to RV’s. The size of each campsite varies so please check it out before reserving. They are also spread across 85 miles of the park and each campsite is different, for example Wonder Lake is notorious for the abundance of mosquitoes but also has a lot of trails from the campground. Also do not think that because you are setting up camp at a particular site, you cannot explore the park. With a 14 day maximum stay in the park, there is plenty of time. Buy the bus ticket at the WAC, get to your camp ground, set up shop, and then you are free to hitch rides from the camper buses that allow you to be dropped off any unit (zone) you please.

Waiting to flag down a bus

After a day of hiking make your way back to the road, flag down a camper bus (they're green), and head back to the campground. Rinse and repeat!

Overview of campsites and location

Love the Wild, but Not Camping?

You don’t have to love hiking to enjoy Denali. There are other options to enjoy the great outdoors. After our journey we visited the sled dog center and watched a presentation put on by park rangers about the history and training of the sled dogs. It was fun to meet/pet the dogs and learn about their origins… plus see a little mushing/sledding demo! Stay after the buses leave and you can watch how the rangers put the pups away in their kennels (bonus show!). We also saw numerous people renting bikes and riding the 85 mile road. The bus allows 2 bikes to be loaded. Check this out to see more activities like a view from the sky or other guided tours. If you wish to take a guided tour of the park... our advice, take the $35 camper bus. It does the SAME route, stops at the SAME spots, uses the SAME buses (painted different) and uses the SAME drivers as the guided tours... Only difference is price. 

Ride outbound with Alan, our bus driver!

Hanging with my team

Florence

“I cook with wine, sometimes I even add food to it.”

Some people do not enjoy travel once the destination is reached. I like to explore as much as possible and if that involves a couple hour train ride, I will use it to catch up on some sleep, reading, or recapping the previous day’s activities. My favorite thing to do is to catch other people in their element!

View from the top of the Duomo

View from our Hostel!

We arrived in Firenze mid-afternoon. We wanted to drop our bags off at the hostel first and then explore the city. The only problem was… when we arrived at BB Maison,  my brother and I were told we were too big for their beds. We picked this place mostly based on price, as Florence is much smaller than Rome thus allowing easier access. The owner was very laid back and the hostel hosted a pub crawl, so we were hesitant when he said he had another option. We thought for sure we were going to be moved farther away from the Duomo. Reluctant to see what he had in mind, we followed. To our surprise, we were not only set up closer, but he also knocked off a couple Euro a night with larger beds. Not a bad deal! A Canadian couple had the same "misfortune" so they were placed next to us.

Madonna and Child

We headed to San Marco Plaza, a religious plaza, which hosts a church and a convent. The convent housed many of Fran Angelico’s art work. We looked at some shops around the Plaza checking out wine. We were in the famous wine country of Tuscany and were tinkering with the idea of buying some and shipping it back home. We came up on the Bargello Museum, which looked like an old fortress. Later we found out it was in fact a former barracks and prison. This place wasn’t even on radar prior, but I would surely add it if it isn’t on your list. It mostly contains Renaissance era art like Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child (Bacchus, pitti Tondo), Donatello’s David (not to be confused with Michelangelo's David... that is soon!), among others. Bargello also had some artifacts/coins that were interesting. We were a bit exhausted, so we trekked back to the hostel. We could just barely see the Duomo Plaza and my Uncle who studied in Italy told me the best time to climb the Duomo was at dusk. So, we paid our 8 Euro entry and climbed some of the strangest 463 steps I have ever ascended. There were many tight spots and awkward situations with other tourists descending the stairs. The dome resembles the Pantheon with the oculus in the middle and a thinning wall as you get higher. The height of the dome is 115 meters! After 20 mins and sweat now broken, we made it to the top.

Climbing the Duomo!

The views will blow your mind. It is a bit cramped up on top so we waited out the crowd to get some good pictures. It was worth it! We got back to our rooms in time for a later dinner. We saw our Canadian neighbors heading over to the Hostel for a dinner night. We decided to join them (€2.50 for a pasta plate!). We grabbed a bottle of wine on our way and headed over. The small kitchen was filled with people from France, England, and of course Aussies. After dinner, we all headed to the Fish Pub where there was live music. We hung out there for a bit.  On a side note… my brother decided to buy some famous Absinthe. We briefly toasted with it prior to heading out. It is fowl tasting with a liquorice after taste. After dinner, our Canadian neighbors joined us, and walked and talked all the way to the river. While out there, we ran across a livid and drunk Italian. I don’t speak a word of Italian, but he was pissed at the statues by the Uffizi. He kept spitting on them and yelling. This entertained us for quite some time, but we had another long day ahead of us and called it quits.

Hostel friends

Our Canadian neighbors

Day 2 started rather late… but we didn’t miss a beat. First up was our reservation at the Accademia. I had read that in the high season the lines can be ridiculously long. I took a chance and pre-ordered our tickets (Accademia). There is nothing more frustrating than wasting time in line! The Accademia is most famous for Michelangelo’s statue of David. Michelangelo has a few more pieces along with many other Renaissance era works.

 Our opinion was it did not constitute an entire day, but when in Ro— I mean Florence… The statue of David lived up to the hype. The statue is quite large, maybe 15’ or so. This large marble was whittled down in 2 years with precise detail. It is simply amazing to achieve such precision  considering the technology and tools that existed 500 years ago. After the Gallery, we walked through the San Lorenzo Market which resembled a giant flea market. We picked up some souvenirs. Souvenirs can be a tricky obstacle. There are many things to consider. I suggest reading Becky’s comments on souvenir shopping. The Uffizi was up next. I am not against art or literature; I just prefer much more action packed attractions. Becky is the culture connoisseur, so she loved it. The Uffizi was built to provide openness but at the same time not to block viewing space.

Map of the Uffizi

This is very evident in the internal courtyard. My brother and I maybe lasted 30 minutes before losing interest, but we let Becky enjoy it for a couple hours. It was late afternoon by the time we finished. The famous Ponte Vecchio is very close to the Uffizi, so we hiked over there. It was a colorful market with numerous leather shops, jewelry stores, among others. I would say this area is more expensive, but a great place to get ideas on souvenirs! I took a quick power nap while Becky did some wine shopping. I met up with Becky, and she had made friends with an owner of a wine shop. He gave us a decent deal on shipping 6 bottles back home. I kick myself for not writing down who it was. I would just recommend being smart and doing your research if you choose to go this route. Modern technology should allow all sorts of assurance on quality. Of our 6, Becky and I got 4, my brother got 1, and as a thank you gift to our lovely Aunt who makes all our traveling cheap(er), we got her one.

Ponte Vecchio

 I promised Becky a romantic night on the town so we chose this night to do it. My brother ran off to the nearest pub while Becky and I went to a local restaurant of her choice. It is very common for people to be eating dinner after 8 pm which is considered late in the US. After our delicious pizza (which is not like what you find in the States) and local Tuscan wine, we hit the hay. Our goal was to catch an early ride to the coast.

Date night!

Highlights:

Duomo – Climb to the top!

Statue of David

Wine/food

Art/Culture

Do over:

I would spend an extra day and do a wine tour