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 :)

Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre is a hidden gem that has gained attention since Rick Steves made it public to the world. This may partially be due to the fact it has limited accessibility, therefore corporate infrastructure is non-existent. I would insist taking the train into the area. From the South, La Spezia is your best bet, while from the North I would assume Genoa. The trains stop in each of the 5 towns, but there is a walking trail, Sentiero Azzurro (the blue path), for the more adventurous crowd (give yourself 5 hours).

Map of Lucca

We left for Cinque Terre from Florence in the early morning. I was told by my Uncle to check out the town of Lucca on our way. We decided to make this pit stop and grab some lunch. After 2 hours of stopping every 10 minutes, we finally made it. Lucca was very easy to spot due to the wall that encloses the old city. When fortress walls lose their military importance in Italian cities, they are typically removed. Lucca turned the fortress walls into a pedestrian walkway. The train station is positioned outside Lucca, so it took some walking to get into the city. The Guinigi Tower could be seen coming into the city.

View from top of Guinigi Tower

We decided that would be our target. It is basically in the center of town and has some amazing views… plus this climb was only 200 steps to the top. There is a little garden with some shade trees. We were in no rush. We could see some of the other attractions, such as San Michele Cathedral, San Frediano Basilica, and St. Martin’s Cathedral. We grabbed lunch down in the plaza and headed back to the station. I noticed the lack of vehicles in the city center, I’d imagine not a lot has changed over several decades.

Fortress wall a walking path

View from train looking back on Riomaggiore

Cinque Terre

After changing trains in La Spezia, we were on our way. Once the train goes in the tunnel, prepare yourself, because once the train comes out of the tunnel your breath will be taken away. Cinque Terre is comprised of 5 towns. Starting from the south: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso. We heard Monterosso had the best beaches, so we chose that town to find a hostel. Every town is so colorful and vibrant, you can’t go wrong. We found lodging available at the La Spiaggia Hotel. They were very accommodating and if you visit their site, our room is pictured on their home page. We did lie and say it was just Becky and I, but my brother and I look very similar. We had a great view of the Sea and a nice patio to enjoy. It was late afternoon after we checked in. We immediately put on our swim suits and hit the beach. 

View from our hotel

Taylor about to jump!

Unfortunately, the beach was very crowded so we just walked on the docks admiring the sail boats. We noticed on the far side of the beach were some rugged cliffs that looked enticing. My brother and I jumped in to swim over to the cliffs. It was August and the water was freezing! Not only was it cold, the water was very salty (quite shocking!). While we were swimming over there, we noticed some kids jumping from the cliffs. We thought we would give it a shot. They were not too high, maybe 15 feet, but exhilarating. After tiring ourselves out by jumping off the cliffs several times, we headed to the beach. The beach on Monterosso is not sand, but tiny pebbles. These pebbles are not comfortable. After a nice power nap, we enjoyed a nice meal at L’Ancora della Tortuga. I tried a seafood dish, which was obviously saltier than I was used to, but still delicious! On our way home, we ran into our Canadian neighbors from Florence. Small world! We wanted to enjoy the night life, so headed to Bar Centerale for a relaxing night. There are many options to choose from, check out this site for more ideas. My Uncle told me to also try Grappa. Here is the wiki version, but it is basically a grape-based brandy.

Enjoying some grappa!

My brother and I could not stand it! It took us a solid 30 mins to finish a tiny bit. We talked to many people with different backgrounds, some other Americans, a girl from Ecuador, a Norwegian couple, and then we ran into our Canadian friends again at a wine bar. They were enjoying a 27 day honeymoon. I wish America embraced holidays the way the rest of the world does! All work and no play. Most foreigners are so eager to talk to us about politics… which I think is the last thing I want to talk to anyone about.

Colorful Riomaggiore!

Day 2

We woke up to a storm outside and a storm in our heads. The rough start to the day did not get much better anytime soon. While on vacation, it is hard to sit still when there is so much to see. After powering through breakfast, we headed to Riomaggiore to try snorkeling. The bad weather above the water shouldn’t affect what we see below, right? The 3 of us rented 2 kayaks and 3 snorkeling masks and set out. I swam next to the kayaks and saw some very colorful fish, which I was not expecting. I even spotted some sort of devil ray-type fish. It was not even 10 mins before my brother loses his mask and down, down it goes. Me being the engineer I am and not knowing the cost of losing equipment, take my snorkel and wrap it around the oar like a hook. I make some attempts to retrieve it but the pressure is too great. Meanwhile, my brother managed to accomplish more misfortune. He accumulated so much water in his kayak that is started sinking. I helped push him to the nearest solid surface, which happens to be a very jagged rock. The rain picks up, as does more misfortune. Attempting to relieve his kayak of the water, we slip and fall several times over the jagged rocks causing blood to flow. Soon I realize in all the chaos, I lost my snorkeling mask. Becky left us long before it escalated this far. But we look up to see the Sentiero Azzurro unfortunately overlooking the cliffs. By this time, a nice crowd collected watching us fail at a simple task. We bowed our heads in defeat and headed back in, only to find the masks cost us €15 in all for the lost equipment. Of course. Upon arriving back at the hotel, the sun was out.

From the beach looking back to Vernazza

We needed some brightness to our day so we headed to the beach with some pizza and laid out. Around mid-afternoon, Becky and I headed to the next town Vernazza. We did some souvenir shopping and admired the quaint town. While waiting for the train, we grabbed a bottle of wine for €1 and hung out waiting. Back in Monterosso, I wanted kayak redemption! Becky and I rented a 2 person kayak and set off for Vernazza. This is also a time when I had a non-water proof camera. Lesson learned after this trip. I quickly invested in a water proof Nikon CoolPix shortly after. Anyways, Becky and I learned that we do not have the same rhythm, making the rowing quite irritating. We came across more caves and decided to investigate. We found about a 40’ waterfall recessed

in the cliffs. I had to check it out, unlike me, Becky remembered the incident from the morning and passed. I made it past the slippery rocks to the water fall! After checking it out, I headed back to the water and, of course, slipped and fell face first. I braced the impact with my hand, which did not turn out good for my wrist. I instantly developed a huge bump protruding from the side of my wrist. Now I had to kayak back to shore. We had a very chill night eating a nice dinner – I tried the swordfish, which was worth it! Then we brought a bottle back to the hotel and sat on the balcony enjoying each other’s company. Tomorrow was back to Rome.

While in a beach setting such as this, your attire is basically chosen for you… swim suit! I took this opportunity to wash my clothes for another round of use.

Here is Becky Cliff Jumping!

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