We did indeed go for a swim in the lake. It was quite a golden afternoon: sunny - the water warm - a gravelly beach beside the lake - fixed rafts ('docks') to climb on and jump off. We swam for ages, enjoying beautiful mountain views as we did so. Then we lazed about on the beach chatting and eating local fruit (grapes, strawberries, peaches!) for lunch.
Yesterday (Thursday) we went on a tour of some Napa Valley wineries. The first one, Sterling, put me in mind of a Spanish monastery (purely in architectural terms), with white plastered walls, a very square shape, arches and bells. Before setting out I was surprised to hear that the entrance fee included a ride on a tram - I thought this an odd form of conveyance for a hillside winery. I had, of course, forgotten that in American 'tram' means 'cable car'. It was fun! At the top, we wandered around in the sunshine, sipping different wines and gazing out over the glorious scenery. In the afternoon we visited another - this one was orange, and didn't include wine, but then, we didn't have to pay. It was another interesting building and full of art and sculptures (we posed for some very silly photos). When we got home we went to the pool and had a swim (I can still dive right to the bottom, but I'm still pretty terrified of drowning). Then we returned home to one of Noah's absolute favourite meals of all time: manicotti (It's like giant penne stuffed with a ricotta cheesy mixture and covered in tomato sauce - yummy). It was a beautiful clear night, so we sat out in the garden looking up at the sky. We saw a few Perseids, as well as the vast array of stars. It was good!
Today was a day of exploration. We drove to Middletown, the nearest town, to visit the Post Office (woo hoo!) then to Lakeport, a larger town on the shore of a beautiful (but stinky) lake with more gorgeous mountain views. We strolled by the lake, looked at some shops - and then I was treated to my first visit to Noah's all-time favourite restaurant franchise: the glorious Taco Bell. He was so delighted to be reunited with the wondrous purveyor of tacos, nachos and unlimited refills that we stayed for an hour or so, nibbling our burritos and nachos (with liquid cheese - yes, liquid cheese) and sipping mountain dew and pink lemonade. Mmm, pink lemonade. Today's exciting culinary experiences, though, were not over: this evening (following a bike ride and an afternoon of reading) we visited the local frozen yoghurt store. It's like this. Imagine ice cream factory. Now imagine there are about eight types of ice cream (except they're all frozen yoghurt) and a whole wall full of containers with different toppings. And nine kinds of syrup. I still feel kind of sick.
I've been taking plenty of photos (at least, memorable snaps - not exactly works of art). I'm working on getting them up on Picasa, but the internet seems to be a little slow here. Anyway, tomorrow is San Fransisco. I'll keep you posted!
No comments:
Post a Comment