Trip To Italy!

So all my waiting and planning my trip is finally here. I am going to spend a little over two weeks in Italy!

I get to visit many cities:

Venice, Verona, Lake Como, Cinque Terre, Florence, Siena, Assisi and Rome. 

My Italian is poor. I have been told eating is an Olympic sport in Italy. I also long to taste Italian wine. I have read most of "Eat, Pray, Love" (yes you can roll your eyes) as well as a few guidebooks in preparation for the journey. I am relying some what on that History of Architecture class I took during my undergrad to guide me through some of these amazing places and spaces. 

Besides see the churches and art, I hope I get to swim in the Mediterranean & eat really good Gelato.

I do plan on back filling this blog with details about each day of the trip.

 Happy reading as I get them posted. 

Ciao!

Happy Thanksgiving

Well this year I made my traditional thanksgiving pumpkin pie. It almost turned into a disaster. I was so excited to be making it. I thought I was all ready to put it in the oven and then I saw the condensed milk on the counter! So what did I do, I poured it back into the bowl and added the milk. It was so full, I managed to spill it when I put it in the oven. Within a minute my fire alarm was going off!

I waited for over 50 minutes in fear my stray from the recipe.

As you can see it turned out. Fun fact the brown spots are from when the outside bubble because the inside is complete.

This year I was lucky enough to drink some champagne and wine. Eat some pie and play Nintendo Wii games. All after my first Turkey Trot! I have to say I really enjoyed the turkey trot. I highly recommend that more people try it on Thanksgiving before eating all that food! I did my Turkey Trot in 24:08:8. It was a new best time for me! I definitely want to do another Turkey Trot. I also recommend the Wii post all the Thanksgiving food.

Thanksgiving 2010

With all the hustle and bustle with my schedule I decided to stay in my new apartment for Thanksgiving. Meaning I would not be with any family or relatives for thanksgiving. I missed my family but it gave me a new appreciation for the day. 

I thought about all of those other people who might be lucky enough to share thanksgiving with anyone.  

 I am very thankful for all those who serve across the globe. 

I am even more thankful I have a family!

I did start a couple traditions here. First, spending time at the beach. Second, not over stuffing myself on food. Third staying away from the television. Finally, I didn't make a turkey but I did make dessert! 

My first homemade pumpkin pie and red wine.

SLO weekend

Last weekend, I went back to San Luis Obispo for a mini reunion to see some of my friends from college.  We had an excellent time. Wined and dinned, or I should say 'champanged' ourselves at several places.  The Cliffs in Pismo Beach for a great sunset.  Novo Restaurant and Lounge on Higuera in SLO for a dinner on the patio. It has such a great vibe. Some of my best college memories are from that place. The back fence and tree are wrapped with white lights. Finally, Seaside Cafe & Bakery in Pismo Beach for brunch.  They have bomb pumpkin bread and huge omelettes.  

It was so good to see many of my college friends, again.  There is a quote somewhere the older you are the more you need the people who knew you when you were young. I completely agree. Reflecting on the weekend, it was a small fantasy. Same place as school except we have all slowly moved on towards what we might one day call our careers. 

Well the bottles minus the clear wine bottle and blue one are what remains from this happy weekend. The good news is they make good apartment decorations.

Wineries South of San Luis Obispo

With the long weekend, I had the pleasure of going wine tasting. Our first stop was Edna Valley Vineyard. Their tasting room has an amazing view.

Currently, the yellow in the field is mustard which helps to fertilize the soil. My favorites were the 2008 Pinot Gris and 2007 Viongier.

Second stop was Chamisal Vineyards formally known as Domaine Alfred. Don't worry it's the same wine under a different label.

Their stainless steel chardonnay was pretty good. For those that don't know wine is aged in oak barrels but this chardonnay was aged in a stainless steel drum. I enjoyed their chardonnay with a hint of grapefruit. It was slightly bitter but still good. Beware their tasting portions are big.

Finally, the day came to a close with Tolosa Winery. It practices sustainable wine growing!

They have an outdoor seating area where you can watch the planes land in the San Luis Airport or just enjoy the afternoon sunshine. All of their wine is good. They have No Oak Chardonnay, same concept as stainless steel chardonnay, too.

Check out their cool 10th anniversary bottle!

Wineries in Napa

After turning 21 I happened to be near Napa so my family and I ventured up there for a weekend. The pictures correspond to the winery listed below.

Mumm Napa - excellent champagne and the view is spectacular.

Groth - for red wine. It was so good.

Domaine Chandon - informative champagne tour and nice atmosphere. There are gorgeous old oak trees on the property.


Darioush - Beautiful architecture. It seems to be the place where the young and beautiful check each other out.


Sterling Vineyards- Ride a gondola and reach a tasting area inspired by villas in Greece. You can see most of the valley from here. Castello di Amorosa is across the way.


Castello di Amorosa - It is a castle! Do I need to say more? Tastings are in the cellar after wandering this authentically built castle. Apparently, they have fantastic Halloween parties.