Napa Valley wine tour with a professional

Wow. Just wow. Today I was with my new group of friends on what turned out to be a day to remember for a long time to come indeed. You know the group by now; Phil, Mitch and of course Isabel, the great group whom I have had some of the best fun with over the last week or so at hostel pub crawls and jazz nights. These guys have been great, sometimes I feel I could live here like this forever.

Anyways, moving on

So yes, today was an amazing day for our little group of ours got a free guided tour of California's Napa Valley wine country from a professional wine tour guide, sweet! The tour guide's name is Julien, one of Phil's roommates in Phil's new apartment, who graciously offerred to take us around on one of his days off. What luck!

Joining us also for the day was Phil's cousin Adare (I don't know, something like that), and her friend Camilla (I think?)... who both had flown in from Canada to San Francisco for a week break and to visit Phil. Cool.

The day started early... at 9am we were meant to have met up with Mitch to all be at Phil's by 10am. Erghhhh... not good. 9am is damn early when you remember the fact that it was only last night that Isabel and I were out at the hostel pub crawl that I talked about in the last post..! Far out waking up was tough... both Isabel and I had quite the hang over (although Isabel was much worst, might have been the mountain of Tequila shots perhaps?) but we managed. Mitch was really surprised when we rocked up to his hostel only 20 minutes late, he was convinced we would have been much later due to our late night.

Mitch, Isabel and I straight off the train and on our way to Phil's house. What fantastic weather!

After a lengthy delay from the late arrivals of Adare and Camilla... and also the fact that Phil hadn't even booked the hire car yet, we we're finally off, sweet!

Woo!

Views on the drive, we are getting close now!

Julien (our guide for the day) was to be taking us to numerous different wineries, all of which are some of his personal favourites. First up was this place below (I don't know what any of them are called) and wow, what a nice place it was.

Turns out this place had some kind of private function on for the day however so we couldn't go inside, so after some quick photos of the outside it was time to move to the next place.

Now this place was amazing.

Wow... what a life. Here the 6 of us sat down in the peaceful shade of an umbrella for easily over an hour, thoroughly enjoying being surrounded by prestine rolling hills of the most vivid shades of greens. Shades that clashed brilliantly with the piercing baby blue of the perfect cloudless sky, with an ever so slight cooling breeze to help combat the high temperature sunny day. All while drinking world class wine, of course.

What a great day

The wine has arrived

Me, Isabel and Mitch

The group enjoying the perfect day. Camilla, Adare, me, Isabel, Mitch and Julien

Pure bliss.

Now I'll be honest here and say... I don't even like wine! Give me a beer or some vodka any day. But here I was getting driven around world class wineries, on a guided tour from a professional, sitting next to world class vineyards, drinking world class wines... I could taste the irony in every glass. Or maybe that is just how wine tastes?

I wouldn't know.

The others were all smiles and deep analysis everytime a new wine was bought out.

"Oh wow, this one is so much sweeter than the last!"

"Yep, this one is by far my new favourite of the day!"

Phil at times... hmm, let me rephrase that. Phil the entire day I thought was literally about to explode he was that excited over the taste of the wines. One of them he completely flipped out over for like 10 minutes, and that was without even tasting it! The smell alone he thought was just the most insane and intriguing thing he had ever experienced. I had a taste, and couldn't tell the difference from the one five minutes ago.

Despite my far from matured tastebuds I was more than happy to be spending the day with some great people, and to be able to experience a place and lifestyle I would of never have had the chance to otherwise. After the place shown above it was time to move onto again, although with great reluctance. This day is going great!

This next place I thought was pretty cool, the architechure of the building was really cool with a stone brick outside and polished wood for the interior.

The rolling hills were amazingly immersive, the colours and the freshness of it all created for a really peaceful experience... and I guess having downed a few glasses of wine helps with that feeling also of course.

The view from the back veranda... very cool indeed

The gang. Me, Mitch, Phil, Adare (?), Camilla (?), Julien and Isabel enjoying some free wine

Our tour guide Julien was fantastic, he definitely knew his stuff that's for sure. He could go into immense detail into everything from the process that every different kind of wine goes through when made, all the different ingredients utilized, why the vineyards are placed where and how they are, and so much more. It was very impressive. And we all agreed that the day wouldn't have been anywhere near as good without him... most likely we would have spent half our time lost really.

After a very elaborate 5 course entourage of different wines at this place it was getting late in the day by this stage and there was still more to see, thus it was time to move on once more.

This next place was just about my favourite for the day, the atmosphere it offered stood slightly above the others I thought, although they were all of course amazing. This one was nestled away in between a lake and countless vineyards, with mountains off in the distance on both sides. Very cool.

Surprise shot of Mitch

Thought I'd attempt some artistic shots of the inside

Our view for the hour, with more wines to come

I stopped drinking wine by this stage (I'll be honest... these ones weren't free unlike the previous places thus I was cheap and didn't want to spend the money) so I simply sat back and enjoyed the tranquility. The entire setting was really impressive, easily allowing for another hour of the day to drift in the most perfect way.

While sitting I got thinking (as one often does). I felt pretty lucky to be here, especially as I know a lot of other people (ones who actually appreciate wine for example...) would have absolutely loved to have had the chance to experience a guided tour on a perfect weather day such as this. Thoughout the day I had to remind myself how I got to be here... it is quite a big change from my life back in Australia that's for sure.

A winery we saw on the drive home

After some fun driving through the mountains it was time to head back to Phil's house in Berkeley (across the bay from San Francisco). We cooked a BBQ, listened to some music and had a bit more wine, then it was time for Isabel and I to return to San Francisco, feeling absolutely exhausted but content.

And that, I am proud to say, was our day! Definitely one to add to the highlights list that's for sure.

Phew... I'm tired. Pub crawl last night, wine tour today... travel is tough!

I'm an idiot. Also, another week, another pub crawl

I am not the sharpest guy in the world at times. I somehow seem to... create situations that are not very favourable for myself. Or are just plain stupid.

So with travel being damn expensive and the fact that I have a 1-year Work Visa, I should probably be working by now. That isn't to say I haven't been trying to get a job! On the contrary I have sent dozens upon dozens of emails and handed out heaps of resume's... to no avail. Although it appears that subconsciously I don't truly want a job, because I seem to make blatant and crucial mistakes, frequently hindering my progress... one of which I only just discovered.

Back in April (we are now June...) I made a basic job cover letter, purposely making it rather generic to start out with so whenever I needed to write a new cover letter I would simply make a copy of this original one, change a few words and paragraphs here and there, and send it off, saving me the trouble of creating a brand new one each time I needed one. Little did I know that all this time there was a slight typo in the first word on the original copy... thus all consequent copies would of course also carry this same mistake:

"Dead Sir/Madam"

See the mistake? DEAD Sir/Madam? How does that go unnoticed for two months!? It kind of changes the tone and intent of the introduction of the job cover letter I would say.

I have no idea how many people I sent this out to.

This to be honest actually made me laugh quite hard. They wouldn't be able to tell if I am applying (poorly) for a job, or sending subtle death threats. Sigh... I worry about myself sometimes.

Another disappointing moment happened soon after. So, when my parents came to America for a holiday a few weeks ago I asked for them to bring me a few items over that would be useful that I had left at home. One in paticular was my suit jacket, in the hope that if I ever had a job interview I'd at least have one nice piece of clothing to wear.

Yeah... I kind of lost it... I think I forgot it in one of my hostel rooms.

It was a little worrying how long it took me to realize I had lost it. At least a week had passed until suddenly I was like "hang on... didn't I have a suit jacket with me?".

So now I am without a suit jacket, as well as establishing my name among the San Francisco employers as being a poor spell checker and/or possibly dangerous.

I am just not meant to have a job it appears.

But whatever, I am having too much fun to be thinking about jobs! Another Wednesday has rolled around and that means another pub crawl, sweet! With Phil now living across the bay in Berkeley, and Mitch staying with him for a while, they weren't going to join us, so it was just going to be Isabel and I. Fine by me. But then awesomely an old friend of Isabel's from her time spent volunteering at the nature parks a few months back, Anna, had just arrived in the city that day so she was to be joining us, cool. And just a few hours beforehand I made friends with a new guy in my hostel room, Mardy, who seemed cool so I invited him along, making a great group of four to go out for the night.

Yep, the night rocked!

Below are photos of us that were posted on the the pub crawl's Facebook page. You might be confused by some of our hand formations in the photos, the explanation being that there was a Paper-Scissors-Rock tournament on during the night. Ha! Unlike last week's pub crawl where we didn't care about the tournament one bit, this time we decided to join in the fun, and what fun it was!

Also... you might notice I am wearing one colour shirt but then a different one later on. Somewhere during the night I won a shirt ha!

Me winning the game with my well placed scissors!

Far out Isabel makes me laugh so much =)

Mardy, Me, Isabel (a Tequila shot down at this stage), random guy, Anna (also a Tequila shot down), random guy

Turns out I am pretty good at Paper-Scissors-Rock, and I made it to the final 4! I was pretty buzzed on beers by this stage however and was just having an absolute blast dancing stupidly with Mardy, Isabel and Anna, so I didn't pay much attention and ended up losing the semi-finals! Noooo!

It was a tough loss... but I think I survived the loss quite easily judging by the pictures of the rest of the night.

The final four! Ha Anna's smile makes me laugh. The douche with his tongue out won the tournament...

Then Isabel jumped in on the fun haha! Anna's face is priceless ha! What's with the douche who won the tourmanent's face?

Then it was time for everyone to jump in! What a great night!

Wow, great times! The club came to a close and kicked us out soon after. Luckily for us just across the road is a late night pizza shop... so. much. win!

Isabel was extremely tipsy by this stage (I think having her friend Anna here changed her drinking habits just slightly =P) and was off chatting to randoms, leaving Mardy and I to chat amongst ourselves. I'd only known Mardy for a few hours by that stage but he was actually really great company so that was cool, we got along extremely well. Perhaps I will see him around more from now on. He is also going to be sticking around San Francisco for a month or more too which is awesome because with him, plus Phil, that now makes two long term San Francisco friends =) Which is a big deal when traveling as most friends you make never stick around longer than three days...

So that was my second hostel pub crawl! A ridiculous amount of fun! And you can see why I am struggling to find a job =)

I wanted to save this picture for last because seriously, it is an awesome photo =)

An unexpected photo of me and Isabel laughing about who knows what =)

Conquering the San Francisco hills with Isabel

Today was a really cool day. After our big win at pool tables the other day with Mitch and Sergio, Isabel and I spent the following day at our usual hang out, Starbucks, enjoying their sandwiches and free Wi-Fi (and I guess I applied for a job or two). During our chats the topic of Lombard Street came up. Lombard Street you will most likely be aware of but simply do not know the name, it is the iconic, extremey steep and bended street in San Francisco.

Alas our plan for the following day was set, sweet.

We woke up early, met up, and set off down the extremely hilly and long trek, taking countless photos along the way on a day with the clearest of skies, laughing and chatting the whole way as one does when in great company. Thus began the beginning of a really epic day.

I will let my photos do most of the talking, and I am sure you will agree that they have much to say.

The streets of San Francisco are fantastic

The hills...

Spirits were high

Bay Bridge (not the Golden Gate Bridge)

That's Alcatraz Island over there

Every single city block had a new photo opportunity even more amazing than the last, I would easily rank this place as one of my favourite places in the world in all my travels thus far. Although don't think this was just a nice relaxing walk through the streets of San Francisco on a perfect weather day... the hills were brutal. It had taken us nearly an hour to go only like 2km due to a mixture of wanting to stop every 100m for a photo, and the near vertical hills at every corner.

Isabel wondering if the hills ever end

Finally we made it to our originally intended destination... Lombard Street! Was it worth it? Not really! But we couldn't leave the city without seeing it at least once I guess. Turns out every other tourist in the whole of San Francisco couldn't leave without seeing it at least once either, the place was crazy packed. My photos below are the best ones that don't have crowds of people in the way, nor crazy Chinese tourists literally bumping me with their shoulders to move me out the way so they can get the shot they wanted, ha!

Lombard Street, San Francisco

Although it did make for some amazing photos and views from the top.

A small corner of San Francisco spread out below as far as the eye can see

With the excitement of a steep and bendy street out the way (oh man, my heart was racing from the awe it inspired...), it was time for lunch. Yay... another 1km stretch of downhill road to follow. Travel is tough guys!

After some shaky legs and sore feet, lunch had arrived!

Clam chowder in bread for lunch. It was really nice.

Lunch I'd have to say was one of my favourite parts of the day. Isabel has quickly become one of my best friends on the entire trip, we get along extremely well and she seriously just brightens my day. Since her arrival a few days ago we have already had a blast, having an epic night out at the pub crawl the other day, then hanging out at Starbucks for just about everyday since (while I search for jobs), the very cool Jazz night a few days ago at Phil's house, and of course our legendary come-from-behind win at pool tables the night before. All being amazingly fun times with her.

When traveling with people, even if you spend a while together (which in travel terms, anything longer then 3 days is considered a while) you still know pretty much nothing about the people you are spending time with. Sore from the ridiculously tough hills of San Francisco we were in no rush to leave the comfort of the tables while eating lunch, so it was great to spend time to discover more about her life back home (she is from Portugal, but lives in Spain), what she hopes to do upon returning home now that she has been on this amazing America adventure, not to mention what she wants to do with her life now also. There was also a lot of talk about our pasts, something I am always interested in listening about, people always have such fascinating stories.

But anyway, enough about that I guess.

After lunch we went down to an art gallery showing nature photography of an artist named Rodney Lough Jr which was amazing. For an hour Isabel and I drifted through this amazing collection, utterly engulfed in another world separate from reality. It was so surreal to again walk back outside, and feeling that we had just walked out of another dimension. Wow.

With the aim to avoid the tousist areas (as they were far too busy), we let our feet and the wind take us along to a place called Fisherman's Wharf, simply exploring and enjoying the day.

A closer view of Alcatraz Island. Pretty awesome!

Oh yeah! Well I know how everyone loves when I write about the history of places (right? Of course. Like that time I wrote about the history of Golden Gate Park! This blog is both entertaining and educational!), so I have some way cool facts about Alcatraz Prison that I have picked up from talking to people of late (I have yet to visit Alcatraz... I can't quite justify the $28 or so price for entry).

Anyways, so obviously Alcatraz used to be a prison until... 1980 or something (I made that number up), and it has been reported that there has only ever been one successful escape, although it is unknown if the escapee survived or drowned because a body was never found. While the island itself isn't too far from mainland (I'd guess no more than 1km), the waters are ice cold and can be quite treacherous, but I would say it is still possible for someone to traverse.

Now what the prison managers used to do to prevent the chance of an escape was two things (probably others but this is what I remember). Firstly, they would feed the prisoners a high sugar, low protein diet, preventing them from building muscle, yikes. Muscle that could be used to help them swim away of course. That is terrifying! But genius at the same time. The second prevention tactic was providing only hot water for their showers, so as to not let the prisoners get used to cold water (such as the ice cold waters surrounding the island). Insane! It is extremely clever, but so cold and heartless, to manipulate people in such a way. Morality aside I still thought it was still some really interesting facts (and now you do too!).

Anyways, returning back to our day, it was time to explore the rest of the wharfs.

Random shot Isabel surprised me with

Isabel with Alcatraz Island and the bay in the background

Me with Alcatraz Island and the bay in the background

Isabel and I

It was absolutely freezing by that stage, then by chance we found what I would say was the one warm spot on the whole wharf. The sun was shining in the one spot and the buildings shielded us from the wind, win! We sat down for ages listening to music, Isabel almost literally falling asleep ha.

Travel Buddy enjoying our warm spot, looking as grumpy as ever

Ah, yes. Travel Buddy had been with us the whole day, yet despite the many photos I took of him throughout the day... they sucked. Although that is of no fault of my own, I have noticed of late that Travel Buddy is always grumpy... look at that face, he just doesn't seem to be happy to spend the day out in the sun! How can I take good photos when he is in a state such as that? I might have to change his name to Grumpy Buddy or something. I think if he just smiled a bit more to be honest, you guys could see a lot more of him!

Although if he doesn't change his mood soon and start participating in this adventure, he'll soon be known as Floating In The San Francisco Bay Buddy! =P

San Francisco bay

And that my friends, was our day.

I think we left just before midday, and the sun was starting to fall by this stage. Hanging out with Isabel is one of my favourite things to do of late, and it just funny how random it is for us to have become such great friends, yet here we are. I think this day is definitely one for the Highlights list, I cannot express enough how nice of a day it was.

Alas it was time to walk the crazy hills back the way we had come...