Napa (Days 3-6)

Before we checked out and headed out of the city, I made Zach take a walk with me to Lombard Street.  This is the famous street that zigzags back and forth eight times as it winds down the hill.  It was a short walk from our hotel and it's just one of those must-do touristy things!  And as a bonus, we found a pop-up farmer's market with awesome flatbreads, fruit, and other treats, so we didn't need to stop for lunch later on.

After picking up the rental car and braving the crazy streets of the city, we were on our way to wine country!  The drive was only about an hour and a half but Yountville seemed like a world away from San Francisco.  We checked into our bed and breakfast and then just walked around the town, getting our bearings.  That night, we followed the recommendation of Zach's Aunt Judy and Uncle Jerry and ate at Mustard's Grill.  It was awesome and Zach had duck that "changed his life."

On Monday, we woke up and borrowed bikes from the B&B to take a leisurely 10-mile ride around the area.  I really can't describe how beautiful the scenery is--rolling hills of grapevines, beautiful wineries and houses, quiet back roads.  If you're looking to relax and de-stress, this is definitely the place for you. For lunch, we walked over to Bouchon Bakery and bought a few sandwiches and ate them on our hotel patio in the sun.  In the afternoon, we did a winery tour and napped before dinner at Farmstead.

Farmstead

The next day was Tuesday and I came outside to see the sky full of hot air balloons.  Gorgeous!  After another delicious hotel breakfast, we hit the farmer's market in the town of Napa.  Even though we'd already eaten, we managed to make room for more.  That's where we bought our lunch to eat later on back on the patio.  We hit another winery in the afternoon and then Zach went running while I took a dip in the pool.  Dinner that night was at Bottega.

Wednesday was our last full day in Yountville  so of course Zach had to stomp some grapes.  We did a wine tasting in the morning and then he stomped his little heart out.  After that, we ate at a deli in St. Helena before heading back to the hotel.

This was the day I was looking forward to the most because we had reservations at the French Laundry for dinner!  I've been dying to go to this restaurant for years, ever since I really started being interested in food and chefs and fine dining.  It is next to impossible to get reservations, though, so I had to call in my good luck charm, Lauren.  After I had dialed 200+ times over three days, my sister got us reservations in less than five minutes.  She's amazing!

The gardens across the street

Think the chef is picking our dinner?

French Laundry was everything I had imagined it would be and more.  The staff was so professional and knowledgeable and nice.  I'm sure they deal with a lot of high-rollers and VIPs (which we certainly were not), but they made us feel like we were the only people in the restaurant.  Zach had the nine-course chef's tasting menu and I had the nine-course vegetable tasting menu.  But the nine courses were more like 15 if you count the amuse bouche, bread, and multiple desserts, plus the take-home shortbread cookies.  I can't even describe all the food in a way that would do it justice.  And Zach was embarrassed every time I took out my camera so I don't have great pictures.  If you want to see awesome pictures of the beautiful food there, check out this blog.  The menu changes every day so we didn't have the same food as these people but you get the idea.  Everything was perfect and it was a meal that I will remember forever.  It was the perfect way to spend our last night in Napa Valley!