San Francisco, CA and Napa Valley

Sorry for the delay--the hostel I was staying at north of San Francisco had no wi-fi. So uncivilized. They get points for being in the most remote location (relatively speaking; it was in the Marin highlands, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, but I wasn't aware you could be within four miles of downtown SF and have no wi-fi or PHONE SERVICE), but still. Boo.

To wrap up my LA experience: Venice Beach at 9 am on a Monday morning is still a nutty experience. I didn't get the full complement of freakiness, but I saw enough to extrapolate. I'd wanted to have lunch at Ford's Filling Station, but they were closed for some sort of employee thing, so I had to settle for some candied bacon to go. Yes, folks: candied bacon. On a stick. I met up with a couple of friends from Columbia, and met their new baby. Candied bacon was enjoyed by all.

The next morning I got up bright and early and started driving up the PCH toward SF. I got to see the sun rise over Malibu...and then the rest of the PCH, until San Simeon, was largely a bust. I was thinking, "Why am I on this stupid two-lane road when I could be on the interstate?" and then I hit Big Sur.

I apologize for not having any pictures of Big Sur, there were no good places to pull over and take any. See link above for other people's pictures. I just had to drive straight through with my mouth hanging open. Definitely one of the top three most beautiful things I've seen on this trip. Imagine driving a twisty, 20-mph mountain pass with meadows full of mountain grasses, or cliffs, on one side and a sheer, 500-foot drop-off directly into the Pacific Ocean on the other. For about three hours. Occasionally dipping into an old-growth hardwood forest. If it hadn't been for all the slow-moving idiots on the road, I may have been perfectly happy.

After Big Sur, the drive was uneventful. I hit the hostel just outside Sausalito and went into SF for dinner at Gary Danko. Yes, I couldn't afford it. I ate there anyway. Suck it, budget. I couldn't get a reservation at French Laundry so I took the next best thing. I also made some lovely purchases at Cellar 360 and saw another old friend, who sent me on with some bottles of his own private wine label. But more about dinner. Here's what I had:

Amuse bouche: Gazpacho with duck proscuitto

Glazed oysters with osetra caviar, zucchini pearls and lettuce cream, served with Gruner-Veltliner, Gritsch, Singerriedel, Federspiel, Wachau, Austria 2007

Horseradish-crusted salmon medallion with dilled cucumbers and mustard sauce, served with Saint-Joseph, Domaine Courbis, Northern Rhone, France 2007

Seared filet of beef with cumin potatoes, swiss chard and tomato-corn relish, served with Toro, Bodega Numanthia Termes, Termes, Spain 2006

Cheese course, served with Petite Sirah, Switchback Ridge, Peterson Family Vineyard, Napa Valley, CA 2004

Baked chocolate souffle with two sauces, served with Maury, Mas Amiel, Vin Doux Naturel, Languedoc-Roussillon, France 2006

YUM. And again I say: YUM. And the service was exquisite, real Old World European-style service. Nothing makes you feel like a civilized person faster than being fawned over by multiple waiters. I was mortally ashamed to be wearing jeans (my cool weather nice attire is not what I would like, it was too chilly to wear my one DVF dress), but if anyone noticed, no one said anything, which I very much appreciated. Have I mentioned lately how much I love cheese? I am a cheese whore. The stinkier, the better. Note: if you ask nicely, they'll do an entire five-course tasting menu, with wine pairings, made out of nothing but cheese. I was sorely tempted, believe me.

The gourmet experience continued the next day in Napa Valley. I had grand illusions of covering several wineries, but let this be a lesson to us all: it is impossible to a) drink a lot of wine and b) drive. Especially c) without falling asleep. I managed four wine tastings and two stops at wine stores before I called it a day. You wouldn't think drinking wine all day would be so exhausting, but it really is. I think four wineries per day is about the maximum anyone can hope to accomplish in Napa. Most of the places I was particularly interested in visiting were appointment-only (Joseph Phelps, Stag's Leap, Opus One, Caymus, Copain) so I chose Domaine Chandon, Plumpjack, Heitz and Chateau Montelena instead. Between Napa and Cellar 360, I made some really, really lovely purchases, all of which I was assured could not be found outside the state of California.

Today I drove to Redwoods National Park. Redwoods are some big damn trees. And northern California is foggy. And cold. And my liver is still full of wine, and driving on two-lane roads all day long has made me cranky, and, and, and. So tonight I will go catch "Macbeth" at Oregon Shakespeare Festival to clear my brain out a little.