Zephyr Trip: Day 8

Baker Beach

Japanese Tea Garden @ G.G. Park

Like all vacations, the final day seemed to arrive in a hurry. We slept in a little bit, then decided to hit up the Golden Gate Park for a few hours in west San Francisco. Golden Gate Park is a long rectangle oriented towards the Pacific Ocean; while similar to NYC's Central Park, G.G. Park is actually 20% larger. We lucked out in finding a free parking spot along one of the park's winding streets.

49er Roll

As lunchtime approached, we needed to address the fact that we had been in California several days but not had a bite of sushi. A little wandering south of the park led us to Hotei Restaurant, a nice little Japanese place. The sushi was delicious and fresh- especially their "49er" roll that included smoked salmon and paper-thin slices of lemon. So good.

Mine?!

We hiked back to Golden Gate Park, but after finding out most of the "mini-parks" within it cost $7+ per person [and don't even mention the $20+ museums], we decided to just hang out at the Shakespeare garden [with plaques listing all of his references to flowers/plants] and near Stow Lake with Strawberry Island and its electrically-helped waterfall.

Ring & Bridge - Reprise

We headed via car towards Baker Beach [with a brief fabric store detour], which is on the Pacific Ocean southwest of the Golden Gate Bridge. It sets up a beautiful view of the bridge and the Marin Headlands. It wasn't warm enough to attract any big crowds, but there were a couple bad surfers to entertain us for a bit.

Wandering around Viansa

Cas and I drove back across the G.G. Bridge, and made a beeline to the Sonoma Valley to squeeze in a wine tasting at Viansa Winery. It rained for a few moments on our drive- the only precipitation we saw while out in California. We sampled a few wines, then purchased a couple to take back to my Uncle & Aunt's home for the final dinner out west.


Our California Zephyr trip really worked out well- the Amtrak was on time, saw family in Denver & California, and overall the weather worked out. Already looking forward to planning another train trip, hopefully including a National Park or two. I think Cassie [or should I say "my fiancée"!] is now a lens-changing expert for SLR cameras too.

Stow Lake

Strawberry Island Pagoda

Golden Gate Park flowers

Manmade waterfall

Front coming in off the Pacific

I don't think I'll ever tire of photographing this bridge

Pointing to where I proposed in the Marin Headlands

Surf's up

Young grapes over Sonoma

Viansa Winery

Cas & I near Navato, CA

Past Blast: Napa Valley

View of Napa Valley, from J. Phelps Vineyards

It's hard to be in Italy for so long and not leave with an appreciation for Vino. So I had an opportunity a couple years back to visit USA's answer to Tuscany: the Sonoma & Napa Valleys just north of San Francisco. Today just features a couple of the Napa wineries we visited, perhaps Sonoma will get her own post on down the line.

Inside J. Phelps; I'll take a barrel to go, please

Our first stop of the day was a winery my friend Rob had set his eyes on, famous for their blending capabilities. Instead of just a single grape dominating whatever you're drinking [Cabernet, Merlot, etc.], a blend delicately balances several grape types to produce an all-around tasty beverage. Usually there is no harsh aftertaste or dominating tannins. Joseph Phelps Vineyards produces the much-touted Insignia blend. Set up on the hills above Napa Valley, you get a great view as well as a great tasting. We left the winery with a bottle each of the heftily-priced drink, and I'm still searching for an event worthy of its uncorking! Of course, it's still doing some much-needed aging, so maybe I'll figure something out in a few years.

Inside Mondavi's Winery

After driving along the bottom of the valley along the Napa Valley Wine Train route, we also hit up the Robert Mondavi Winery. Practically a Mecca for wine enthusiasts, Mondavi helped start the entire Napa Valley wine business 40-something years ago. Empty of major wineries since Prohibition, Mondavi built the first in Napa in 1966. 10 years later, his 2 American vintages won in a Paris tasting of red wines from around the world, and Napa was officially on the oenophile map. The main winery is on the valley floor, surrounded by grapevines. Mondavi Winery is large enough for group tours if you want to hear some more of the history, and if you want to peek inside the cask storage buildings.


You can't go wrong in Napa, as long as you have a designated driver. We visited in early Spring to beat the heat & tourist season. The tastings were outstanding; the wines were certainly worthy of Italia. And there are so many wineries, you'll always have something new to see.

Mondavi's Winery, where it all started

Past Blast: Orvieto

Orvieto's Wall

Orvieto is a small hilltop town in southwestern Umbria. It is easily traveled to from Rome's Termini train station, and is a great place to spend a day trip when you need a break from urban Roma. Our class hit it up both on our trip north towards Florence, and as a side-project to redevelop the old military barracks. Ah yes, the good old Caserma project.

Il Duomo

In the mood for some Vino? Orvieto is famous for its white wine: "Orvieto Classico." The city itself seems to be surrounded by vineyards; anytime you find yourself on an outer wall of the city, that's what you'll be looking down on. Keep an eye out Stateside for a bottle or two in the larger liquor stores; it's usually a nice, light summery drink.


The facade of Orvieto's Duomo was recently restored, and is a nice surprise while wandering the narrow winding streets. If you catch it on a nice day, the sun will reflect brilliantly off the gold paint. Inside the 700-year-old building is a chapel containing a cloth that was bled on by a consecrated host; just look for the crowds that tend to gather in front of it.


Orvieto's hillside is made out of that ever-present tufa stone of central Italy. Easily quarried, the hill is now lined with tunnels that you can tour deep underground. If you're lucky you'll see an Etruscan ruin or two.

Echo!