Terry and I had the most remarkable Anniversary getaway in Napa.
Then we decided to do some wine tasting. We started here at Peju, so far my favorite winery in Napa. It's small, family run and they make this amazing red/white blend served chilled that we love. It's called Provence, try it! www.peju.com
Next stop, Mumm. But since we'd only been away from Attie for a little under 4 hours, a call home first. She was very busy doing crafts with Grandma but gave clear directions that the gift we bring home should be wrapped :)
Mumm was so nice. The tasting was at a table overlooking their vineyards and the hills. It was late afternoon on a warm day with a slight breeze coming in. One sip and my head was full of bubbles, partly from the wine, partly from my excitement at being away from the grind together with Terry. They also had a great Ansel Adams exhibit in their gallery. Good recommendation Winfields!
As our anticipation for what was to come the following day heightened, we checked into our hotel in Yountville and decided to take a walk. We found The French Laundry and watched as the dinner guests were arriving. We were able to figure out that you enter into a lovely courtyard with a few areas to sit while you wait to be taken to your table inside.
Directly across the street from the restaurant is one of their gardens. So we pretended not to be stalkers and meandered through the beautiful herbs, veggies and sunflowers. We were pretty worried about how to eat the night before The French Laundry but we found a cute and casual place where we shared a small dinner which turned out to be really good.
Our reservation on Saturday was for 11am, we arrived at 10:40. (We were a little excited.) We hung around outside for a bit, but then decided we shouldn't waste any time and walked into the courtyard to sit down. We were nervous about being too early and whether the staff would think it was annoying, but someone came out and immediately made us feel comfortable. When we told her our name, she knew we were there for a special occasion and offered us champagne. Of course we accepted the offer. After relaxing with our drink and pouring over the 100 page wine list, she showed us to our table inside.
We had the best meal we've ever had. It was nine courses. But they also served two appetizers and after the two dessert courses, they brought more dessert and chocolates and candy and tea and coffee. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The picture above was one of the hightlights; duck breast with crispy polenta, roasted fennel bulb and huckleberry au jus.
The duck was the 5th course. Next was this "Wagyu" beef. It's hard to describe how it melted in your mouth, I don't think I'll ever be able to enjoy a steak again.
After three hours of eating and drinking, we weren't ready to leave. We asked the waiter if we could have one more glass of champagne in the courtyard. He said "of course" but disappeared for a while and we thought maybe he was trying to figure out how to get rid of us. He came back and showed us outside to a table that they had set with white linens. He took this picture of us and was just so eager to make sure that we enjoyed every last minute of our time there. If you can't tell that we were in heaven at The French Laundry, we are already planning our next visit there. I think our 15th wedding anniversary can't come soon enough!
We were so sad when it was over, but we had only an hour before our next appointment. Terry had scheduled one-hour facials for us! It was a bit hard to come down from the food and drink high and relax for a facial...for about 5 minutes! The facials were great.
Later that evening, we went into the real town of Napa and saw a movie with the locals. We saw "Little Miss Sunshine." I thought it was funny and touching. What a great day.
We didn't take any other pictures the rest of the weekend. On Sunday, we did some shopping in Calistoga, had another picnic lunch from Dean & Deluca and headed home.
Attie was so happy to see us that she jumped into the car before Terry had a chance to turn off the ignition! She had a good time with Lisa. It took us a couple of days to readjust to real food and everyday activities, but we are back into it and fondly remembering our getaway.
Here's to the next ten years!!!
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