Christmas in Paris is very different from Christmas in the states. Many businesses are open and it's much more low key (other than the revellers at midnight). We got up at 7:45 and Amelie and Sira opened their presents (the ones that Santa brought to Paris, at least). Our morning was relaxed, with pancakes and French pastries for breakfast. We ventured out around noon and meandered up to Sacre Couer for some excellent views of the city. Dinner was beef/tofu bourginion before our trip to the ballet to see Sleeping Beauty.
Today was a gorgeous day in Paris - sunny and close to 50 degrees. A perfect day to tour the sculpture garden at the Rodin Museum. We had a late lunch at the Saint Germaine. I was convinced that I would only be able to have vegetable soup. But I asked for a vegan salad to go along with it in my halting French and was quite pleasantly surprised! First of all, the happiness delicious - pureed with lots of greens and eaten with lots of bread. But the salad was the gem of the meal. Steamed green beans, carrots, peas, and other veggies over lettuce and cabbage, dressed perfectly with a mustard vinaigrette. It was amazing!
After lunch, we headed to the Musee D'Orsay. What a wonderful place! Created from an old train station, the building alone is worth the trip. But the art is pretty good too. The girls had had enough museum time for the day, so they headed home while Mom, Peter, and I took in some more of the museum. We bought some fresh veggies for dinner on the way home (I love all of the fruit and vegetable stands here!) and cooked up some pasta with garlic, olive oil, and veggies. We had dinner with the kids while Melissa and Darren went out for some adult time. Dessert was hot chocolate, and now it's story time!
In other news, I think my suitcase is lost and gone forever....
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Pay Phone
I've spent a lot of time on a pay phone trying to locate my suitcase. Not how I wanted to spend my vacation. In between, however, the trip ha been great!
Yesterday was a lazy morning, as we all continued to adjust to the time difference. Hence began the ongoing saga with United Airlines. I spent some quality time at the pay phone while the rest of the family ate pancakes. I made up for my lack of breakfast with a big bowl of Mueseli. It's so much better here!
We finally headed out in the early afternoon. Melissa and I visited a few thrift shops while Didi and Grandpa went ahead to the ice skating rink. The lines was really long, and the ice really wet, so we rode the carousel instead. We then walked to Notre Dame, but admired it from the outside as the line to get in was ridiculously long. We'll see the inside tonight when we go for Christmas carols before midnight mass. Instead, we went into a warm cafe for hot chocolate and other warm beverages.
Didi, Grandpa, and I had an adult dinner at Le Passage Oblige, chosen for having several vegan opt up options. We had onion fritters for an appetizer. I thought they would taste like onion rings, but they were totally different and delicious. For my main meal, I ordered the platter so that could try a few different things. The best was a the veggie party with an amazing olive tapenade in top. The mushroom ragu was also pretty amazing. This was a good choice for a vegan friendly place with meat options.
This morning we headed out early to check out the catacombs. We got there early enough that we were near the front of the line. We waited about half an hour for them to open - totally worth the wait! For lunch, I wanted to try the Ginger Cafe, but they were closed. So I went around the corner to Grand Appetit. The owner was very friendly and helpful. I ordered the bowl, which came with veggies, brown rice, lentils, and seitan. It was fantastic! Upon the owner's recommendation, I tried the apple pear tart for dessert. Yum!
My afternoon was spent at H&M buying clothes, since my suitcase still hasn't been delivered. The one helpful United employee that I talked to today told me to put a claim in for 200 Euro, rather than the $100 I spent. More shopping???
Christmas eve was spent with homemade dinner, bread, and wine. At ten we head to Notre Dame for carols. Merry Christmas everyone!
Yesterday was a lazy morning, as we all continued to adjust to the time difference. Hence began the ongoing saga with United Airlines. I spent some quality time at the pay phone while the rest of the family ate pancakes. I made up for my lack of breakfast with a big bowl of Mueseli. It's so much better here!
We finally headed out in the early afternoon. Melissa and I visited a few thrift shops while Didi and Grandpa went ahead to the ice skating rink. The lines was really long, and the ice really wet, so we rode the carousel instead. We then walked to Notre Dame, but admired it from the outside as the line to get in was ridiculously long. We'll see the inside tonight when we go for Christmas carols before midnight mass. Instead, we went into a warm cafe for hot chocolate and other warm beverages.
Didi, Grandpa, and I had an adult dinner at Le Passage Oblige, chosen for having several vegan opt up options. We had onion fritters for an appetizer. I thought they would taste like onion rings, but they were totally different and delicious. For my main meal, I ordered the platter so that could try a few different things. The best was a the veggie party with an amazing olive tapenade in top. The mushroom ragu was also pretty amazing. This was a good choice for a vegan friendly place with meat options.
This morning we headed out early to check out the catacombs. We got there early enough that we were near the front of the line. We waited about half an hour for them to open - totally worth the wait! For lunch, I wanted to try the Ginger Cafe, but they were closed. So I went around the corner to Grand Appetit. The owner was very friendly and helpful. I ordered the bowl, which came with veggies, brown rice, lentils, and seitan. It was fantastic! Upon the owner's recommendation, I tried the apple pear tart for dessert. Yum!
My afternoon was spent at H&M buying clothes, since my suitcase still hasn't been delivered. The one helpful United employee that I talked to today told me to put a claim in for 200 Euro, rather than the $100 I spent. More shopping???
Christmas eve was spent with homemade dinner, bread, and wine. At ten we head to Notre Dame for carols. Merry Christmas everyone!
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Journey to Paris
My trip to Paris turned out to be much longer than expected. My flight to Logan was delayed, and the Air Canada terminal at Logan stinks. There is no food other than some Cosi sandwiches and pastries, and nothing is vegan. So I skipped dinner, assuming I'd eat on my flight to Paris. But then I missed my connection, so that didn't happen. So I grabbed a veggie sub from Subway with my food voucher from Air Canada.
I checked into the hotel and spent an hour and fifteen minutes finding a flight to Paris for the next day. I gratefully fell into the cushy king sized bed after that ordeal. I got to the airport early the next day, since my seat to Newark wasn't confirmed. That gave me plenty of time to search for vegan food, but there wasn't much to find. So I did a lot of reading instead.
Once again, my first flight was delayed. Luckily I made my connection this time. United served the best airline meal I've ever eaten - veggie and chick pea masala with rice. The sauce was slightly spicy and delicious!
We arrived in Paris on time, but my bag did not, so I had to deal with that. I finally made it to our apartment a little after one. After a light lunch, we headed to the Eiffel Tower. The lines were too long to go to the top, so we got tickets for a boat tour on the Seine instead and got to see some sights from the river at dusk. We grabbed delicious falafel sandwiches for dinner and ate them with red wine as Amelie sang and danced for us. Despite the travel nightmare, I had a pretty good first day in Paris. And my travel karma is usually good, so I guess this was bound to happen sooner or later!
I checked into the hotel and spent an hour and fifteen minutes finding a flight to Paris for the next day. I gratefully fell into the cushy king sized bed after that ordeal. I got to the airport early the next day, since my seat to Newark wasn't confirmed. That gave me plenty of time to search for vegan food, but there wasn't much to find. So I did a lot of reading instead.
Once again, my first flight was delayed. Luckily I made my connection this time. United served the best airline meal I've ever eaten - veggie and chick pea masala with rice. The sauce was slightly spicy and delicious!
We arrived in Paris on time, but my bag did not, so I had to deal with that. I finally made it to our apartment a little after one. After a light lunch, we headed to the Eiffel Tower. The lines were too long to go to the top, so we got tickets for a boat tour on the Seine instead and got to see some sights from the river at dusk. We grabbed delicious falafel sandwiches for dinner and ate them with red wine as Amelie sang and danced for us. Despite the travel nightmare, I had a pretty good first day in Paris. And my travel karma is usually good, so I guess this was bound to happen sooner or later!
Sunday, December 15, 2013
New York
It's been a couple of weeks since my trip to New York, but I've been extremely busy since then, so I wasn't able to post. I'm taking advantage of the snowy weather to do so now.
My trip to the city was a short one, but I packed quite a bit of eating into that time! I arrived around 12:30 on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. After checking into my hotel, I made my way to Angelica Kitchen. I settled into the community table and ordered the walnut lentil pate to start. The pate was delicious and served with thin rice crackers and raw carrots for dipping. I ordered the wee dragon bowl for my main meal, a scrumptious combo of rice, beans, tofu, steamed veggies, and sea vegetables. Needless to say, I was quite full after lunch, so I walked to Union Square to meet Courtney at the holiday market. After browsing the market for a bit, I was ready to try some ice cream at Lulu's Sweet Apothecary. I didn't go all out and get a sundae, since I didn't want to ruin my appetite for dinner, so I went with a scoop of vanilla with a bunch of different candy pieces - yum!
Dinner was at Cafe Blossom on the upper west side. We split the black-eyed pea cakes; small, but delicious! I had BBQ tempeh with lots of other deliciousness that I can't remember at the moment. I also sampled the peanut stew, which was amazing. The food was excellent and the portion sizes were perfect; despite all of the eating I had done that day, I didn't feel disgustingly full. Plus, I danced a lot of it off at the Guster concert that night. :)
On Sunday, we started the day off right with a trip to Ess-A-Bagel, which carries seven different varieties of tofu cream cheese. Yes, seven! I'm not normally a bagel eater, but I thoroughly enjoyed my multi-grain bagel with sun dried tomato tofu cream cheese. For lunch, we all met at Cubana Social in Brooklyn. They have quite a few vegan options here. I opted for lunch over brunch and got a vegan version of a cuban sandwich, which included sweet plantains, pickles, and avocado - absolutely delicious!
I ended my day in New Haven, arriving at the train station a little before seven. I decided to have dinner downtown, as there were several promising options there. I settled on Claire's Corner Copia, which had a ton of vegan options. I ordered the curry of the day, which was packed with tofu, veggies, rice, and sauce. But the best part of the meal was the bread - a mini loaf of delicious, flaky bread, served warm with Earth Balance. An excellent way to end the weekend!
I'm off to Paris on Friday! From what I hear, the vegan eating is good there, so I should have lots to report.
My trip to the city was a short one, but I packed quite a bit of eating into that time! I arrived around 12:30 on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. After checking into my hotel, I made my way to Angelica Kitchen. I settled into the community table and ordered the walnut lentil pate to start. The pate was delicious and served with thin rice crackers and raw carrots for dipping. I ordered the wee dragon bowl for my main meal, a scrumptious combo of rice, beans, tofu, steamed veggies, and sea vegetables. Needless to say, I was quite full after lunch, so I walked to Union Square to meet Courtney at the holiday market. After browsing the market for a bit, I was ready to try some ice cream at Lulu's Sweet Apothecary. I didn't go all out and get a sundae, since I didn't want to ruin my appetite for dinner, so I went with a scoop of vanilla with a bunch of different candy pieces - yum!
Dinner was at Cafe Blossom on the upper west side. We split the black-eyed pea cakes; small, but delicious! I had BBQ tempeh with lots of other deliciousness that I can't remember at the moment. I also sampled the peanut stew, which was amazing. The food was excellent and the portion sizes were perfect; despite all of the eating I had done that day, I didn't feel disgustingly full. Plus, I danced a lot of it off at the Guster concert that night. :)
On Sunday, we started the day off right with a trip to Ess-A-Bagel, which carries seven different varieties of tofu cream cheese. Yes, seven! I'm not normally a bagel eater, but I thoroughly enjoyed my multi-grain bagel with sun dried tomato tofu cream cheese. For lunch, we all met at Cubana Social in Brooklyn. They have quite a few vegan options here. I opted for lunch over brunch and got a vegan version of a cuban sandwich, which included sweet plantains, pickles, and avocado - absolutely delicious!
I ended my day in New Haven, arriving at the train station a little before seven. I decided to have dinner downtown, as there were several promising options there. I settled on Claire's Corner Copia, which had a ton of vegan options. I ordered the curry of the day, which was packed with tofu, veggies, rice, and sauce. But the best part of the meal was the bread - a mini loaf of delicious, flaky bread, served warm with Earth Balance. An excellent way to end the weekend!
I'm off to Paris on Friday! From what I hear, the vegan eating is good there, so I should have lots to report.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Celebration for the Turkeys
I made it back to Farm Sanctuary this weekend, and it was just as amazing (though sadly much shorter) as my time there in August. We left early on Saturday morning and arrived around 12:45. We enjoyed some hot cider and some snacks (including the amazing peanut butter brownies that they had served in August) as we waited for farm time to begin. We started in the cow pasture, where Meg was not as happy to see us as she had been in August. We moved on to some of the bigger cows instead. Next we got to meet Ari, one of the new additions to the farm. That little guy can moo! He is absolutely adorable, and Aimee is featured once again on the website as she was captured having a moment with him. After a visit to the sheep barn, it was time to feed the turkeys!
The Thanksgiving event is truly a special one. Low tables are set up with platters of lettuce, cranberries, and pumpkin pie filling. The turkeys are let out of the barn and it is their chance to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast. They were unsure about approaching the tables, so the kids stepped in and brought the platters to them. Once they did so, they were no longer shy about eating. I got the chance to feed a couple of them some pumpkin pie once the crowd died down. It was wonderful to see turkeys being fed instead of the other way around.
We headed to the pig barn next. The pigs were agitated and noisy, and we didn't really get to get close to them. It turns out someone had thrown a pumpkin into the barn, and when it was taken away, they became upset. They had planned to feed the pigs the pumpkins at 3:45, but apparently someone got too eager. They ended up feeding them a half hour early, since they were so upset. And so guests threw pumpkins into the pen, onto the cement so they would open, and the pigs went to town! They chomped away, often carrying huge pieces in their mouths as they trotted around the pen. It was so cute!
After the pig feeding, we headed to our hotel to change for dinner. We arrived at the Harbor Hotel (not our hotel - maybe next year!) in time for appetizers. There were curry stuffed potatoes, which where okay, and a crostini with tomatoes and fava bean puree which was out of this world. We also snacked on veggies and dressing, plus some vegan cheeses that were quite delicious.
We snagged seats at one of the reserved tables, since Aimee is a Hilda Club member. We put our things down and then went to the bar to get some wine. When we came back, there was a piece of paper on my chair. I didn't think much of it, and put it on the seat next to mine. Turns out it belonged to Gene - his notes for his speech. Yes, I sat right next to him during dinner (and I guess kind of took his seat, though my stuff was there)! I actually talked more to his girlfriend, Suzanne, however, who was seated next to Aimee; she is so nice! And yes, we did offer to move so they could sit together, but they didn't seem to care that they were separated.
After salad and some delicious squash soup, dinner was ready. It was buffet style, and there were several dishes to choose from - a cabbage and nut salad, wild rice, green beans with bread crumbs, mashed potatoes, and Tofurkey with cranberry sauce and gravy. I took a little bit of everything. Everything was wonderful, though I'm not a huge fan of Tofurkey; I don't love the fake meats. Dessert was an amazing pumpkin cheesecake, but sadly, I was so full I could only eat half. I honestly can't remember the last time I was that full after a meal!
This morning we headed to Ithaca for breakfast. We decided to try Waffle Frolic downtown, which offers vegan waffles. You then choose your toppings; I went with banana, almond butter, and walnuts. The waffle went perfectly with a soy pumpkin spice latte. It was a good breakfast choice! We stopped at Green Star Co-op on our way home to pick up a few groceries. I also ordered a vegan Reuben sandwich for the road. It was delicious even two hours later when I was hungry enough to eat it.
It was a wonderful weekend! Aimee and I are already planning our next trip out there for the Hoedown in August; we're thinking of taking an extra day and doing some wine tasting. Sadly, August seems far away right now. Anyway, it was worth the six hour trip in one weekend. Normally, I would hate doing that much driving in a two day period, but for Farm Sanctuary, it's totally worth it. :)
The Thanksgiving event is truly a special one. Low tables are set up with platters of lettuce, cranberries, and pumpkin pie filling. The turkeys are let out of the barn and it is their chance to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast. They were unsure about approaching the tables, so the kids stepped in and brought the platters to them. Once they did so, they were no longer shy about eating. I got the chance to feed a couple of them some pumpkin pie once the crowd died down. It was wonderful to see turkeys being fed instead of the other way around.
We headed to the pig barn next. The pigs were agitated and noisy, and we didn't really get to get close to them. It turns out someone had thrown a pumpkin into the barn, and when it was taken away, they became upset. They had planned to feed the pigs the pumpkins at 3:45, but apparently someone got too eager. They ended up feeding them a half hour early, since they were so upset. And so guests threw pumpkins into the pen, onto the cement so they would open, and the pigs went to town! They chomped away, often carrying huge pieces in their mouths as they trotted around the pen. It was so cute!
After the pig feeding, we headed to our hotel to change for dinner. We arrived at the Harbor Hotel (not our hotel - maybe next year!) in time for appetizers. There were curry stuffed potatoes, which where okay, and a crostini with tomatoes and fava bean puree which was out of this world. We also snacked on veggies and dressing, plus some vegan cheeses that were quite delicious.
We snagged seats at one of the reserved tables, since Aimee is a Hilda Club member. We put our things down and then went to the bar to get some wine. When we came back, there was a piece of paper on my chair. I didn't think much of it, and put it on the seat next to mine. Turns out it belonged to Gene - his notes for his speech. Yes, I sat right next to him during dinner (and I guess kind of took his seat, though my stuff was there)! I actually talked more to his girlfriend, Suzanne, however, who was seated next to Aimee; she is so nice! And yes, we did offer to move so they could sit together, but they didn't seem to care that they were separated.
After salad and some delicious squash soup, dinner was ready. It was buffet style, and there were several dishes to choose from - a cabbage and nut salad, wild rice, green beans with bread crumbs, mashed potatoes, and Tofurkey with cranberry sauce and gravy. I took a little bit of everything. Everything was wonderful, though I'm not a huge fan of Tofurkey; I don't love the fake meats. Dessert was an amazing pumpkin cheesecake, but sadly, I was so full I could only eat half. I honestly can't remember the last time I was that full after a meal!
This morning we headed to Ithaca for breakfast. We decided to try Waffle Frolic downtown, which offers vegan waffles. You then choose your toppings; I went with banana, almond butter, and walnuts. The waffle went perfectly with a soy pumpkin spice latte. It was a good breakfast choice! We stopped at Green Star Co-op on our way home to pick up a few groceries. I also ordered a vegan Reuben sandwich for the road. It was delicious even two hours later when I was hungry enough to eat it.
It was a wonderful weekend! Aimee and I are already planning our next trip out there for the Hoedown in August; we're thinking of taking an extra day and doing some wine tasting. Sadly, August seems far away right now. Anyway, it was worth the six hour trip in one weekend. Normally, I would hate doing that much driving in a two day period, but for Farm Sanctuary, it's totally worth it. :)
Monday, November 11, 2013
Checking In
It has been quite some time since my last post! That is mostly due to the fact that I have been incredibly busy with the start of the school year, and have not been traveling. I also have not been eating out much. I have discovered the joy of cooking simple, delicious food at home. It's part of my new goal in life - to enjoy being home more, and not out running around all of the time. So instead I've been making soups, stews, chilis, and very simple meals with grains, beans, tempeh, and lots of veggies.
That being said, I did check out brunch at Root this weekend, and it was fantastic! They seat you for brunch, which is different than dinner, when you order at the counter (At least that's how dinner was when I went for the first time when it first opened this summer. Maybe it's changed since then?). My friend and I had a nice, relaxing meal, with ample time between coffee and our entrees, but not too much that we were wondering where our food was. We decided to get a sweet and savory dish and share. So we ordered the vanilla waffles, which came with a delicious pumpkin spread and whipped cream - they were amazing! We also ordered the tofu scramble, which had a delicious, "creamy" sauce and came with potatoes served with their sweet, homemade ketchup. We were highly satisfied with our choices, though I want to go back and try some of the other goodies on the brunch menu. We ended our food event with some ice cream next door at FoMu - pumpkin spice for me, and banoffe pie for Faye. The ice cream was excellent, as always.
And do not fear - I will be traveling next weekend! I am heading up to Farm Sanctuary in New York to feed the turkeys and enjoy a delicious, vegan Thanksgiving meal. I'm sure I will have lots to write about after that trip!
That being said, I did check out brunch at Root this weekend, and it was fantastic! They seat you for brunch, which is different than dinner, when you order at the counter (At least that's how dinner was when I went for the first time when it first opened this summer. Maybe it's changed since then?). My friend and I had a nice, relaxing meal, with ample time between coffee and our entrees, but not too much that we were wondering where our food was. We decided to get a sweet and savory dish and share. So we ordered the vanilla waffles, which came with a delicious pumpkin spread and whipped cream - they were amazing! We also ordered the tofu scramble, which had a delicious, "creamy" sauce and came with potatoes served with their sweet, homemade ketchup. We were highly satisfied with our choices, though I want to go back and try some of the other goodies on the brunch menu. We ended our food event with some ice cream next door at FoMu - pumpkin spice for me, and banoffe pie for Faye. The ice cream was excellent, as always.
And do not fear - I will be traveling next weekend! I am heading up to Farm Sanctuary in New York to feed the turkeys and enjoy a delicious, vegan Thanksgiving meal. I'm sure I will have lots to write about after that trip!
Monday, September 2, 2013
Wine Country
Deb and Scott got married this weekend! Thanks to the four day weekend that Ashland always gives for Labor Day, I was able to make the trip out to California to celebrate. Today's post will, of course, focus on food, but it will also comment upon the fantastic weekend that good friends were able to spend together.
We arrived in San Francisco late on Thursday night, and immediately went to bed in our hotel by the airport, as it was about 2 AM according to our internal clocks. We enjoyed breakfast in the Hyatt restaurant, where they had three delicious oatmeal choices. I went with the one that offered pineapple chutney, coconut milk, and macadamia nuts. That would have been amazing on its own, but an entire spread of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit was also brought to the table - yum!
We picked up our rental car after breakfast and braved the San Francisco traffic so that we could drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. Our goal was to get to the Meritage Hotel in Napa by noon to attend a tea ceremony given by Deb's family. Had we realized that the hotel was in Napa and not Sonoma, we would have been on time. Luckily we figured out our mistake quickly and were only about twenty minutes late. There was still plenty of delicious food on the buffet table, and I enjoyed a variety of fruits and vegetables, including my new favorite food - fresh figs! They had just been picked from the tree and were amazing!
After the tea ceremony we had some time to enjoy the pool at our hotel. We left plenty of time to get ready so that we wouldn't miss the bus to the ceremony, which was in Sonoma (hence my earlier confusion). The ceremony took place on the lawn of the vineyard just before sunset - it was beautiful! Cocktail hour was on the terrace as the sun began to set, and we were able to enjoy the beautiful grounds as we sampled their wines. Dinner was delicious - salad with more figs to start, and an eggplant dish with Israeli couscous for the main dish. It provided the fuel I needed for a night of dancing, picture taking, and catching up with friends.
On Saturday, we boarded another bus for our winery tour. We began at Domain Chandon, where we sampled three of their champagnes. Most of us decided that the rose variety was by far the best. Though there was enough champagne for each person to have half a bottle, we kept it to two small glasses each and strolled the scenic grounds as we sipped our wine. Our next stop was V. Sattui, where we were given a tour before our tasting. They had set up three tables in the shade and we sampled two whites, a rose, two reds, and a dessert wine. We were then able to choose one to accompany our boxed lunch. I chose the Riesling to go with my roasted veggie wrap (which turned into more of a salad since it was hard to pick up the Romaine leaves that wrapped the veggies), sauteed veggies, and fruit salad. Our final stop was the Franciscan winery where we enjoyed a sampling of four wines in the shade. We were exhausted by the time we returned to the hotel, but after a quick power nap, we headed downtown for dinner. We chose a bistro that offered a delicious homemade black bean and barley burger along with cajun spiced fries. We ended the evening by the fire pit at our hotel.
On Sunday we headed back to San Francisco after breakfast to drop Lori off for her flight. Erin and I then headed downtown and walked the Embarcadero from the Bart station. We decided we wanted Mexican food for lunch, so we stopped at Mangos on Pier 39. Since it was busy and there was a bit of a wait, we sat at the bar and enjoyed complimentary chips and salsa (watery but good and spicy) and a delicious veggie burrito on a whole wheat wrap. After lunch we boarded the ferry for Alcatraz. What a great experience! We did the audio tour of the cell block where we were able to view numerous cells, "the hole", the dining hall, the recreation yard, the warden's office, the library, and the visitation area, all while learning about the history of the island and how the jail was run. Afterward, we walked the property for a bit before catching the last ferry at 6:30. We ended our evening at the Mission Rock Resort, where we met Amy, Colleen, and Justin for dinner. Once again, I had a fig salad (I needed my last fix before heading home!) and summer veggie risotto that the chef kindly made vegan.
To round out the eating, I made a stop at The Plant in the airport this morning. I stocked up on oatmeal, vegan banana bread, and a thai peanut wrap for lunch. And now it's back to reality. I think I'm staying put for awhile, but I'm sure I'll have more food adventures to post very soon!
We arrived in San Francisco late on Thursday night, and immediately went to bed in our hotel by the airport, as it was about 2 AM according to our internal clocks. We enjoyed breakfast in the Hyatt restaurant, where they had three delicious oatmeal choices. I went with the one that offered pineapple chutney, coconut milk, and macadamia nuts. That would have been amazing on its own, but an entire spread of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit was also brought to the table - yum!
We picked up our rental car after breakfast and braved the San Francisco traffic so that we could drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. Our goal was to get to the Meritage Hotel in Napa by noon to attend a tea ceremony given by Deb's family. Had we realized that the hotel was in Napa and not Sonoma, we would have been on time. Luckily we figured out our mistake quickly and were only about twenty minutes late. There was still plenty of delicious food on the buffet table, and I enjoyed a variety of fruits and vegetables, including my new favorite food - fresh figs! They had just been picked from the tree and were amazing!
After the tea ceremony we had some time to enjoy the pool at our hotel. We left plenty of time to get ready so that we wouldn't miss the bus to the ceremony, which was in Sonoma (hence my earlier confusion). The ceremony took place on the lawn of the vineyard just before sunset - it was beautiful! Cocktail hour was on the terrace as the sun began to set, and we were able to enjoy the beautiful grounds as we sampled their wines. Dinner was delicious - salad with more figs to start, and an eggplant dish with Israeli couscous for the main dish. It provided the fuel I needed for a night of dancing, picture taking, and catching up with friends.
On Saturday, we boarded another bus for our winery tour. We began at Domain Chandon, where we sampled three of their champagnes. Most of us decided that the rose variety was by far the best. Though there was enough champagne for each person to have half a bottle, we kept it to two small glasses each and strolled the scenic grounds as we sipped our wine. Our next stop was V. Sattui, where we were given a tour before our tasting. They had set up three tables in the shade and we sampled two whites, a rose, two reds, and a dessert wine. We were then able to choose one to accompany our boxed lunch. I chose the Riesling to go with my roasted veggie wrap (which turned into more of a salad since it was hard to pick up the Romaine leaves that wrapped the veggies), sauteed veggies, and fruit salad. Our final stop was the Franciscan winery where we enjoyed a sampling of four wines in the shade. We were exhausted by the time we returned to the hotel, but after a quick power nap, we headed downtown for dinner. We chose a bistro that offered a delicious homemade black bean and barley burger along with cajun spiced fries. We ended the evening by the fire pit at our hotel.
On Sunday we headed back to San Francisco after breakfast to drop Lori off for her flight. Erin and I then headed downtown and walked the Embarcadero from the Bart station. We decided we wanted Mexican food for lunch, so we stopped at Mangos on Pier 39. Since it was busy and there was a bit of a wait, we sat at the bar and enjoyed complimentary chips and salsa (watery but good and spicy) and a delicious veggie burrito on a whole wheat wrap. After lunch we boarded the ferry for Alcatraz. What a great experience! We did the audio tour of the cell block where we were able to view numerous cells, "the hole", the dining hall, the recreation yard, the warden's office, the library, and the visitation area, all while learning about the history of the island and how the jail was run. Afterward, we walked the property for a bit before catching the last ferry at 6:30. We ended our evening at the Mission Rock Resort, where we met Amy, Colleen, and Justin for dinner. Once again, I had a fig salad (I needed my last fix before heading home!) and summer veggie risotto that the chef kindly made vegan.
To round out the eating, I made a stop at The Plant in the airport this morning. I stocked up on oatmeal, vegan banana bread, and a thai peanut wrap for lunch. And now it's back to reality. I think I'm staying put for awhile, but I'm sure I'll have more food adventures to post very soon!
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