So for +Cheri Phillips‘ bday we ventured to the AMAZING Napa Valley again…Here are some of my fave shots along with some priceless videos 🙂
And my FAVE photo…has to be of me and my FAVE TV Chef…Michael Chiarello! No words!!
Now for some video…hehe
Ok, so Cheri wanted me to try and get this video off of her myspace….well, yea, I couldn’t find it on my hard drive, but thanks to technology, here it is on my blog…WOOHOO!!! Napa 2007
Wait for the bark…and the sound effects!! LOVE IT!
The trip to Napa was fun, but nothing like our day in the infamous Napa Valley! The day, to start of with, was as absolutely gorgeous. We decided to venture northward and had a mini plan in place. First stop, the Robert Mondavi Winery. Even though this was not a “destination” for us, it turned out to be Alezandra’s husbands’ fave wine. Here are the photos from that stop.
The next stop was the Peju Winery. This winery was more of a French atmosphere (while Mondavi was a Spanish atmosphere). It was really charming. Once inside I was in heaven…MUSTARDS! Hahahaha! I love mustard and they sold their mustards. I ended up with the sweet garlic and red pepper mustards. Who needed wine? I just completely content with my mustard! :)! Here are photos from that stop.
Next on the list was lunch at the V.Sattui Winery. You could tell that this was a very popular place for food and wine. They had a deli inside that was absolutely fabulous. But, due to the fact it was absolutely crazy in there and they weren’t making sandwiches that day we ventured across the street to Dean and Deluca. You can not go wrong in that store. Another fun fact about me is that I LOVE cheese and the cheeses available in both deli’s were absolutely amazing! Parmiano Reggiano chunks were around $140; PER CHUNK mind you. But YUMMO (as Rachel Ray would say). 
After lunch we head up to the Schramsberg Winery. As we drove up north to this winery we passed one of the infamous Napa signs. You know we had to take a pic in front of it! The funnest part was running across HWY 29. And Cheri HAD to take photos of this…hilarious. After that we headed into the hills on the one lane/two way road to Schramsberg. This winery was breath-taking. The sad thing is we only got a chance to walk around. The last tour left right before we arrived…plus it is a reservation tour, which is good to know for the next time. I am so game to go through their cave system, etc! Here are some pics from this part of our journey.
After that we headed toward the Silverado Winery, but got sidetracked and ended up at the Mumm Winery. It was a great winery to end our day with too. The sunset over the hill in front of us during the champagne tasting and it was amazing. 
Last but not least, we ended up eating at a restaurant named Hurley’s in Yountville. This town was so cute! I would definitely stay there next time! The service wasn’t great here, but my dish was awesome! Butternut squash with prosciutto & mandego cheese. So good! Hahaha! 
And here are some more random photos from the weekend….enjoy!!!
So Friday was the day we decided to drive to Napa, Ca for Cheri’s bday weekend. Her friend Alex, who lives in D.C., flew out on Thurs and drove up with us. Because of that we decided to do an extra bit of girl bonding and took the more scenic route. And talk about an amazing day to do that! We toasted the weekend in Paso Robles at a restaurant called Artisan. It was a modern restaurant with some ultra sheek food! And the wine wasn’t bad either :)!
From there we ventured further up the coast to San Fran. I always get chills driving into and out of that marvelous city. The vibe is always so amazing there. Plus it doesn’t hurt that the views are always heavenly! We actaully went into the city to go to Ghirardelli square for some chocolate strawberries! No seriously…who is going to say no to that???!!! 
All we could say was YUMMO (too much Rachel Ray on the brain)! From there we ventured over the infamous and awe inspiring Golden Gate bridge. To me that is a symbol of California. So bold, so beautiful, so amazing!
From there we headed to our hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn-Napa. I would say that the drive through tht country was amazing, BUT it was dark :)! Once we got here we met up with Cheri’s two other friends, Lisa & Rinna. We decided to take a “light” dinner over at Fume, along with a couple glasses of wine. Another Yummo (seriously, I need to stop watching so much 30 Minute Meals)! 
So now we are going to venture on a day filled with beauty, wine, and good times! Happy Birthday Cheri!!!
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