Yountville

It is pretty sad that I have lived in the bay area for nearly 5 years and it was only a couple of weeks ago that I FINALLY made it to the Napa Valley. One Saturday, Jane and I decided that we needed to go on a big adventure and so the two of us headed up to Yountville, the Napa Valley town that I knew the most about. It really was beautiful to see all of the vineyards right in the middle of town

 I took this photo so that you could literally see that the vineyard is just next to the main street.

I absolutely LOVE Top Chef and other cooking shows although I'm not a cook myself (definitely more of a baker) and I really like good food though I wouldn't call myself a "foodie" since I'm still quite picky about things. So I knew that I had to go to Yountville to hit Bouchon Bakery. There was a line that moved quite quickly- about 15 minutes- until I was able to get Thomas Keller's famous ho-ho, banana caramel cupcake, and a few macaroons (the caramel one was the best- the raspberry was so so and the vanilla was ok but the caramel was the winner)

No sharing of these delicious treats, though Jane seemed content with her bottle (for now at least!)

The ho-ho was good but the cupcake was divine! The frosting was a whipped cream based kind and it was so light and airy compared with the more dense banana caramel filling of the cupcake.This bakery was the main reason for my trip so I was happy that it didn't disappoint

Since it was my first trip to Yountville, I didn't want to miss anything so I stopped off at the visitors center and asked what items were "not to be missed". One of the women told me that I couldn't miss the toadstool stone sculptures. I definitely would have missed them because in my mind, they are ok but there were so many other more memorable places.

The other woman at the visitor's center gave me the great tip of walking all the way up to the French Laundry to see their gardens across the street. This really was a definitely must see. Maybe one day we can have a meal here . . . . 

The gardens were very well kept and they had the perfect bench where Jane and I were able to sit and enjoy the beautiful view

To my complete and utter delight, while we were sitting there, one of the French Laundry chefs came out and tasted some of the herbs and picked some!! I managed to be discrete with my photo taking but I really was so excited to see the actual process. 

The whole town of Yountville is filled with quaint and charming restaurants like the one you see here. Sometime I will need to eat at Bouchon and Bottega, Michael Chiarellos's restaurant, which is in the reasonable price range.

 

The tourist office also told me that the largest Veterans community in California is also in Yountville and I LOVED it because I saw so many of them driving around town, like the gentleman above, sharing the road with the cars.

 

I also went to the Napa Art Museum where they had a special exhibit with costumes from the San Francisco Opera and all I know is that I now have to go and see the opera Don Giovanni one day because they had the most amazing costumes and headpieces.

Honestly, it was such a picture perfect day and it made me want to explore Napa Valley even more. Definitely worth the drive and I hope to be back soon