Napa Valley

Napa Valley: Heart of California Wine Country

(With my wine-connoisseur friend Ash Rajan at the V. Sattui Winery in Napa Valley)

Within an hour and a half out of the city of San Francisco, traffic thins considerably and the landscape completely transforms itself. Not only does it grow considerably warmer, but the fog lifts and a mantle of golden sunshine floods the valley that is filled with mile upon mile of neat vineyards whose vines were heavily laden with fruit. If I closed my eyes, I could have sworn I was in Provence for the entire landscape reflected the laidback ambience of the Mediterranean.
Indeed the people of Napa Valley, most vulgarly rich from the fruits of their labor (literally—for those vines have borne fine grapes!) have embraced a life of discerning luxury. For the visitor, a drive up the main snaking arterial road that takes one deeper and deeper into Wine Country, is a most pleasant experience. Everywhere one sees ripe fruit just begging to be picked and wineries that offer endless tastings at very modest prices. Larger establishments offer picnicking facilities in their gardens and gourmet delis that stock a variety of finger food such as olives and cheeses, mustards, jams and preserves, salsas and chocolates galore. I had a field day nibbling on the samples freely offered together with a variety of crackers and cubes of bread. One can purchase wine, of course, and have it shipped to any part of the world.
Ash and I had lunch that day at Siena, the Italian restaurant attached to a new resort called Le Meritage where I chose Dungeness Crab Cakes for starters, a Rock Shrimp Paella Risotta for my main course and Tiramisu for dessert. Then, barely able to move, we stumbled into our car to begin our drive through the heart of Napa Valley taking in the little towns en route such as Oakville, Yountville and Rutherford with their well-known, easily recognized wineries sprinkled through the entire territory and fancy restaurants skimming past us.
We made certain we stopped at V. Sattui Winery that has become a mandatory destination for almost every visitor to Napa Valley. In extensive gardens, picnic tables with checked tablecloths are laid out for the benefit of the traveler while, in the deli inside, one can buy picnic items such as french bread and dijon mustard, cold cuts and fresh strawberries, chilled sparkling wines and creamy desserts. Further down the street is Oaklville Deli, another Napa institution ,where most visitors stop to buy more unusual eats and cheeses that can be carted in coolers to their next destination. Apart from offering onophiles a variety of wines to suit the most fastidious palate, Napa is a gourmet’s paradise as well as there is something to tickle every taste bud and all under one roof.

When we finally arrived at the lovely little one-street town of St. Helena, we got off to explore the attractive stores full of home décor items that reproduced the ambience of the South of France in the warmth of California. Luxury items such as antique house wares and toiletries, stationary shops and designer clothing boutiques and loads of exclusive gourmet markets offered the heavy-walleted a variety of items to pander to his every desire. I window-shopped freely, waltzed in and out of several stores, explored the town’s main street with its ornate theater (left), bought myself a few inexpensive souvenirs and about an hour later made my way back to the car for our return drive to the city.
Napa Valley is a dream resort for anyone who wishes to get away from the rough and tumble of everyday life. It offers world class cuisine, exquisite wines and pairings that are made in heaven. The air is soft and warm and rich with the scent of laden vines. Sculptures of grape-crushers dot the skies amidst the shrubbery. The soft shades of beige hills contrast with fresh greenery and the deep purple and grape-green of the ripened fruit make one feel as if one is in an Italian bower. Traffic can get a little heavy during the peak hour rush but there are enough new resorts, hotels and restaurants to keep the visitor spellbound for at least a good few days.

I was glad I visited this very exclusive part of the United States to which I had become introduced through the Food TV I watch regularly and the programs on potent potations that cannot stop discussing the wines of Napa, one of which is hosted by the inimiatable Michael Chiarello, founder-chef of Tre Vigne. Napa’s most famous retaurant.

Bon Voyage!

Muir Woods

Apr12

Muir Woods: Home of California’s Giant Redwoods

(At the entrance to the Muir Woods, home of the giant California redwoods)

I thought I had seen the most awesome giant redwood trees on the campus of the University of California at Santa Cruz. But they were dwarfs in comparison to the ones I saw at the Muir Woods, about 45 minutes north of San Francisco.

The City Sight Seeing Company provided a wonderfully comfortable van that seated about 10 tourists and in the company of a knowledgeable guide called Tonas, we made our way over the Golden Gate Bridge and into the beautiful stretch of eucalyptus woods that comprise Mount Tamalpais before arriving at the Muir Woods. The drive across Mount Tamalpais is incredibly and unexpectedly delightful. One expects to be awed by the redwoods, but the sharp hairpin bends and the steep dips into the valleys, san guardrail, amidst the spicey scent of eucalyptus, are heart-stoppingly lovely.
The Muir Woods remind one of Robert Frost’s famous lines: “The woods are lonely, dark and deep/ And I have promises to keep/And miles to go before I sleep.” Despite the fact that so many people had made the journey to see some of the tallest trees in the world, the sequoia sempervirens, popularly known as the California redwoods, the woods are so vast, and the height of the trees so towering that one feels lonely in their midst—shrunken, as it were, to insignificance, in their mighty presence.

Past the Visitor’s Center, there are trails that enthusiastic walkers could take to get deeper and deeper into the woods. But one doesn’t really need to trudge for more than twenty minutes along them to be completely ensconced by the immense girth of these tree trunks, most of which have been around for at least three to four centuries. It is one of the miracles of ecology and conservation that these trees have been left alone for such a long period of time, allowing them the luxurious opportunity to reach out towards the stars in their attempt to find sunlight. Meanwhile, at the base of each tree grows a ring of young ‘babies’, which also, as time marches on, begin their own process of reaching for the light. Thus, the width of each tree trunk is as stupendous as its height. The overall effect is one of walking under a natural canopy of green pine branches that provide a complete umbrella against the sun’s rays—hence, the darkness that envelopes one even in broad daylight.

(Standing inside the tree trunk of a California giant sequoia redwood )

A picturesque creek wends its way through the woods. Park rangers have thoughtfully created natural redwood bridges to span this creek at intervals, allowing the visitor to walk from one trail to the next at will before returning to the wood’s entrance. Having taken several pictures of the trees, their tops, their bottoms, their fallen tree trunks, their hollowed interiors, the natural bridges that some of the tree trunks have formed over time, I was ready to leave, knowing that I had seen one of the most amazing natural sights in the world.

(A stunning view of a circle of redwoods in the depths of the Muir Woods)

Bon Voyage!

Berkeley

Apr12

Berkeley: California’s Historic University Town

(At Sather Gate, entrance to the campus of the University of California at Berkeley)

Being an academic, I could not possibly leave the San Francisco Bay Area without visiting Berkeley, the pretty town north of the city where the famous campus of the University of California at Berkeley is located. Berkeley was the hot seat of much historic eruption in the 1960s when the protest against the Vietnam War began. These protests then filtered down through the entire country until the feverish momentum created by American students finally brought the war to an end. I couldn’t help but wonder, as I walked through those historic campus streets, where the spirit of America’s students has gone and why there have been such few protests on America’s campuses today against the war in the Middle East.

I reached Berkely by taking the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) underground subway service to the town. From San Francisco’s City Center, it took me approximately 45 minutes to make the journey. Berkeley is known for being more than just a university town. It is an upscale enclave of Californians who have been at the cutting edge of all kinds of revolutions—including culinary ones.

Indeed, one of America’s most famous chefs, Alice Waters, quietly began a food revolution in the 1980s when she promoted the use of nothing but organically-grown, fresh produce and ingredients in her restaurant which became famous as Chez Panisse. Eager to sample one of her unique creations myself, I took the bus up Shadduck Avenue and got off just a few steps away from the restaurant only to find that being a Monday, it was closed. I was bitterly disappointed, but at least I had the opportunity to skim through her menu and take in the uniqueness of her vision. Today, most restaurants worth their salt in the United States use organic ingredients in their cooking, serve them raw or uncooked so as to present them in as nutritionally rich a form as possible and in doing so, they pay homage to the lady who scoured the country to find local farmers and artisanal purveyors of cheeses and wines to satisfy her exacting standards. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Chez Panisse and Alice Waters converted American from a nation of processed food addicts to one that embraced freshness and thus, good taste.

Having made a pilgrimage of sorts to this amazing place, I took the bus back towards University Avenue to begin my walking tour of the campus of UC Berkeley. I did not realize how vast it was. Indeed, in encircling it on foot, I walked a good three and a half miles! My Eyewitness Guide Book presented a fine walking tour of the campus and following it, for the most part, I explored the most significant buildings.

Architecturally varied, they differ from the Neo-Classical façade of Sproul House, the magnificent building on which protestors during the 60s congregated in their thousand, the Italianate Sather Tower based on the campanile in the Piazza San Marco in Venice (left), the ornate verdigris Sather Gate and the solid Greek lines of the Doe, Morrison and Bancroft Memorial Libraries (below left), all of which are spread out over a network of pretty gardens, burbling creeks and urban shop-lined streets.

This becomes more evident as one reaches the outer limits of the campus on Telegraph Avenue where the Museums are located. I dipped briefly into the Art Museum and the book store, saw the very exclusive Faculty Club inside and out with the unique log cabin building sitting right besides it, the Greek amphitheater on whose stone steps I sat and took a brief rest and nibbled on a brownie imagining what it might feel to listen to an opera in those environs, then walked right through the Business school which is an example of truly modernist architectural perfection, The campus is everywhere punctuated with sculpture donated by its various benefactors. Magnolia trees enliven the walkways and make the entire stroll a delight. If you are fond of noticing the architectural splendor of university buildings and the genius that it takes to position them to their best advantage, you will thoroughly enjoy this exploration of Berkeley.

Since Telegraph Avenue is the most happening street in Berkeley, I strolled slowly down it taking in the vibrant tourist energy all around me. Tatoo parlors, ethnic restaurants, trendy boutiques, used book stores, souvenir shops—you name it, Telegraph Avenue has it. On and on the street seemed to go, getting more and more exciting and crowded the further one walked away from campus. I realized why Berkeley has such a hip reputation and why real estate is so expensive in this intellectual enclave. It made very intriguing browsing indeed and I was glad I stopped by.

Bon Voyage!

California

Apr12

Northern California revealed itself to me in varying guises. From the chic urbanity of San Francisco with its neatly wrought hill side mansions, world-class restaurants and enticing stores to the quaint, quiet country side of Napa Valley; from the historic Spanish mission plazas of Sonoma to the intelligentsia swarming the steps of Berkeley’s most famous buildings; from the creepy cellular jail at Alcatraz to the astounding natural beauty of the redwood forests at Muir; from the raucous beach front attractions of Santa Cruz to the awesome coastal wonders of the Pacific Coast Highway at Monterrey Bay, I felt as if I had traveled through many countries without having left a single state.

It was with the greatest sadness that I boarded my flight to return home to Connecticut, only to find that the flight offered another multitude of wonders. From my window seat, at take off, I had the most splendid view of the Bay Area. In the distance, I saw the red lines of the stately Golden Gate Bridge, flanked on the opposite end by the graceful lines of the longer, lovelier Bay Bridge. Downtown San Francsico rose up to greet me, its skyscrapers presenting themselves in a different perspective as I recognized the landmark buildings from the air. As the aircraft skimmed over Monterrey Bay, just a little further south, I saw the coast settlements of Pebble Beach and Santa Cruz, then further south Carmel-By- The Sea. Then, suddenly, veering sharply north, the plane began its ascent passing over the great expanse of Lake Tahoe that lay shimmering like a glass mirror below me. From that point onwards, it seemed that every time I stuck my head outside the window, we were flying over a great body of water. In Utah, we flew right over the Great Salt Lake, so that I saw Salt Lake City lying sprawlingly below me. Much further east, we flew directly over Lake Erie in Pennsylvania and I realized why those bodies of water are called the Great Lakes. Indeed they are enormous and no stretch of the imagination can quite conjure a sense of their vastness or magnitude. Then, night fell over the continental United States and I had to end my rumination of the fascinating and varied geography that makes up this great nation. Indeed, as I flew from sea to shining sea, I realized how grand is this nation, how diverse, how completely awe-inspiring. It is travel that truly opens up one’s horizons, not just broadening them, as the old cliché goes, but deepening them. My visit to Northern California certainly did all this for me and more.

To read about my adventures within the varied terrain of Northern California, please clink on the links below.