After Robert Mondavi, we went back to Napa and checked in.


We then drove north, back towards Robert, but stopped in Yountville for a look around. Yountville is famous for The French Laundry the premier restaurant of Thomas Keller. Yes, we did try and book, and no, they have a five month waiting list ...



It's a remarkably subdued building, it's not out there showing off as a great restaurant. And it was a French laundry in the 1920's.


We then went driving up the 'hills' on the west side of the valley.


I stopped on the side of the road for the above photo and a Turkey Vulture came cruising by, riding the thermals off the side of the hill.




We went back to Yountville and had dinner at a restaurant called Redd, which we did manage to book ! After the delicious degaustation menu, we went driving up the east side of the valley to try and capture some sunset photos.










We went off the beaten track down some logging roads and found this cute cabin lit up by the setting sun.


The trees on the other side of the road looked fantastic with the red dappled light.





We eventually made it across the mountain range and ended up overlooking Sonoma in the next valley.


I found a cave on the side of the road, but wasn't allowed to investigate it, so a flash shot from the car was the best I could do.


After that it was too dark for photos so we went back to the hotel.

IKEA for the win !!!

It started with 4 boxes ...



I wondered why this one was extra heavy ..


it had the cushions and all the fitting inside it.


The bits.


First bit done.


Next bit put together and added on.


And finished !




This is the Oz IKEA page for it. IKEA say its a dark beige, I think it's more a greenish brown, which I guess is dark beige ... ;)

I's fairly cormfortable, if a little on the firm side. It's nice and big.

The only complaint that I have is that the inital time for delivery was between 1pm and 5 pm, so I came home at lunchtime and continued to work. About 3:30 I had a call saying they were running late and the new time was 5 - 7 pm. They finally turned up at 10 to 8 ...

I was also expecting a slightly more put together sofa, I'd sort of forgotten it was IKEA ...

Now I just have to get rid of the boxes ...

Saturday afternoon BBQ

I was invited to a friend of Alister's place up the road for a BBQ. The house backs onto a private lake.

His grandparents were the first to build a house there and it's been on the market for 2 1/2 million for about a year now.

They had a very happy pig in the garden.



Here's a photo of their backyard as it goes down to the lake.



And a link to a movie from the same spot.

More Food.

Here's a link to the fruit I've been enjoying.

And some more fruit at Wholefoods supermarket.





The aisle for bulk things like lentils, beans, muesli and rice.




The machines for making freshly ground peanut butter. From the left, almonds, honey coated peanuts and plain peanuts.


And a couple of weird things to finish with.

They take the 4th July celebrations very seriously.


Obviously the Chinese have a reputation ...

Oh dear ...

I just saw the paramedics fly past and stop at the Happy Donuts shop just up the road.

I'm hoping it was and emergency donut run rather than an ex customer ...

Robert Mondavi.

On Sunday, we went to a winery in the Napa Valley called Robert Mondavi. He was one of the first in the area to really get into the tourist winery business.

The building was styled on a Spanish them and was quite stunning. The artwork (polar bear) was by an artist named Benny Bufano.


He had a nice backyard.




An interesting bathroom....


And some cool doors.


This was a 16th century Spanish wine press.


We went on a tour to learn about the winery, sample some wines and try them with various cheeses. These were the other Americans on our tour, with the tour guide on the right and of course, Louise on the left.


Their more modern hydraulic wine press.


The underground wine cellar.


Which was kept at 90% humidity, hence the water mist being sprayed.


And finally, tasting the cheese and wine.


It's alright, don't adjust your computer... Americans can't take sharp photos...

Some random photos of San Fran.

The inside of the San Francisco Centre on the corner of 5th and Market.



People and boats at Sausalito.


There are a lot of these stencils on the backs of cars in SF, indicating the family group complete with pets.


We went to Muir beach, very briefly, as Muir woods was absolutely full with people parking over a mile away and walking just to get to the entrance to then walk around the woods.


It was a very ugly beach with dark, course sand, fat Americans and a very cold wind.