Mariposa County is the southern most county in the Sierra Foothills wine growing region. There are merely 4 bonded wineries in the entire county! We are used to visiting the heart of California's wine region, Sonoma and Napa counties and seeing literally hundreds of wineries in each county. As a result, visiting Mariposa County for wine tasting is relatively easy as far as making choices of who to visit is concerned. Why not visit them all in a … [Read more...]
Napa Valley – November 2008
Napa Valley is a narrow long valley located about an hour north and slightly east of San Francisco. This is California and the USA's premiere Internationally recognized wine region. Cabernet is the "king" of the varietals produced in this region and most wineries produce at least one vintage of this wine. There are approximately 1,000 wineries/producers in the valley making wine commercially and of these a fair number are open to the public. … [Read more...]
Vines of Mendoza – May 2008
Arguably the centerpiece of the Vines of Mendoza is the resort and spa, a community built around 21 villas ranging from 1,000 to 2,700 square feet. Surrounded by vineyards and situated along the shoreline of a small body of water, the views from the villas are always spectacular especially of the snow capped Andes and during sunrise and sunset. Each villa is located within a short walking distance of the lobby, restaurant and gorgeous pool (with … [Read more...]
Mendoza, Argentina – Restaurants
As with other Latin countries, Argentinians take siesta which often runs between 1 and 4 to 5pm. Nearly all shops are close including restaurants. Most restaurants (aside from some of the main tourist ones) will reopen in the evening around 8 or 9pm. Restaurants typically will not be crowded until at least 10pm; it is not uncommon to see families with children dining at this "late" hour. We found restaurants to be quite crowded on the weekdays … [Read more...]
Language Abroad: When Your French is Bad, An English-Speaking Stranger Can Become an Intimate Friend
It was five days into my research trip to Rennes-le-Chateau, a village in the French Pyrenean foothills, and I was lonely. Gathering details for my novel, I had hiked the hilly red dirt of the countryside dotted with helm oaks and dry broom, had walked the narrow roads of the village to the accompaniment of squawking roosters, and had admired the humble stucco houses. I stood in the rooms of the presbytery where my characters -- a priest and his … [Read more...]
Los Angeles, CA – LA Stadiums
The following prominent stadiums and arenas are located within the greater LA and Orange County metropolitan regions. We have also reviewed many venues & theatres here. Angel Stadium of Anaheim (or "the Big A") is located at 2000 E Gene Autry Way just off of the 57 freeway in the heart of Orange County just a few miles from Disneyland. Similar to how the Oakland Coliseum is located next to the Oracle Arena up in the San Francisco Bay Area, … [Read more...]
Los Angeles, CA – California Missions
California has a total of 21 Missions running from San Diego to Sonoma ranging in date of founding from 1769 until 1823. The intent with each mission location was historically to place each one approximately a days journey between each other. Greater Los Angeles and Orange County have three representatives of these, Mission San Juan Capistrano, Mission San Gabriel Archangel (the closest mission to downtown Los Angeles) and Mission San Fernando … [Read more...]
Los Angeles, CA – Arts District
Vineyards - lots of them, planted to Sauvignon blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon grew on the north east fringes of what is now the Arts District along the edge of the Los Angeles River. The years were the 1830's and the 1840's and the man responsible for these vines was Jean Louis Vignes, a french immigrant who came to California in 1831. By the way, a street near downtown still carries his name. By 1849 his 'little' vineyard called El Aliso was … [Read more...]
No Time for Love, Dr. Jones
The following morning I awoke early and knew from experience that the boys would sleep for several more hours. I usually enjoyed this time by myself reading or wandering around, maybe getting breakfast. But I felt an odd surge of energy and curiosity and took flight into the jungle to find me a cave. I got my hands on a poor hand drawn map and bought a bottle of water on the way out of town. According to the map I would come to a bridge on the … [Read more...]
A Week in Sunny Devon
It was six forty-five in the morning as our USA plane touched down at Gatwick airport. This was the start of my one weeks vacation in Southern England. As we drew up to the disembarkation gate the captain told us the weather forecast for the next few days was warm and sunny ... what a bonus no rain. Once we cleared customs and located our hire car which, as luck would have it, had a diesel engine. What a great reward, considering gas is around … [Read more...]