Napa - An Anniversary Celebration (Part 5)

Well, we finally made it back home, safely and with no more "excitement" from me or my stomach. Daniel, Jason and Tracy went and hung out on the patio by the pool and I went and rested for a little while in my room. I didn't have to rest long, bout an hour and I was pretty much back to normal. I had to hurry and get back to normal, we had a special dinner to go to that night... Bottega. Being a "Food Network" watcher like I am, I was very eager to go to Bottega because that was Michael Chiarello's restaurant.

Burrata Caprese creamy whipped mozzarella burrata, golden bear ranch heirloom tomatoes, toasted bruschetta, basil oil & balsamic caviar

Truffle-parmigiano fries
We had heard rumor that Michael is at his restaurant pretty much every night and that he walks around and greets his guests. The rumor is true and Tracy and I were able to get our picture taken with him.

Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo!

Saturday was a day that would involve shopping, food, wine tasting and driving in a convertible. Yes, we decided to drive and a "perk" of staying at Calistoga Ranch, we had a menu of cars that we could borrow for the day. We "settled" on a Mercedes E Series convertible. Ours was the 2nd car from the left.

Breakfast: Dean & Deluca... I have never been to one before and it reminds me of Hubble & Hudson that we have here in The Woodlands.

After an afternoon of walking around some beautiful stores and shopping... I couldn't find anything that I wanted to buy for myself specifically... but we did buy some olive oil and some "thank you for watching our children" gifts. We then went to the Joseph Phelps Vineyard for some Insignia wine. Claude was our host for the afternoon and I really enjoyed hearing him tell us about wine, how to drink it, how to get the best smell when you first smell it... and so on. I learned a lot from him.

September 3, 2011

September 2004 - 7 years ago in Virginia!!! (Just thought I would throw this picture in for fun)

Dinner was at Press Restaurant in St. Helena, California. Look at that chocolatty yummy goodness.