San Francisco

San Francisco was chilly but mostly fine. We did the round of the usual sights... Fisherman's wharf, eating cioppino and taking a cruise around the bay. There were loads of sea lions basking on the pontoons near Pier 39 as we took our boat cruise. Then off south to LA and Amsterdam. We arrived late on Saturday night and drove some 100 km to the North of the Netherlands to our lovely hotel at Giethoorn on the banks of a maze of small canlas. It is called The Venice of the North. We went for a magical walk among the old paths surrounded by thatched cottages. A rural idyllic chapter from Holland's past. Many of the houses have only walking access to them. We spent the rest of Sunday relaxing and tomorrow Wendy sees the boat for the first time.

California Dreaming

Well we have arrived at the first part of our trip in California. We spent the first night in Camarillo about 50 miles West of Los Angeles and the next day headed up the famous Pacific Coast Highway to Monterey. It is a wild and rugged coastal road. We stopped to view Elephant Seals and soak in the great views.

Then we overnighted in Monterey and a had a great fish dinner at Rappas on Fisherman’s Wharf. We had a panoramic table overlooking the bay and saw sea otters cavorting in the ocean just metres away from our table.

The next day we headed through San Francisco and over the Golden Gate bridge to Santa Rosa in the Somona Valley Wine country where we stayed with our marvellous hosts David and Sharon. On Saturday we went wine tasting in the Napa Valley and took a wine tour at Beringer Bros winery. We ended the day with a bottle of Reserve Pinot Noir Champagne at Domaine Chandon, sitting outside next to the Oyster Bar in the late afternoon sunshine. The sun never stopped shining and the scenery is gorgeous. On Sunday we went for a long walk around Spring Lake and in th afternoon went for a walk in the woods in the Russian River Valley to see the giant redwoods. The Armstrong Tree is 14ft wide and 310ft high. Massive!

Off to San Francisco tomorrow...