Zlote Wakacje

On Saturday we planned a day trip to Napa Valley, one of North America's most famous areas of wine production. Thus, for example, come from popular in Poland, Sutter Home wines, but also many other much better (and more expensive) brands.

The journey takes about 1 hour. It is worth to leave the Bay Bridge and in the middle of the bridge exit on Yerba Buena Island, Treasure Island, combined with which you can admire the panorama of San Francisco.

The Napa Valley temperatures can be up to 30 degrees Fahrenheit higher than in San Francisco, so if we go cabriolet Bay Bridge after driving safely open the roof.

After the break we went to kilkunastominutowej Napa.Miasteczko Napa is not especially thrilled us. It should stay there and visit with young center shops and restaurants and the Napa General Store and restaurant on the waterfront where you can also enjoy a nice panorama of river.

In Napa there is also located near the center of San Francisco outlets Premium Outlets. It is not as big as Las Vegas and San Diego, but here we can find dozens of shops offering goods brands at reduced prices.

Visit Napa takes 1-2 hours to a maximum, if you do not spend too much time in outl. Most of the vineyards located on the road 29 in the direction of Santa Helena and Calistoga. If you plan to spend the day wine tastings and a picnic on the grass, we can simply bypass the Napa and head towards Santa Helena. The town has issued us a lot more warm and friendly tourist town, although on Saturday (probably on other days as well) are formed where the traffic jams. By the road every few hundred meters of the entrance to another winery - has paid most of wine tasting ($ 15 for 3-4 wine or 25USD per bottle), but there are also those that offer free tastings. Most tours are also available for around USD 1920 to 1925, during which oprowadzający talks about the wine making process, and other curiosities associated with the production. It seems that some wineries have more income from tourists than from the production itself. Prior to arrival at the hotel, please visit our advertising leaflets where there are discount coupons or offering wine tasting for two people the price of one. Here it is quite normal practice and almost everyone uses coupons - will not be an exception. It is also worth reading in advance which wineries to count the cost of the purchase price of tasting wine.

If our knowledge of wine is higher than the "basic", we can pre-book time in the vineyard of the individual taste. This is certainly a more interesting experience and we can deepen the knowledge of wine, region and specific vintages.

NOTE: If we are going to buy wine, it is worth checking before prices in the shops. Some popular wines may be cheaper to buy in your local supermarket than directly in the vineyard.

One of the curiosities of the region is a castle built in 1993, modeled on European castles (total of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, it was completed not long ago, as few people probably remember). Is much smaller than the Polish or French chateaus, but it is a local attraction and weekends, where you can meet many honeymooners who come to take a souvenir photo. The castle is also offered to tour and tasting of wines from the vineyard.

Back we plan for the Golden Gate Bridge. In San Francisco, pay a toll bridge in the direction of San Francisco's Golden Gate is admittedly out of $ 2 more expensive ($ 6), but our experience shows that congestion is reduced during the night than the return on the Bay Bridge. Usually the evening we drive through the clouds, which move aisles hills separating the city from the ocean - an unforgettable verdict.