San Francisco, CA

Monday 1st July

Mark and I headed to the gym for an hour at around 8am before then collecting a sleepy Tom and heading back down to the pool for a swim. I had asked for some vineyard help on a Tripadvisor and we received info about 2 Sonoma vineyards that we thought we would try. So that’s where we headed to after checking out of the hotel at noon.

We ended up stopping instead at a store ‘boasting’ a great range of Sonoma wines. (www.sonomas-best.com). Although really needing an appointment the proprietor, Tom, came out to try and improve our impression of Napa vs Sonoma wines. He was a charming ‘larger than life’ character and introduced us to a few decent reds so we eventually left happily with 8 wines tucked under our arms. The wine maker for one of the wines we were tasting, Phil, came in whilst we were there and he chatted to us as well. Tom’s business includes cottage accommodation as well. The little bit we saw of Sonoma was very pretty and charming and this was a place where I could see us coming back to for a visit. Napa, though, was one area that I can ‘tick off’ and say I’m glad I’ve seen it but…. I’d never go back.

We eventually made it to San Francisco at around 3.30 pm and were pleasantly surprised by our luxurious apartment accommodation (www.bestsfpenthouse.com – unfortunately this unit is no longer available). It was ideally located in Union Square near great restaurants, high end shops and major sights. We settled in a bit before heading out for a walk to buy some supplies. Sadly, for Mark, this included a new pair of ankle boots for me!

The apartment owner had suggested an Italian restaurant, Kuleto’s so that was where we headed for dinner. The food and wine were great and I’d recommend this to anyone visiting SF. (http://www.kuletos.com/).

The plan for tomorrow: Open Top bus tour then a self guided walking tour of the Chinatown area.