site, we just wanted to go somewhere else.
When we had first picked up the van we had planned to visit the Napa Valley,
however we did not think we could spare the time before we headed up to the
Redwoods. A decision justified when we took all day to get anywhere on
Route 1. So when we got back to San Francisco we decided to go up to Napa
for a champagne tour. We also decided that we would drive through the
middle of town because it was late in the afternoon and that route looked
quicker. In fairness it was quicker but it was also more scary not just due to
the traffic but because we stopped for petrol. Not normally a scary activity,
except for fuel-phobics, but we got hassled by people begging to be allowed
to ‘fill us up’ in return for us giving them tips. This situation was made harder
to deal with because the people had very strong accents, so it took several
attempts before I understood their intentions and could then say 'no'. They did
not even work for the garage, but the garage staff was so intimidated by the
beggars that they just stayed inside their office and left their customers to deal
with the hassle – what great service! As we left the city our mood was lifted
however when we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge. A very impressive
sight, but disappointingly not golden. Emma had to rely on my photography
skills in order to appreciate this experience fully, preoccupied as she was at
the time by not crashing.
We arrived at Domain Chandon in the Napa Valley about 10 minutes
before the last tour of the day. Just enough time to neck some champagne.
To do the tasting before the tour was the opposite of our previous experience
of wineries in Italy. However, the quality of the subsequent tour made us glad