I think I have actually tanned since I've been here. Our first night was spent in sunny Santa Barbara, by the beach. The place where we stayed had free bikes for rent, so the next morning we rode by the beach, amongst the palm trees.
We followed it up with a night along Big Sur, a dramatic coastline drive between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and had breakfast on an outdoor terrace overlooking the coast.
Unbelievably, San Francisco, Land Of Enternal Fog And Horrible Weather, actually felt hot while we were there. Locals flocked to the shoreline. We did all the touristy things and soaked it all up - walked the Golden Gate bridge, rode the historic cable cars (hanging off the side), visited Alcatraz and had a giant Ghirardelli hot chocolate sundae. Niall's cousin Mia and her boyfriend Pete were coincidentally in town, so we all caught up for a few drinks and an Alcatraz tour :)
Next we hit the Napa Valley wine country for some wine tasting and good food. The valley is well known for its Cabernet Sauvignon, and we were happy to taste! We decided to forgo the car and instead did a bike tour, visiting 4 wineries and cycling about 15 miles. At this point, we discovered that being a C# programmer is not very good training for a 15 mile bike ride, especially when wine is involved. I had sore legs that day, but it was really fun. I definitely recommend it.
We decided to round out the Napa Valley experience with a dinner at Bouchon, one of the local Michelin starred restaurants (and there are several here, including The French Laundry, which is apparently #4 on the list of the top 50 restaurants in the world). It's a charming little restaurant and feels just like a Parisian bistro. Worth noting however that the servings of pommes frites are definitely American sized. Neither of us had the steak and fries, but we saw them overflowing on other people's plates!
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