Sometimes It's the Simplest Things: Chronicle Day 5

Tuesday, March 2nd

I’m sad to say that there isn’t too much to report today. When Ryan and I woke up this morning, the rain was pouring down and the temperatures were definitely more than chilly. I was loving this, though, because it made everything about the bed and breakfast feel so warm and cozy. I didn’t really describe this place too much in the last entry, but, I think it warrants some definite attention. It’s called The Lavender Inn and is a 7 room bed and breakfast on the edge of Yountville, about 10 miles north of Napa. The setting is so picturesque – beautiful flowering trees out front, with gardens all around. We are one of two rooms that are part of the main house, which is great because we don’t have to walk far for breakfast or to get any of the hot drinks, cookies, snacks, or any of the beverages available in the refrigerator just inside. There is a great living room with a fire always burning, a dining room where they serve breakfast and snacks in the afternoon, and a back patio where you can get bikes to ride around the area. This was all pretty easy to get used to, I’m not going to lie. I have a feeling it’s going to be hard to leave it all at the end of the week. The room itself is awesome – nice and big with a fireplace and a flat screen. We got up in time for breakfast, which was pretty difficult this morning. I’d say this was the worst day of my sickness – it was so hard to drag myself out of the amazing bed, aside from the fact that my sore throat was beyond belief. I was so excited about our first morning at Lavender Inn, though, so I willed myself up. I got dressed and we went into the main room for breakfast. The chef had laid out a delicious spread of quiche and potatoes and delicious breads, fruit, and yogurt. I drank a full Emergen-C and had as much breakfast as I could stomach. Ryan read the paper to me while we had some warm beverages, watching the rain outside and the warm fire in the living room.

I was determined to stick to our plan to see a few wineries today, but Ryan had other ideas. After breakfast, we went back to the room to get ready, but he made me get back in bed. He insisted that it was too cold and rainy outside for any sightseeing and we would both be better served by hot showers and resting in bed for the day. I was pretty resistant, as you can imagine. I had an idea of our vacation packing as much in as possible, but he had other ideas, and boy was I relieved. Of course, I put up a fight. But, ultimately, he started me a hot shower, set up my towel and robe, and turned down the bed. He tucked me in with my book and played with my hair until I fell asleep. I’m pretty sure I was out for a few hours, which turned out to be a very good thing. When I woke up, I felt worlds better, the sun was out, and I was raring to go. We went back into the main house, signed out a couple of bikes, and decided to go for a ride.

It was an amazing day in the Valley – perfect for bike riding. As we rode down the main street in Yountville, heading into more of the country part of town, the sun was shining and it really felt more like an autumn day in New York. We biked about 4 or more miles around the area, checking out everything that was in and around our inn. Of course, wouldn't you know that on our first venture around wine country we left the camera at the inn - so there are no pictures to speak of of this beautiful biking tour. Lesson learned, there will be plenty more for the rest of the trip to make up for today! At any rate, we headed down some back roads and wound around the back part of town, through some fields, and in front of some immense and breathtaking mountains. It was one of those bike rides that makes you wonder why you haven’t been on a bike in a while; the kind that makes you feel like you could pedal forever and never feel your legs getting tired or your back giving out. The air was crisp, the sun felt so nice, and the combination of these things rushing over my skin and head was all the relief I could have asked for. We started to make our way back to the inn, though, because at 4:30 one of the local wineries was scheduled to do a wine tasting in the living room. Free tasting and snacks? Sign us up!

When we got back, the lovely rep from Cornerstone Cellars had already begun serving some of the other guests. Ryan and I made some plates full of snacks and found two comfortable seats near the fire. Cornerstone is located right here in Yountville, just a block or so away, and had some really great wines to offer. We talked for a bit with some of the other guests, who had reservations at The French Laundry (oohh la la) later this evening. For those of you who haven’t heard of The French Laundry, it is, what many argue, possibly the best restaurant in the country, if not the world. You have to make reservations at least 60 days in advance for one of the two seatings they offer each night. It’s a prix-fixe menu made up of 9 courses for which you pay $250 a person. Apparently these people we were sitting and sipping with are wealthy planners. At any rate, we spoke to them for a little while, then decided to go make some dinner plans of our own. We bought a bottle of Grenache from the wine rep, took some advice from her and Marion (the amiable front desk lady) and made a reservation at Hurley’s right here in town. We went back to the room, put on some nicer attire, and walked down to the restaurant.

Dinner was amazing. First of all, this restaurant doesn’t charge a corkage fee for any Cornerstone wines, so we didn’t have to pay anything extra to drink our own wine at dinner. We also decided that since we had such a quiet day, we’d make up our empty budget with a great dinner. Marion had made the reservation for us and had apparently ordered two complimentary glasses of Domaine Chandon Champagne, which were promptly delivered to our table. We then ordered the Butternut Squash homemade Ravioli and the Braised Wild Texas Boar for dinner. Both were exceptional, but I think we both agreed that the Boar was the most impressive – it was like the most elegant and decadent pot roast I’ve ever eaten. We finished with their signature ice cream sandwich – hazelnut praline cookies and vanilla gelato, topped with raspberry coulis – and an after dinner martini with Chambord, Vanilla Stoli, and Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur. The service was excellent and Ryan had fun racing the busser for who was quicker – him to finish the water or the busser to refill the glass again. Ryan had an unfair advantage since he didn’t have any other tables or glasses of water, but his own, to worry about.

We floated back to the room with a little wine left over to finish back in the room. We filled the Jacuzzi and took advantage of the inn’s amenities. We ended the night with hot chocolate, cookies and a lot of tipsy laughs back in our comfy bed. I felt the beginnings of a headache coming on, but resolved that some water and a good night’s sleep would take care of any ailments. I guess we’ll just try again for the whole sightseeing thing; for now, I’m more than happy with how we spent our day ;-)