Time for PART 3 of our vacation! Be ready to be amazed by the beauty of both the Napa Valley and also the Redwoods in San Jose's Henry Cowell Redwood State Park! First, let's stop in Napa Valley to explore the incredible Castello di Amorosa: Click here to check out their site: http://www.castellodiamorosa.com/
We decided to explore Napa Valley on our way back to San Jose to spend our last days of our holiday with the Gillies... We had seen an advertisement of the 'Tuscan Castle' in a travel guide and we were so thankful to be able to go and see it!
Now for your tour: It felt like a real Tuscan castle! All the stones were imported from Europe in order to build it and it had a very 'ancient' vibe to it! When we arrived, two limo's were driving up the windy driveway ahead of us and I wondered if we had the right place! Eek! But it had a lovely down-to-earth atmosphere and they had a lovely muscadel grape juice for us to sample at the end of our tour! We could even pay less to tour since I was pregnant! :)
**Please note that you can enlarge any photos on this blog by clicking on them and then return to the blog by hitting return or going back one page...**
This wine press was imported from Tuscany and is in very good condition which is rare considering its age:
A little church in the castle:
More of the castle:
The courtyard:
This was a huge dining hall:
More of the castle... details on the walls and from the terrace:
If you pay more, (than what we did!) to tour the castle, you get to go on tours of the cellars and also get a tour guide to show and tell you all about the castle. Despite this, Izak found this in a secret locked off tunnel: (An impressive picture through a bolted gate... if you ask me!)
To do the wine-tasting or the grape-juice tasting (in our case- it was the best grape juice ever! Mmmm... It tasted so expensive! And truth be told... it was, but since we were sampling it didn't matter!) you go down to this cellar:
And... in conclusion for our castle tour... some lazy, big and FAT sheep on our way out:
Me in my first maternity blouse: :) (I got it at a sample sale and didn't realise that it was a maternity top at the time... but it has come in handy!)
And final departure pics of the Castle and vineyards:
Now... for the time in the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park... We went with Mary Gillies and two of her granddaughters.
Come along!
Here is a sign from on the way:
And Izak drove Mary's faithful little car:
So beautiful... and it is just the entrance! Check out the site for more info on the Park: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=546
Here you can see a redwood marked with the different times that it lived through:
Some of the redwoods:
Mary Gillies and the girls:
Izak up in a tree!
And in a tree:
Some last ones:(You can see how little the Gillies girls look compared to the tree in the last pic!)
THANK YOU SO MUCH for reading such a long post! We hope that you got a glimpse of the beauty and how much we enjoyed our time away!
Lots of love,
The Bakkes THREE!
Welcome back for PART 2 of our adventures in Northern California! The town that we were based in was called Windsor and the Armstrong State National Reserve was only +- 30 minutes away. The drive from Windsor to the Armstrong Redwoods was very scenic! With little barns, farms and vineyards! Here are a few from the drive: (You can see a vineyard next to the barn...)
Here is one of us crossing the Russian River which is the second largest river in the San Francisco Bay area (110 miles long).
Then in the little town leading to the Armstrong Redwoods... (The road's name was Armstrong Woods Road)
And here we reach the Woods:
Here is a link to check out the Armstrong Woods in more detail: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=450
The most variety of giant redwoods are found in California. So enjoy sights of these incredibly beautiful trees! We first did a very easy walk, called the Pioneer Nature trail to see some of the famous trees in this specific reserve.
Here are some fellow explorers that were along on the trail with us... It wasn't long before the little girl was asking if they were lost! hehe!
Here are some more pictures of treetops, one of me next to a HUGE tree (you have to look carefully!) and one of Izak and I being towered over by a giant redwood:
Then they have this huge tree and have marked down it's germination at 948AD! Amazing to think of all the generations that have passed while this tree stood!
A few more... In this one you can see how lovely and flat this trail was:
Look at how big this tree is! Izak fits inside quite comfortably!
We then proceeded onto the East Ridge Trail which appeared to be as easy a walk as the one we had just done... But it turned out to be pretty intense! Lots of ups and downs and we weren't wearing the right shoes... but it was beautiful and also good to see how far we could push ourselves!
Note the ups and downhills in these pics:
After completing our 'moderate' hike, we made our way to Bodega Bay... It is so interesting to see how quickly the temperature can change as soon as you head towards the coast... Watch how the fog sets in only after a few miles:
And here are some pics of the coast leading up to and in Bodega Bay... Note the dark brown sand and cliffs. It reminded me of a mix of Port Alfred, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town...
We actually found that we wished we had something warmer to wear after being so warm at the Armstrong Woods!
Here is a picture on our back to Windsor: (It reminds me of the Karoo in a way... perhaps close to Somerset East.)
And lastly, I made MILK TART and took it for a dessert for some friends to try. It tasted just like milk tart and Izak and I were very excited about that! Can you believe that we have already been away from home for almost a year exactly! This is where I found the recipe: http://www.justeasyrecipes.co.za/2009/08/27/milk-tart/
And here is the finished product:
Such an easy recipe and it makes TWO medium tarts! Bonus! Well, we hope that you enjoyed seeing another part of Northern California... We will be back with PART THREE of our vacation shortly! Keep in touch and please feel free to leave as many comments as you have time for!
Love the Bakkes three
