Northern Country

I was trying to wait to have pictures to post with this, but I'll just have to post them later, as I get them. Last week Whit and I headed up to Napa and San Francisco. Friday afternoon we drove up to Napa and were welcomed by my Aunt and Grandma.

I love their house, it's just so familiar and fun as my family went there almost every Summer growing up. My Aunt is a doll collector (among other collections) and I always like sitting in her doll room and just taking it all in. She is also probably why I love old movies, she educated me growing up, always having a ton of great movies to show us. I love looking through her books about the old movie stars.

It's a peaceful neighborhood and we went for a walk that night, breathing the fresh air, looking at my favorite little spot above a small stream, seeing a small deer resting in the hills - welcome back to Napa.

Saturday was so much fun. We met up with a couple of our friends (friends of Whit's he's know almost his whole life) who live in San Francisco. They brought us to a little breakfast spot, which is really just a window down an alley. I had grits with bacon and brown sugar and Whit had chicken and waffle. Yummy. They drove us all over the city - to a lot of places I'd never been.

I felt like I got a good, new sense of the city. I love love San Francisco - always have. I love the bridges, I love the fog, I love the insanely steep streets, I love the history. I won't bore with all the details, but it was a really fun day. They then brought us to a German restaurant for dinner. It was really cute of them to think of activities and places catered to Whit & I - obviously a German dinner for a German girl. The restaurant is called Suppenküche and it is so popular that a line forms before the doors even open at five. I had Sauerbraten mit Lingonbeerkonfitüre,
serviert mit Rotkohl und Spätzle or Marinated and Braised Beef with Lingonberries
served with Red Cabbage & Spätzle and Whit had Gegrillte Nürnberger Bratwurst
mit Sauerkraut und Kartoffelbrei or Grilled Pork Sausage with Sauerkraut & Mashed Potatoes. It was legit, awesome German food. We then shared a piece of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte or Black Forest Cake, and when I say shared, I mean I ate 80% of it.

Sunday we hung out with the Aunt and Grandma. They drove us around Napa a bit, we watched a movie, played a game and just chilled out.

Monday morning we all went to the Jelly Belly Factory - one of our regular stops. Jelly Belly's are Whit's favorite - so he made his mix du jour and loved it. One of the new Berty Botts flavors was Dogfood and while it just tastes meaty, the smell lingers, I'll tell you. Whew.

Whit and I then drove up through St. Helena and Calistoga. Always a great drive to just enjoy the view. We had lunch at the Culinary Institute of America. I've always wanted to go there. The school is housed in what was the Christian Bros. winery - a huge, gorgeous building.


I used to dream of going to culinary school there, well that didn't happen, but I wanted to at least enjoy a meal there. The food was fantastic. The best was the little taster appetizer, where you get surprised with five or so little appetizers. We had a killer gazpacho, mini BLTs, a little Halibut thing on a plantain, beef satay and little meat pocket things, I can't quite explain - all of it was quite tasty.

After eating I went into their campus store, which is just full of every kitchen gadget you could ever want. It was so rad. I love kitchen stuff, and this was the ultimate store. I just walked away with an apron and a ship shapped cake pan. It's really cute and will come in handy for many a birthday to come, I'm sure.

I know I mostly talked about food in the post, but I guess it was a good food trip. It was great to be up in Northern California again. I feel comfortable and refreshed when I go up there. We want to try to go more often as it is only like six hours away by car. It was nice to see my family again. They really are my only extended family I saw with any regularity growing up - my only grandparent I ever knew - so they are important to me. My grandma is 93, I think, and she is still in crazy amazing shape - still sharp as a tack and sassy as ever. My Aunt is one of the most considerate people I've ever known and always a kick to be around. I'm happy they'll be going to Salt Lake City for Thanksgiving and so will Whit and I - so the whole family will be together again. It will be madness, but welcome madness.