Days 31 & 32. Wine Country.

After a wonderful stay in Mill Valley, we reluctantly parted company with our friends and set off North along the coast again. After a short while we left the coast and the blue Pacific waters behind for the last time this trip and headed inland along the Russian River. As we continued along we began to see the vineyards on the hillsides. It was another hot day and we were relieved to be able to check in early at our lovely hotel in Calistoga, CA.

Calistoga is a small town lying at the top of the Napa Valley. We were lucky enough to find a room at the historic Mount View Hotel on this holiday weekend.

 After quickly unloading the bikes we had a walk around town. It has a real Mediterranean feel.

 We even found some Bubble Tea!

Finally the heat beat us back to the Hotel where we enjoyed a dip in the lovely pool and even got to soak in their Mineral Spring.

We enjoyed a nice meal in town, accompanied of course, by some excellent wine!

The next morning we had a leisurely start to the day and headed South along the Silverado Trail which runs through the heart of Napa Valley. It was another hot, hazy day but the scenery was still beautiful.

We arrived in Napa and parked the bikes to walk around town. First stop was the Oxbow Market, a neat collection of food stalls and cafes.

 Tom was disappointed we were too early to stop here:

 But at least we had a good stop here:

After a couple of hours of exploring Napa, we hopped back on the bikes and drove a short distance West to the town of Sonoma for the night. Sonoma is as well known as Napa for its vineyards but also has a lot of history.  It is the site of the northernmost of California's Franciscan Mission established under independent Mexico.

There is a beautiful plaza, the site of the town hall and it was delightful to walk around and ogle at the many wine tasting places.

The evening saw us eating another wonderful dinner in a local restaurant and I swear it is impossible to choose a bad glass of wine around here.