Jul 14, 2008

Wine, Hills and the Police

After a nice visit to the Monterey Aquarium - the sea otters were fun, although as a whole the aquarium pales in comparison to the one in Sydney - I had a leisurely drive to Pebble Beach: the famous "17 mile drive". I appreciated the occasional breaks in the fog to let in the sunshine, and the sea looked beautiful, but this is first and foremost a golfer's paradise. My parents would have been in heaven, but I got bored. Then it was time for lunch in Carmel (cute but a bit too Disneyland-like for me) before the last stretch of road to San Francisco.

I didn't get much time to see San Francisco (but plenty of time to screech like a little girl while driving up and down those crazy hills) before my friends and I headed off to wine country in Sonoma (which meant driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, how cool is that!!!!!!) Sonoma was lovely, warm, sunny and quaint, and much wine was had by all. After a very relaxing weekend, we came back yesterday afternoon for a visit of the new house my friend and her husband just bought in the city (it seems everyone - but me - is growing up so fast...)

So now I have two days to explore San Francisco. Sadly, the beautiful, fogless blue skies of yesterday have disappeared to make way for - you guessed it - fog, but it's for the best, as hiking up those hills can be hot and tiring work! And tonight I'm in for a treat, as we have VIP tickets to the Police concert. I will try to provide a detailed update before Wednesday, when I will hug my friends goodbye and take to the road again in my white Chevy Cobalt, to take in the breathless views and yet more hiking (though slightly less urban this time) in Yosemite.

And for my family and friends back home, un très joyeux 14 juillet!

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