San Francisco Part 2 by Adrian

On our second day, we were chauffeured by Linda to Napa Valley, Muir Woods National Monument and Palace of Fine Arts Theater.  We started our morning by having breakfast at a well known place called Tartine's Bakery & Cafe. Even before the place was opened, we already had to line up outside the establishment.

People queuing up outside

Morning bun, croissant and quiche

The breakfast was a great treat. Thank you Linda for bringing us to the place. Our next destination is Napa Valley. The area is huge so we only manage to stop at a one vineyard. With a toddler tagging along, trust me it is very challenging to be flexible. The place is called Castello Di Amorosa. It was the perfect place for us. The place is a castle with the European inspired design built by Dario Sattui.

Castello Di Amorosa

Entrance to the castle

The Courtyard (Adam Sandler shot Bedtime Stories here)

The Great Hall

Hallway

Wine cellar

Award winning wines

Grape-seed oil

It won't be complete without wine tasting (Serene sipping her sweet wine)

Checking out the grapes (Brandon and I)

The castle was superb and affordable as we do not have to fly to Europe to experience similar ambiance. Without any hesitation, Linda agreed to bring us to Muir Woods National Monument as our next stop. Remember the Ewoks running around the wood with gigantic trees. Yes, the location was inspired by Muir Woods. Another movie Rise of the Planets of the Apes was also shot at this location.

Entrance to Muir Woods (Serene and Linda)

Gigantic trees (Look at the size of the visitors compared to the trees)

Another angle of the giant trees

More trees..! Bored yet?

Last picture of the trees

The place is actually quite relaxing connecting yourself to the environment. I mean not the tree hugging way. Plus the weather is nice not too hot. It is definitely worth checking it out. The last place suggested by Linda was the The Palace of Fine Arts. It looks like a movie set for a Roman period film. The monument was originally built to be presented at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition.

The monument across the lagoon

Rotunda

Ducks in the lagoon

Swans

Private houses across the lagoon (Lucky dogs..!)

End of second day. Stay tuned for more!!!