Round Pond Winery

That is some tall mustard.  Me standing between some vines at Round Pond.  Last Saturday I put on my best 'tourist' outfit and headed north to Rutherford.

 Round Pond has a beautiful facility, so TK and I went to check it out.

There is a tasting bar, but we chose the sit down experience.  My legs were cold, so they turned on the overhead heaters and handed me a soft blanket for my lap.  Very classy Round Pond.

I guess we are messy tasters.  Extra points for the Acqua Panna, nice touch.

I like the labels, it's a style I chose for my own LUXIA labels (except for the bottom).

And, if you are on the fence about visiting I hope the snack bites will tip you over the edge. Wonderful food pairing: salmon with the Sauvignon blanc, lamb meatball with the Rutherford Cab and slider with the Proprietary Red.

 There is also a great view from the terrace.

I love the valley this time of year, so lush and green.

 Besides wine, they are also well known for their olive oil.

 And they make syrups.  We bought a Meyer Lemon syrup. TK's going to put it on pancakes, I'll try to make a salad dressing with it.

From inside the tasting room there is a hole to see the winery below.  We didn't get a tour of the facilities, but the uniques design makes me want to go back and check out down below.

 

 This is two views from the same window.

Overall, Round Pond has very nice wines and a fun tasting experience.  The building and landscaping is very scenic.

Unusual to see palm trees behind vineyards  I like it!

-L

Versailles 2014

 The Royal Palace of Versailles.  This is one of my favorite places in France.  It's a short 35 minute train ride from Paris but to me it feels like stepping back into the 1700s.

The day was chilly, but we had some sunshine.  When I visited almost the same week in 2010, everything was covered in snow.

This is the back view of the Palace where Loius XIV, Marie Antoinette and Napoleon once lived.

 The Palace is stunning, but what I really love about this place is the miles and miles of perfectly landscaped grounds.  

Ok, it's only 3 squares miles, but that's a crap ton of space to keep perfectly manicured.

 And the epic fountains.  50 fountains spread over the 3 mile property.

This is my favorite.  The Dragon Fountain.

Forever in every direction. 

 This is the Grand Trianon.  The palace within the palace.

 The Grand Trianon is where the royals went to escape the hectic life at the main Palace.  Which was built to escape the hectic life in Paris.

And then my favorite place of all: the farm!  Cows, goats, pigs, donkeys, chickens, geese they have them all.

 

 Marie Antoinette had them build a fully working farm in the style of her native Austria.

This was a place she could go to escape when it got too hectic in her mini palace (the Petit Trianon, not pictured), which itself was an escape from hectic life at the Palace of Versailles, which was an escape from hectic life in Paris. 

 The farm also had a vineyard for Royal winemaking.

 Thanks for checking out my recent France trip.  Next week, back to winery tours in Napa Valley.

-L

Paris in February pt. 1

I was in France in February this year, and it's taken me this long to put up some of the pictures.  Pathetic, I know.  But here's a bit from my trip.

Notre Dame on the inside.

Notre Dame on the inside.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip.  Taken from the second level at Notre Dame.

Also from Notre Dame, top level.

That same day TK and I visited The Louvre.  This is taken from inside the pyramid entrance.

This is the entrance underneath the pyramid.  Even in February it's a pretty busy place.

 Statue garden in The Louvre.

 That night we went to dinner.  The tables are so close together you can't walk between them.  The waiters pulls out the table, let's you pass, then traps you in.

I made the best of it though!

The next day, we made it to Le Musee D'Orsay.  My favorite museum.

 Then time for modern art at the Centre Pompidou.  The modern art is fun, but the real reason to go to this museum is for the drinks!

Having a glass of wine at the restaurant at the top of the Centre Pompidou.  Very expensive drinks, but if you just get 1, it's worth the view.

 The view from the restaurant.  It was a rainy day, but you can imagine how impressive the view is on a clear day.

The restaurant is very modern, but in the way they thought the future would look like back in the 60s.  I love that every table has an exaggeratedly long red rose.  I tried counting the all roses and gave up after 80.

 Sacre Coeur cathedral doesn't allow pictures from the inside.  So here's my big face instead!

 Ah, the lovely Eiffel Tower.

Part 2 will be our day in Versailles.

-L