A large tomato at the Duchamp WInery
The seasons have turned to fall. For us, it was time for our sometimes-annual trip to Northern California’s wine country ostensibly to pick up our allotment of Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. What started as a trip that (more…)
Bodega Ysios seen in the morning light
Our cell phone’s alarm clock rang early. We were tired from the travel, but forced ourselves up and out into the early morning light. This was the last hours of our short stay in La Rioja and we wanted to make the most of it.
Stainless steel inside Bodegas Juan Alcorta
Don’t be confused. This log entry is about our stay in Laguardia, Spain and not the airport of the same name in New York City. There’s little debate that Laguardia, Spain makes for a better vacation destination than the NYC airport.
A fountain on the grounds of Marqués de Riscal
It was time to leave San Sebastian and move the two hours south and west to La Rioja. After the last fiasco of trying to bring the car to the luggage in Bilbao, we gave in to the public humiliation of being seen on the streets of trendy San Sebastian with our (more…)
Leaving Auckland on the ferry
This is an account of our trip to New Zealand in January 2007. Enjoy!
Our travel to NZ was pretty uneventful and we made a few forays into urban Auckland on the bikes. We managed a little sightseeing and a (more…)
Huia Vineyards, Marlborough
Tuesday was our day for wine tasting in Marlborough. After checking out of our peaceful B&B, we pedaled out for some wine tasting. We hit a number of spots, found some excellent Sauvignon Blanc, discovered (more…)
A flawed pano of Lake Wakatipu from the gondola station
After checking out of our lodge, we headed towards Queenstown taking the long route. This route, though unplanned, took us through the center of the Central Otago wine-growing region. This area is (more…)
Stats:
Distance from SFO to Auckland: 10,560 km
Campvan mileage: 2561 km
4 internal flights within NZ including two grass field landings
8 boat passages
7 campervan nights
Perhaps this was not our first bottle of wine in France
As a fan of Rhone wines, it was inevitable that we head out and sample some of the region’s wines. In the morning, Ganesan, Catherine, Becky, and myself headed up to one of the more famous wine towns in France, Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The previous evening we had been hit in Fourques by an intense thunderstorm that cycled the lights on and off in the house during dinner and drenched the surroundings. The day of our visit to Chateauneuf-du-Pape dawned cool with lingering showers. Later in the day, the fierce winds of Le Mistral reappeared, pushing out the rain clouds and giving us a sparkling clear day. There was the distinct feel of the approaching fall in the air.
Pikes in Clare Valley
When planning this year’s trip to Australia, we needed a theme. Biking looked to be problematic with difficult logistics for a shorter trip. Instead, we opted for a wine centered view of Australia for our first visit. While planning the trip, we visited one of our mailing list wineries, Williams & Selyem, a historically famous Pinot Noir specialist in the Russian River Valley to pick up our Fall wine allotment. At the winery, we happened upon the Assistant Winemaker and his (more…)
 | hauntedlemons on The Lucky Ju Ju Pinball A… |
 | John Pope on Pimentos de Padron |
 | Berry for Buster on Becky’s Carlmont Drop Cha… |
