The Lovely Napa Valley

I have dreamed of becoming a wine connoisseur for a long time. After deciding that the first leg of our honeymoon would be three days in Napa Valley, CA, my husband and I began to study up on the best wineries to visit, the types of wines we enjoy, and the different varieties of grapes that exist. Having only been to one wine tasting ever, we were afraid of not knowing enough about wines while visiting the vineyards. Well, let me tell you that every place that we visited in Napa was amazing and we were never made to feel stupid about not knowing enough about wine. Actually, it was the complete opposite. Everyone we met was so friendly and when we showed a sincere interest in learning about wine, they were eager to share their knowledge with us. The wineries we visited were as follows:

 

 

Del Dotto Caves and Historic Winery - Napa Valley

Hess Collection - Napa Valley

Signorello - Napa Valley

Sawyer Cellars - Napa Valley

Pina - Napa Valley

Darioush - Napa Valley

Peju Province - Napa Valley

My husband and I wanted to steer clear of the super touristy wineries and instead visited the more boutique-y wineries where you can have a better learning and tasting experience. We loved each winery we visited and each had it’s own vibe and flavor. We toured caves, picked grapes, met people from all over the country, snacked on cheese, conversed with winery owners, all while tasting amazing red and white wines.

 

The great thing about visiting Napa, is that there is something to do for everyone. Located along highway 29, Napa is breathtakingly beautiful and so close to several other cute towns which have great shopping, sites to see, and places to dine. We rented a car with navigation, which I highly recommend doing, and drove along the Silverado Trail, which runs parallel to 29 and is less congested. We visited Yountville, Rutherford, St. Helena, and Calistoga. Each town was distinctly different and lovely.

If you love wine, delicious California cuisine, shopping, and spending time outside in perfect weather, Napa Valley is for you. We’re already planning our next trip!

Good Eats in Aruba

The restaurants in Oranjestaad is very diverse. They have everything from Indian, to Dutch, to Spanish, and even Chinese. There are also several Italian places on the island and in the city. The first night we were there we ate at Casa Tua which is an Italian place that specializes in brick oven pizza. Being a New Yorker, I am very particular about my pizza, but this was actually really tasty. Not at all like NY slices, but the crust was good and the ingredients were fresh and good. We had a caesar salad and a caprese salad to start and then shared the pizza with pancetta, arugula, and goat cheese. It was yummy. We also had a carafe of chianti. Honestly, I really liked the vibe of Casa Tua. It was open and had high ceilings and you could sit out on the terrace if you wanted. The staff were all young women and they were really nice and helpful. The service was nothing special, but they were super friendly which is all I wanted. Read more

Arriba Aruba

 Hotel: Renaissance Marina (a Marriott property)

Aruba is a great place to travel to in the Carribbean because it has beautiful weather, lovely places to visit, clear blue water, and a great mixture of cultures, so you can experience many different things in just a few days. The island is about 20 miles away from Venezuela so there are many people who have moved to Aruba from South America so that latin flare is definitely felt all around. The language, called Papiamento, is a mixture of Dutch, Spanish, English, Portuguese, and African. Most of the hotels are located in the capital, Oranjastaad, which is where we stayed.
 
Our hotel was nice because it was in the middle of the city within walking distance to most of the nightclubs, restuarants, and shopping. The Renaissance mall is actually in our hotel and that is where all of the high end stores are located, such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Ferragamo, Carolina Herrera, Ralph Lauren, etc…
 
The hotel lobby was asthetically pleasing, as was the bar. The pool is rather small, probably because most people go to the private island that the Renaissance owns. Boats come into the hotel lobby every 15-20 minutes to pick guests up and take them over to the private island, which is really nice. It is about a 15 minute ride to the island, and the ride is enjoyable for the most part unless the water is choppy and you get splashed, which happened to a few people…
 
The private island is only for Renaissance Marina and Ocean Suite guests which is nice. The island has a beach that is for adults only and another for families. The family friendly beach is called “Iguana Beach” because there are amazing iguanas of all sizes living on the island. They are very docile creatures and are used to seeing and interacting with the people who come to the island every day. The other side of the island which has the adult only beach, called “Flamingo Beach”, has a beautiful flock of flamingoes that just hang out on the beach…
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