JULIE GRADUATES FROM THE CULINARY INSTITUTE IN ST HELENA CALIFORNIA

Our lovely daughter, Julie, is a graduate!! We are all so proud of her and we decided to show it by
going to her graduation ceremony as a whole family. She completed the Baking and Pastry Arts two year program at the  Culinary Institute of America at the Greystone Campus in St. Helena. Greystone is the former Christian Brothers Winery, and it's a beautiful European style campus now.

The ceremony was Friday, September 4th, so we flew in on Thursday the 3rd.  Stayed at Meadowood resort in St. Helena on the Silverado Trail. Julie had invited us to stop by her last class on Thursday evening and sample the desserts the class prepared for visiting families.

Julie in her last class..... baking away! Ray and I tasted some of their creations at the end. Just delicious!

The CIA at Greystone, St Helena

Graduation Begins..... Friday morning at 11 am.... The class ascends the CIA Grand Staircase

Julie and her friends 

Listening to the speakers

CONGRATULATIONS JULIE!!!!!

AND THE HATS FLY!!

Proud parents with Julie in the Vintners Room at Lunch

Our happy Graduate

Julie with her class of 15

Bakers gone wild!

CIA Graduation Program : September 4th , 2015

Some of the food served by students at the CIA for the Graduation Luncheon

Dinner Friday Night was at a great restaurant in St Helena called Tra Vigne...... We are with Chris and Tom 

Saturday afternoon, we visited PRESTON Winery in Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma. Dan, our nephew, works there as the cellar master. Chris and Tom and Julie brought a lovely picnic lunch and we drank Preston's wines with delicious sandwiches and fresh tomatoes and cheeses. It was heavenly!

Dinner on Graduation Weekend at JolE in Calistoga. Julie is the pastry chef there.

Our Dinner menu

The whole group after dinner at Jolé

Chris Tilley of V MADRONE Winery gave us a tasting on Sunday Afternoon. Julie's friends joined us that afternoon.

We took up both Chris' tables at V Madrone. Chris pours and tells great stories.

A real highlight. Dinner for 11 at the FRENCH LAUNDRY in Yountville. Ray took the photo.

A Remarkable meal. Everyone loved it.

Globe Artichoke Salad

Slow Roasted Four Story Hill Farms Poulard

One of several beautiful desserts

On Monday, everyone regrouped after that huge weekend. Some went back home, some did the Spa and lunch at Bouchon.

TUESDAY, Sept 8th...... We began our Napa wine tasting Odyssey.  Dave chose and reserved all visits for this day. First was Castello di Amoroso, just North of St Helena.

The Castello.... an Autumn shot

The vineyards from Castello Tower and Hills beyond from the Castello Tower.

There is an amazing room with vaulted cieling at Castello. Tom Shot Julie in the Carved grand chair there.

Julie in the Painted ballroom at Castello

After Castello, we went to Chateau Montelena. This winery put California on the world map in 1976 when it's 1973 Chardonnay won the "Judgement of Paris". A group of French wine professionals 
gave it the prize in a blind tasting with French wines.  The owners constructed a stone chateau back in 1888 and its a beauty.

The Chinese garden at the entrance to Montelena

The source of everybody's business ...... and pleasure.

Lunch Tuesday was the Taco Truck " LA GITANA". Bridget and I won money from the lottery tickets there.

On Tuesday afternoon, we visited PLUMPJACK and JARVIS wineries. Both Excellent.
Dinner Tuesday night was at MUSTARDS, a famous place in the valley. Owner Cindy Paulson.
Bridget and I shared the pork chop special and it was great.

Wednesday was Craig's day to select the wineries and he chose to explore Howell Mountain, which is part of that range of hills to the east of the valley. Just above Meadowood Resort. Craig rented us a limo and he and Bridget got us a wonderful picnic lunch for the day. We tasted at CADE, O'SHAGNASSEY, and OUTPOST with a beautiful picnic lunch on the patio at Outpost. Julie and Steven joined us for our tasting at Outpost. The wines were excellent and the views of the valley gorgeous. Check these places out on the web if you want to learn more.

I said farewell to the group after our tour and drove to Sausalito to have dinner with a couple of friends there. Dinner at The Spinnaker restaurant gave us great views of the bay and the city at Sunset. I then drove to the Airport to sleep at the Marriott so I could easily catch my morning flight home. Flew Virgin America. Dave and Kait and Julie spent Friday in San Francisco. They stayed at the Fairmont Ghiradelli Square, and dined at Quince Restaurant. What a great celebration!

BEJING, CHINA .... August 2015

August 3rd, Rays Birthday.... And we are headed for a short stay in Bejing.
WE flew on the 3rd on China Air form JFK to Bejing. A 12 hour flight and there is a 12 hour time difference.  We are staying at the Raffles Bejing Hotel.

This is the Capital city of China with  22 million people. Second only to Shanghai in population.
The 3 most famous things here are the GREAT WALL and THE FORBIDDEN CITY, and
TIAN'AN MEN SQUARE. There are many other things to see in this massively big city, but these are the big three.

Our Hotel. It's historic and colonial in style. Very spacious rooms and good service from the staff. I also liked the Grand Hyatt hotel down the street. More on that later.

This building is across the street from the Raffles Hotel/ It's called the Chang An Club and the Bejing Tower.
On the  street level is a Porsche dealer and showroom.

Early one morning we walked towards the Forbidden City. Mobs of people swarming around at 5:30 am. This is the expansive front gate and landscaping as we approach the entrance.

Forbidden City Neighborhood

Subway entrance for Forbidden City. We did not venture in to the Bejing Subways.

Forbidden City entrance building with photo of Chairman Mao on the front. He is a famous figure in these parts.

Detail of entrance building. More on the Forbidden City later when we actually go visit it.

Ray's Chinese Breakfast in the hotel. Raffles had a good dining room with a whole variety of Chinese and Western selections for breakfast. very interesting.

Looking out from the lobby of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, a short walk from Raffles. Stunning reflection in the glass building across.

She's just outside the Grand Hyatt

Beautiful entrance gate to this hotel.

Friday morning we hired a guide and car and drove North of town to see the GREAT WALL.
We learned that the wall snakes through the countryside over mountains, deserts and plains for several thousand miles.
It served as a method of communication via smoke signals, flares and bells. Also as a method of moving troops quickly in treacherous terrain. Most importantly, it was a barrier to invasions over the centuries. It has been reconstructed several times, and today,only select sections of the crumbling remains have been restored.

One of many advantages of having a guide. Photos of US!! Our guide was a young lady named Belle. She was fun!

I'm making it look like more of a struggle than it was. We took a ski chair lift up to the wall and walked around a bit.
Then rode a toboggan ride down! Sorry, no photos of that, but it was a blast!

We had a misty day, which added atmosphere. We arrived there at 8:30 am having left the hotel at 7am....... GLAD we went early as we avoided all the crowds.

As we reentered the city, we stopped to stroll through a " Hutong".... a residential alleyway with shops and restaurants. From the old times. Some still are in use, but many have been demolished to make way for modern buildings. Too bad.

Belle is explaining the architecture.

A Hutong Doorway.

These are not fancy, but very real neighborhoods.

Every Hutong has a name. The one we visited was Wudaoying. You pronounce it!

After our Great Wall morning, we wanted a good lunch! We found a great restaurant on the 6th floor of a shopping Mall
near our hotel. "Da Dong" is an upscale place serving Peking Duck as its specialty. We had had some delicious duck at a previous dinner, so we ordered other dishes. All Fabulous!! And watching the chefs sweat over the wood stove where they roasted the ducks to that crispy brown finish was part of the spectacle. The restaurant was large and full of diners. We were the only non Asians in the whole place!

Preparing to serve the duck.

Those poor ducks don't stand a chance in this city. They must serve many thousands a day. Peking is the old colonial name for Bejing.......

Ray shot this gorgeous old building while on a photo stroll.

Look at that mob of people visiting Tian'an Men Square. This tall building is a historic gate of the old City Wall. That wall was torn down ages ago, but they kept the gate.

Detail on the gate photo above. The wires are to protect the structure from lightening.

We are inside a main courtyard of THE FORBIDDEN CITY..... Built in 1420 by an emperor of the Ming Dynasty, this royal enclave was forbidden territory to all but the Emperor, his family , and invited dignitaries for almost 500 years... It became open in 1911 when the Last Emperor lost power and the Communists took over the country.

Tourists in the Forbidden city. August is NOT a good month to visit China. Too hot. there were VERY few non asian people in Bejing.

Rays panorama view of one side of this huge courtyard.

One of 2 huge carved lions flanking the entrance to the Emporer's highly decorated meeting building.

This photo shows the vastness of the Forbidden City

Ray's detail of a Forbidden City building

The TEMPLE OF HEAVEN... aka Tian Tan.......Completed during the Ming Dynasty, this is where the Emperor came to make sacrifices and pray to heaven and his ancestors during the Winter Solstice. One of the largest temple complexes in all of China.

Ray and Jim, our guide, continued on to the SUMMER PALACE. I went back to the Grand Hyatt Hotel to relax and have one more lunch at "Made in China", a restaurant we liked a lot. The Summer Palace started out as a huge park and retreat from the Stifling Summer Heat in the Forbidden City. In the 18th Century, a palace was built there, and reconstructed at least twice after destruction during wars and rebellions.

Summer Palace lily pond.

Summer Palace

Summer Palace

Ray people watching at the Summer Palace

One of many tourist boats at the Summer Palace... It was a very HOT Summer Day in Bejing

Our last dinner on Saturday night was at the China Club. A truly old world palace that is now used as a private hotel and restaurant. It was incredibly charming and totally Chinese. No tourists but us. We felt transported back in time. We flew home on China Air on Sunday.