Napa Valley

Back to the trip!

On Thursday night we headed to Napa Valley after dinner at the Buckeye Roadhouse. The drive was short and we were glad it was! We arrived at our hotel, the Vino Bello in Napa, just after sunset. We were exhausted and had to get up at 4:45A to catch our hot air balloon ride in the morning. We walked around the grounds of the hotel that included a pool with views of vineyards. It was a very pretty hotel and our room was amazing. It had a mini-kitchen and a washer dryer. You could definitely make yourself at home if you weren't staying for just 8 hours like we did!

We got up super early, packed our stuff and checked out. We met the rest of our hot air balloon buddies at the Napa General Store at 5:30A. It was still dark out. We rode out to the balloon launch spot and were able to watch the crew inflate the balloons. It was pretty cool.

Each balloon basket fit 16 riders and one pilot. The flight was really amazing. Grant was a bit scared at the beginning, but he got more comfortable as the ride went on. We took a ton of photos. There were about 7 balloons all up in the air at the same time. It was neat to see!
After the hot air balloon ride we had a champagne brunch with the whole group back at the General Store. We got certificates of flight and had a mimosa or two! At 10:30A we were picked up by our fabulous wine tour driver, Sebastian. He was really amazing!! He drove me and Grant along with two other ladies to some of the most beautiful wineries in Napa Valley, Sonoma and Yountville.

The first stop was Artesa. It was our favorite spot for the wine. We bought two bottles of the Chardonnay. The winery was on top of a hill with amazing views of the valley. It was so pretty up there!!

After Artesa we headed to two more wineries and had lunch outside at one of them. It was SO beautiful. After lunch we headed to Chandon to walk around the grounds and then headed to James Cole and a couple other wineries. I think in total we went to 6 or 7 different wineries. It was pretty amazing. We even stopped at the Bouchon Bakery on the way back. We also drove by the French Laundry restaurant, the only 5 star restaurant in the valley. A dinner can cost $200+ per person!! Crazy!

We left Napa after our wine tour at about 5:30P. We were sad to leave because it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. It was my most favorite part of the trip - other than seeing the Father of the Bride house! I definitely want to go back to Napa and I am sure we will! And when we go back we will call Sebastian. He was the best tour guide ever!!