Dancing at Sea: Gourmet San Francisco Food and Sonoma Wine Tour
Monday, May 11th, 2009
Part II. The Wine
As we headed into the Sonoma Valley wine country, Jim told us about the wineries we would be visiting. We were going to the Carneros region, the southern part of Sonoma.
As it turned out our first stop actually was not at a winery but at Cornerstone Co-Op - a little village with several interesting stores, a gallery with some unusual and expensive sculptures, a gourmet food market / coffee shop and 4 winery tasting rooms. As we alighted from the bus, Jim handed each of us a coupon, good for a tasting at one of the four wineries.
The village area looked arid, dusty, sand-covered. I guess Sonoma is a desert and the area had a dry desert feel about it. I wandered away from the crowd who were heading for the closest tasting room and further back in the village I found Roshambo. When I heard that the only white wine currently up for tasting was a Chardonnay, I asked the pourer about other varietals. He said that he thought Larson was pouring a Gewürtztraminer, and though he gave me a taste of his wine, he very kindly did not take my coupon.
I wandered back to look for Larson. It was warm and windy - and I was feeling rather tired by now. I found my way into the Larson Winery and had a nice chat with Bob, the gentleman manning the tasting bar. He first poured their 2005 Sadler Wells Chardonnay - and then their 2006 Gewürtztraminer. I also tasted a Merlot which was quite pleasant- not much tannin but little body also.
We were allocated a fair amount of time at Cornerstone. Too much I think. I wandered in and out of the various stores - saw some great coffee table books with exquisite illustrations. But nothing really tempted me.
I also had a look at the sculptures in the gallery - the theme of the work currently on display seemed to be the human body. I was curious about one called Trophy Wife. It was a figure with a pin sized head, huge breasts and long legs. I figured there must be a story behind that but the man at the computer in the store did not know anything much about it. Too bad really.
Eventually Jim got us all back in the bus and we were off to the next winery at Cline. They had set up a tasting area outside for us but by this time the wind had seriously pickd up and it was quite blustery. The plastic cover snapped and crackled in the wind. They were pouring two white wines, a Rosé and two reds. The 2008 Pinot Gris, an unoaked blend of 60% Pinot Gris and 40% Chardonnay was pleasant; fruity with a nicely balanced acidity.
The 2007 Los Carneros Viognier was a little dry for my taste. The 2008 Mourvèdre Rosé was really nice, slightly dry but full of fruity flavour. I debated buying a bottle but the hassle of carrying bottles of wine home does not really appeal to me unless something is absolutely outstanding. I had not heard of Mourvèdre - apparently it is a Rhone varietal. Or maybe Rhine- I can't read my own handwriting.
Dancing at Sea: ExplOratorium and the Golden Gate Bridge
Monday, May 10
Before we actually set off enroute to wine country we stopped first in the Marina District to see the grounds of the explOratorium. And that is not a typo. That's how they spell it.
The Palace of Fine Arts was originally built for the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition. The exhibition hall housed an exhibit of Impressionist paintings. Starting around 1964, it underwent a 20 million dollar renovation and the hall now houses the explOratorium which is an interactive hands-on arts, science and technology museum.
We did not actually have time to go inside and of course that was not part of the Gourmet Food and Wine Tour but our guide Jim wanted to show us the area which is quite a lovely, tranquil park..
So this little interlude in the saga of my Dancing at Sea cruise is simply to post some pictures of two spectacular areas, this Palace of Fine Arts, and of course the Golden Gate Bridge.
Dancing at Sea: Formal Night on Board
Sunday May 10
The note about Dining Room Dress Standards for Formal Night in the daily newsletter was quite unequivocal. Evening gowns, cocktail dresses or trouser suits for ladies. Tuxedo, slacks with dinner jackets, or suits with a tie for gentlemen. Hmm... Wonder what you wear if you are not a lady? or a gentleman? And the note went on to say that passengers who wished to have a casual dinner on formal nights can basically eat upstairs at the buffet or casual restaurants. So much for that!
These cruise ship formal dinners have to be the last bastion of elegant dressing - apart from formal state dinners and big fund-raising events. Even for opening nights at the opera - once an occasion to flaunt your furs -people wear anything from strapless gowns to jeans and sandals. Anyway in my present lifestyle in Vancouver, I seldom have the occasion to wear formal wear and it is nice to get into a long dress for a change. Carrie, with me in the photo, is Wendy's friend and associate. She competes and also teaches dance.
The menu was also special. I wish I had asked for a copy. The food seems generally very good but tonight's choices were exceptional. Although on the other hand I actually have only had one dinner to compare it with so far. Hmm... Tonight for an appetizer I had the smoked duck breast, and my entree was a perfectly cooked beef fillet with almond croquettes. The quality is certainly on a par with any of the better restaurants I have eaten in.
Monday May 11The Gourmet San Francisco Food and Sonoma Wine Tour
Part 1. The Food
We docked in San Francisco around 8 am and were scheduled to depart at 10 pm that evening. I had chosen the tour that left at 8:45 and would be back to the ship by 4:45 pm, leaving time for a quick shower and change from jeans into dancing attire. Unlike Santa Barbara where we had to anchor out in the harbor, the Sapphire Princess docked at the pier so for this tour, this ticket indicated that we should meet at the tour bus on the pier. Hmmm... well I guess there will be signs and plenty of helpful cruise staff to direct us to the right bus.
After another 3 hours of late night dancing, getting to sleep after 1 am again, and needing to get up early for the tour, I figured that I would need all the extra sleep time I could get. So I thought it would be a good time to try out the room service breakfast. Unlike in a hotel, there is no extra charge for getting a continental breakfast delivered to your cabin. So I hung out the form requesting my breakfast at 7:30 and to my surprise the breakfast was actually delivered promptly at 7:30 - how do they do that with the huge numbers of people on board?
By 8 I was showered,and dressed, and with fruit, yogurt and a couple of cups of coffee in my tummy, my notebook and camera in my purse, and I was ready to taste and drink the best of San Francisco and Sonoma. We board the bus. This time our group was a little smaller- maybe 30 people including the tour guide, Jim, and John “from the office” who was called in to help with the in-city part of the tour. It is 9 am and we are eager to get going.
The tour guide is pacing outside the bus and checking a list. A frantic-looking lady gets into the bus and calls out “Have you seen Nick?” Nick apparently decided to go and get a coffee and is nowhere to be seen. The minutes tick by. The tour guide is pacing. Nick's wife is hovering. Eventually Nick saunters up to the guide, coffee in hand, blissfully indifferent to the fact that a bus-full of strangers have been kept waiting for him. I think that this is going to be another interesting day.
We were scheduled to arrive at Santa Barbara at 7 am and depart 4 pm. I had pre-booked a Wine Country Tour leaving at 9 am. The directions on the ticket said to assemble in the Princess Theatre at 8:20 am. I knew that I needed to have some food in me or I would be staggering after the first few sips of wine – yes, I know you are not supposed to swallow but who doesn't? I grew up in South Africa where we had signs all over warning against spitting - "moenie spoeg nie" - thats Afrikanns for "don't spit", so Its kind of ingrained in me.
Checking the PrincessPatter (the glossy daily ship newsletter delivered each evening to one's cabin) I noted that the International Dining room opened for breakfast at 7 am. I set the alarm on my PDA for 6:00 am. Since it was well after midnight, in fact after 1 am before I got to sleep I did the belt and braces thing and also placed a wake up call through the ship's automated system. I joined the lineup outside the dining room just as the doors opened at 7 and was shown to a table where 2 couples, a mother/daughter pair and two other ladies were already seated. I declined the pastries and had a frittata with mushrooms, smoked provolone and Italian sausage, some fresh fruit and coffee. Delicious, but I realized soon that the dining room service is designed for a leisurely breakfast. Not a good choice for an early departure. When I excused myself from the table, the others were still lingering over their coffee and baked goods.
Since dance is what this cruise is about, at least for most of the members of the Dancers at Sea Group, the idea is to dance non-stop from after dinner till midnight. On various evenings some folks may choose to attend the song and dance shows which are at 8:30 or 10 pm in the huge Princess Theatre or hit the casino or whatever but dancing is on for anyone in the group who prefers to dance.
There are two main venues we use for dancing, at either end of Deck 7, the Promenade deck. The Wheelhouse lounge features a band called PASSION who play a reasonable mix of music in sets which run about 45 minutes. The dance area, seen in the photograph, is a fairly small semi circular space - fine for Latin and Swing but less great for the dances that move around the floor like quickstep, Viennese waltz or even samba. So how does this work?
Well, in between sets when the band PASSION took their breaks, the group would pick up purses, water glasses and drinks and move over to Club Fusion. The dance space there was great - a large almost circular floor where one could dance a proper quickstep or Viennese waltz or really flow with an open style waltz and foxtrot. The band in Club Fusion called XTASEA also played approximately 45 minute sets. In between sets there was either music by DJ Jesse - or else the ship programmers, in my not so humble opnion, wasted that fantastic dance space by putting on a Karaoke contest or bingo! Both of which could have been better held in the Wheelhouse or Explorer's Lounges
My son is driving me to the Cruise Terminal. We turn it into a family outing so my grand-daughter can see what a really big ship looks like. It's a short 1 hour drive along the highway to the cruise ship terminal at San Pedro from which the Sapphire Princess is to sail. We made excellent time until we got to the last turnoff to Harbor Boulevard where somehow we missed the turnoff. As, far too late, I yelled "go right, go right" we found ourselves driving onto a very very - yes very - long bridge to the opposite side of the harbor. I looked back with dismay as the Sapphire Princess rapidly receded into the distance.
To make matters worse there was a huge traffic jam on the bridge and the traffic appeared stalled. I had visions of missing the boat- really. Well, not really - since it was only leaving at 4 and of course we were there hours before.
As the two lines of traffic slowly inched forward and the minutes ticked by, I couldn't help but remember one day on a long ago family visit to Provence, when we were trying to leave Avignon. We kept missing the exit which was admittedly poorly marked and ended up driving over the same wrong bridge at Avignon at least three times. This made it into the family annals of travel stories, remembered with much laughter as our own special version of "sur le pont d'Avignon" at later family gatherings. Well hopefully history won't repeat itself with Keith instead of Bob as the errant driver. Keith assured me, and himself, that it should be simple to do a U turn at the other end and get back to the right exit.
We finally got past a stalled truck which was causing all the problems. the traffic surged and we rapidly found our way back to Berth 93. I handed my suitcase over to a porter and hoped I would see it again sometime soon. And then it was goodbye to kids and grand-kids and time for me to board. Considering the numbers of people that need to be dealt with in a very short time, it all went really quickly and I found my way to my port side cabin. It was great - not too many places for me to misplace things. The only flaw was the paucity of outlets for plugging in my computer and other chargers.
Honjin Sushi
138 DavieStreet,
Vancouver, BC
Ph: 604-688-8808
When I first moved into my Yaletown apartment, our neighborhood Yaletown Honjin became our favorite place for take-out sushi. It is a pleasant 5 minute stroll along the sea wall and then through the park, to the restaurant. We would phone in our order, enjoy the salt sea air on the way to fetch the food, and then hurry home with the myriad aromas of freshi sushi tantalizing us. A little dash of wasabi in the soy sauce... and sea food heaven! And now when my family comes to visit, inevitably within the first day or two someone will ask "so when are we calling in the sushi order?"
It has been a while since we have had a family sushi get -together so the other evening, after an energetic Samba class when my friend suggested we go to Honjin for a bite of supper, I enthusiastically agreed.
He ordered the sushi dinner and we shared a small order of vegetable tempura. I had a small portion of local tuna sashimi (in the photo to the left) and a dynamite roll. The tuna just melted in my mouth - fantastic. The tempura was hot, fresh and crisply delicious.
Lux at Caprice 965 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC. Ph: 604-685-3189 or Reserve Online
On Saturday evening I was meeting a friend to see "Top Girls" at the Vancouver Playhouse. I decided to extend my search range for pre-show restaurants beyond the three block radius from the Queen Elizabeth/Playhouse complex, and came up with Lux at the Caprice, on Granville between Nelson and Smythe. There is major construction still going on along Granville and they have ripped up the sidewalks so by the time I walked along Granville from Georgia to the restaurant my shoes were coated with dust. The entrance to Lux was also not well marked and I nearly walked right by it.This construction is really tough on the businesses on the streets affected. Anyway to avoid the mess on the way back down to the theatre we crossed Granville and walked down Smythe thus avoiding two blocks of dust.
Palace of the End by Judith Thompson
Directed by David Bloom, Katrina Dunn, Mindy Parfitt
PAL Theatre, Cardero Street
Touchstone Theatre with Felix Culpa and Horsehoes & Hand Grenades Theatre
May 21 to June 6, 2009
Vancouver, BC: This production of Palace of the End is a simply stunning theatrical experience. Thompson has crafted three powerful monologues based on three real people each with a connection to contemporary Iraq and all three monologues are superbly performed. Although based on news stories and research, as Thompson remarks in the playwright's notes - "the persona ...of each speaker has been created by me." And of course the words they speak spring from her imagination. Yet for me the authentic voices of these three characters ring out in a compelling and utterly believable way.
My Pyramids portrays Lynndie England, the young American soldier who justly or not, became the media symbol of the soldiers charged with abusing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison. Thompson imagines her on office duty, awaiting trial, after fellow reservist Charles Graner the man who impregnated her, (later to marry another fellow soldier), has been jailed for his part in the abuse.
Recent comments