Balloons Above The Valley!

Another early wake-up!

But, it didn't matter once we found out that we were definitely going up that morning! The crew from Balloons Above the Valley said it was perfect flying conditions! YAY!

Once we arrived at the launch site, we waited in groups for all of the balloons to be inflated.



I was so excited, I was doing happy dances! Mr. Mister? He was still wondering what he had gotten himself into! LOL!

It was amazing to see all of the balloons come to life. They were all so colorful.



First group taking off!







We were in one of the last groups. They were just starting to inflate our balloon.



The whole time we were standing there, I kept saying to myself, please let us have one of the pretty rainbow colored balloons. NOT the blue, black, & yellow one! But, guess what? No rainbow colors for us! We got "in your face" BOLD baby!



All of them were beautiful to watch.



Finally, we weren't just watching anymore! We loaded into our basket, felt the blast of heat on our faces, and headed thousands of feet into the sky. It was so peaceful. The ride was extremely smooth. It was AWESOME!

At times we would float higher than some of the others. LOVED the tops of the balloons!





The sun was still rising, and there was haze/fog in the San Fransisco direction, but the views were amazing.











The shadow of our balloon on the side of the hill.











Being up in the air, floating above Napa Valley, is an experience we will never forget. It was so worth it! Thank you babe, for being with me, and making it possible to check another item off my bucket list!

V. Sattui Winery!

After a little rest, and some much needed nourishment, we decided to visit V. Sattui Winery before it closed for the evening.

We were honestly surprised at how early the wineries closed. I guess we thought that since it was Napa, that they would all stay open later than they did.

V. Sattui is one of the most popular wineries in Napa Valley. And for good reason!

The grounds are filled with breathtaking views.

As we walked up the pathway towards the winery, my eyes were instantly drawn to this plant laden arbor. It just seemed to go on forever.



While glancing around, taking in how lush and green everything was, I noticed that all of the pathways were edged with shrubs, and rose bushes.

It felt like we had entered a "Secret Garden."





Slowly, we continued up the path, until we came upon the most magnificent, ivy covered, cottage I have ever seen! (In real life, anyway! LOL!)



It looked like something straight out of a fairytale.



I just gotta say right now, that for me, going wine tasting isn't just about the wine, it's also about the ambiance, and the feeling that is being created.

The "photographer" in me likes seeing the "pretty" wineries, so that I can take lots of pictures, to OOOH and AAAH over, when I get back home.

Do I even need to tell you that, this winery was putting me in my "happy" place, before I even walked through the door to taste their wine. LOL!

Speaking of walking through doors.....

Once we walked through those wonderful doors, we were standing in their gourmet cheese shop and deli.



This is one of the things that makes V. Sattui so special. You can go through, pick what you would like to feast on, purchase it, and then proceed outside to have a picnic, while enjoying a bottle of wine. V. Sattui is the only winery that offers food, and a picnic area.

Mr. Mister and I, should have came here to eat, and relax, instead of grabbing some KFC, and heading back to our room! LOL!

Just past the Deli is the wine tasting room. There is a large wine tasting counter in the center of the room, and wine tasting counters around the edges as well.





I didn't take a lot of pictures inside, because we were running out of time, and wanted to get a tasting in before we left.

We tasted, we liked, we bought!!! Although, this time we were smart, and had them mail it directly to our home. LOL!

Back outside, I came across the picnic area.



AHHH! To sit there and laze away the day. PARADISE!

They also have an outdoor courtyard for weddings and receptions.









Isn't it beautiful?

Who knew that every winery in Napa Valley, and the surrounding area, would be so beautiful?

I sure didn't!

Castello di Amorosa!

Since first deciding to spend our Anniversary in Napa, I knew Castello di Amorosa was the one winery I HAD to visit.



As a true replica of a medieval castle, it took 14 years to build. The masonry, ironwork, and woodwork, were all hand crafted using old world techniques. Building materials included 8,000 tons of locally quarried stone, in addition to paving stones, terra cotta roofing tiles, and approximately 850,000 bricks imported from Europe.

Many authentic features were included while building the castle. For instance, there is a moat, a drawbridge, defensive towers, a courtyard, a chapel, and a torture chamber!

I knew it was going to be an amazing tour.



















I absolutely fell in LOVE with all of the doors. There is just something about huge, thick, wooden doors, that speaks to my soul. LOVE THEM!



Even the smallest details were seen to.



The tour took us into the lower levels of the castle. This was when I asked our tour guide if he was leading us to a room full of hungry vampires!!! His reply was............."You never know!" OK! Major EERIE feeling! LOL!

We walked down long hallways.



Passed, hundreds of barrels of wine.



And, caught glimpses of a room, filled with old bottles, that were locked behind an iron gate.



Then, we entered this room!



Ya know, the typical room, where the knights would store their weapons, and armor.



Except, this room had a grate, covering a hole in the ground. Curious to see what was in the hole, I looked between the iron grid work, and saw this.



A visual display of what people endured, deep in the bowels of castles everywhere!

Hmmmm! Makes you wonder what's in the next room!



(Mommy? Why don't kids ever want to come and play at our house anymore?)

Moving on.....

This is a 300 year old "Iron Maiden" torture device. Dario Sattui, the owner of Castello di Amorosa, is said to have purchased it in Pienza, Italy, for $13,000 dollars.



It consists of an iron cabinet, with a hinged front, that is tall enough to enclose a human being. It usually has a small closeable opening so that the torturer can interrogate the victim, and torture or kill them, by piercing the body with sharp objects (such as knives, spikes or nails), while he or she is forced to remain standing.

Fun times!!!

I guess it wasn't all bad, it appears they offered their own medieval form of acupuncture to help relieve some of the pain afterwards. The prisoners had their choice of the table, or a chair to relax in while the went through the procedure.






Almost through the room now, stay close please, we don't want to lose anyone down here. Sometimes, it's takes hours for us to find them again!

Keep walking......

OH LOOK! More barrels! And, long halls!



This is the barrel cellar, we stopped here for a mini tasting. Good thing, too, after all the horrors we imagined happening in the last room! We all needed a nice, long, sip.



Our tour guide, siphoning wine, straight out of the barrel.







From there, the group was ushered to it's own private tasting area.



Where our wonderful tour guide poured whatever we chose to try.



This is also where he pulled out the dark chocolate with sea salt, and I thought I had died and gone to heaven! They had worked with the Le Belge Chocolatier company to come up with special packaging of the chocolate bars, so that they had a picture of a castle on the front of them. You can also find the chocolate bars on the Le Belge Chocolatier website. They are considered one of the artisan bars.

The tasting room was combined with a gift shop. They had so many treasures to look at.









But, we tried to control ourselves, since this was our first day visiting wineries.

We only purchased a few bottles of wine.

OHHH! And, six dark chocolate with sea salt candy bars! =)

By this time, we were pretty tired of walking, and hungry for some "real" food. So we went out the side doors, and headed toward the parking lot.

Of course, I had to take a couple more shots of the castle as we made our way down the path.





It was truly AWESOME to see! Definitely worth signing up for the tour.

One more beautiful winery checked off the list. Several more to go!