Christmas 2003
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Last Updated 05/21/2005

It's been an exciting year and both Yener and I sure needed a break. As luck would have it, his twin brother just bought a house out in California, so we figured we could go out there and pay him a visit over the holidays and help him out getting his house prepared. What follows are some pictures from the event.

Having arrived at 9am California time at the San Francisco International Airport, we figured that we would waste the day. Off we headed to Monterey where we walked around in the busy shopping district by The Cannery.

By the Cannery on our first trip - click to enlarge
We walked down to where the beach was and got this picture taken. Apparently, this is a popular place for photos as we ended up helping other groups get their photos taken as well. After walking around some of the shops, we decided to take off for a trip down to Carmel.
On our way to Carmel, we decided to drive through the Pebble Beach area where we stopped at this area and got our pictures taken. It was an excellent opportunity to enjoy the weather a little and stretch our legs from the car ride.
At a scenic outpost - click to enlarge
At a scenic outpost - click to enlarge
The whole point of going to Carmel was to go running into the Pacific (VERY cold water) barefoot. I told Yener's brother Eser that if he did it, I'd go with him. That's us waiting for the next wave to come in. It was a really nice place to relax, even though it was a bit chilly.
Getting my feet wet - click to enlarge
So I wasn't quick enough and the bottom part of my rolled-up pants got soaked with VERY cold sea water. Ah well...felt good to soak my feet in the cold water after all the walking we did earlier that day.
The following day, we took the Caltrain into San Francisco and headed to Chinatown for lunch. Pictured here is the gate to that area of the city. It was filled with all sorts of shops and restaurants. We ended up having lunch at the Four Seas restaurant that had, apparently, been visited by the Television chef Martin Yan. The food was really good; probably better due to the long stair case we had to climb to get up to the restaurant!
Gate to China Town - click to enlarge

So we climbed to the top of one of San Francisco's many hills and looked down. Can you see the fatigue on Yener's face? I was panting and trying to get my ears to pop from the pressure differential! ;-)

Whose idea was it to build a city on all these hills?!?

Yener told me that this would make a good picture, so I took it.
Checking my rating on the Guide to Romance - click to enlargeAs expected, Uncontrollable - click to enlarge At the Fisherman's Wharf area, there was this cool mechanical arcade that had all sorts of mechanical entertainment pieces in it (predecessors to the modern video game). I tried out the "Guide to Romance" and was rated as "uncontrollable". I needed proof, so I got it on the camera. Unfortunately, Yener scored "clammy" so he asked that we not capture that!
Yener at the Love-meter - click to enlargeAnd the results are...Mild! - Click to enlarge
I figured we should try a different machine and see if we could improve Yener's score. As you can see here, this machine rated him as "Mild". Although, to be fair, I did touch the machine briefly to explain its operation. Perhaps that threw off the result. ;-)
Obligatory Alcatraz Picture - click to enlarge
You can't go to San Francisco without taking a picture of Alcatraz. I didn't pay to go visit, though.
On Friday, 12/26/03, we took a trip up to the Napa Valley in California. After drinking many of their wines, I thought it would be great to go see the actual vineyards. Our first stop was this great winery (V. Satturi Winery) that had a picnic area. We tasted their wines and then had a great picnic of cheese, salami, bread, olives, and drinks. It was wonderful!
The Twins at the Vineyard
After our picnic (click to enlarge)

After stuffing ourselves with fantastic foods and having a bit of wine (Our driver, Eser didn't drink...don't worry!), we took off for the rest of the valley.

I was riding in the back seat of the car, enjoying the ride and thumbing through the literature about the area. I discovered this winery called Cuvaison on the map and remembered that I had their Chardonnay a long time ago and LOVED it. The problem is that I couldn't find it back home.

So off we went to Cuvaison. I was very excited and I enjoyed getting to taste their wine again. Here, you can see me in front of their small tasting room. I brought a bottle of that chardonnay back with me and I'm looking forward to enjoying it.
Me at Cuvaison (click to enlarge)
After this winery, we decided to visit Clos Du Val on our way out of the Valley and back home. Here, we tasted many wines and purchased one for the wine rack and another for a friend. It was a great day for this trip and I had a spectacular time. You can see me at Clos Du Val in the pictures below.
ClosDuValDoor (click to enlarge)
ClosDuVal Vineyard (click to enlarge)

On Saturday (the last full day before we returned home), we took a trip up into San Francisco together but we traveled along the coast. Now and then, we would pull off the road and relax a bit. It was good to get out and relax a bit. The coast was so beautiful! You can see Yener and I at an outlook point below.

On the Coast (click to enlarge)
Me with the sun in my eyes (click to enlarge)
I want to take a little space here to thank Yener's brother Eser and his roommate for their hospitality. We were treated very well and I had a fantastic time!