First off, happy new year everyone! I hope everyone had a great time ringing in the new year with friends and family.
So this post comes a bit earlier than expected, with a tale different than I thought I would tell. The short of it is that our trip to India got cancelled. My parents flew out on 20th December, but could not, for the life of them, get a flight out to India. I am sure some of you experienced this first hand; the storms in Europe and the East Coast created HUGE backlogs for travelers, and flights to India this time of year are hard to come by. My parents were supposed to fly LAX > JFK > Heathrow > Mumbai. But the farthest they go on that journey was JFK. With Heathrow shutting down, the travel was ruined for everyone. There was no way my parents were going to get through Heathrow. So they tried every other possible route....they flew from New Jersey to Chicago, got rerouted on the way to Chicago, ended up landing in Detroit, took a bus to O'Hare, and finally decided to come back to LA. The earliest they could fly out was 28 Dec, and that on a ticket that was not confirmed. Crazy, right?? So decision time for me. I got a call late Tuesday night (around midnight my time) asking what I wanted to do. Do I go to India on my own, or do I cancel my trip as well, and try to get home to California?? As much as I really wanted to go to India to see my extended family, I don't think I could spend Christmas without my parents and my brother. So I was on the phone with my parents, trying to figure out what to do...we had decided that I was going to come home to Cali...I just needed to find a flight now. I definitely thought there was no way I would get to Cali for Xmas, but even if I got here after X-mas, it was worth coming home. So I prepared for bed, and then got a call from home at 1:30am...my mom asked if I was packed because miraculously she found a flight for me the next morning....so in a mere 6 hours, I was packed and on my way back back to Cali Cali....not sure how this miracle worked out, but I was so glad it did! I was ready for my Cali Stay-cation!! I haven't been home for this long since I graduated from BU, and something inside me really wanted to be stateside this holiday season.
One of the things we have always wanted to do but never had time was to go wine tasting here in California. I mean we are so close to what some call the best wine country, it would be a shame not to take advantage of that. It's pretty crazy that I have never been! Sometimes you take for granted that which is always around you. With me being home, and everyone else not having to work, this stay-cation was the perfect opportunity for us to visit the Central Coast or Napa Valley to do some wine tasting. So as soon as I was home, we booked our trip up to Los Olivos in the hills of Santa Barbara County. Let me just say that wine tasting with the fam was soo much fun!! I had a great time exploring the boutique wineries of the Central Coast. Some of the best wines I have had, and I loved the fact that we found wineries off the beaten track. So we made our way up north, and ended up staying right outside Solvang. Solvang is this beautiful small Dutch town. We happened to come across this winery, Lions Peak, in downtown, and sat down to do a tasting. Wow! Some incredible Chardonnays!! The next morning we woke up and made our way to 3 different wineries. The first was Bridlewood. The estate was breathtaking, and I think visiting in summer would be a special treat. The wines were just ok, nothing to write home about. Our next winery was Brander...OH MY GOSH!!! Every single wine we tried was amazing. Again, we loved their Sauvignon Blancs and Syrahs. Of course we had to bring some bottles home!!! I definitely recommend Brander Winery. Great wines, small winery, personal touch by the staff. After a little respite, we headed to downtown Los Olivos. If you want to go wine tasting, this is definitely the place to go. Downtown is literally one street, but there are wineries after wineries....you don't have to travel far. This is convenient if for some reason you don't have a DD. The last winery we tried was Consilience. Some very good Cuvees and Cab/Merlot blends. Again, we just had to come home with some bottles!!
So wine tasting was a huge success!! We definitely did not come back empty-handed! I think all of us enjoyed so much, that this is something we will definitely do again.
On our way back home, there was another first for the Patel Family. We made a pit stop at the Getty Museum in LA. I'm proud of us for mixing in some art and culture with our wine tasting. We have visited some of the best museums in the world like the Louvre and the Hermitage, but it was really cool to visit one of the best museums in LA. Can you believe that I have never been to the Getty, even though I grew up here? Like I said, sometimes you take the things in your backyard for granted.
As our Cali Stay-cation comes to a close, I am so glad that we got to do things around here that we just don't ever get around to do. I am glad I got some good shopping in, and leaving with an extra suitcase....so much better to do shopping here than in Zurich. I haven't been in Zurich long enough to know where to find the things I like, or find the deals I like. Actually, come to think of it, I don't think the Swiss understand words like "deals" or "Sales". So all in all, a very successful holiday season and Cali Stay-cation!!
I am flying back to Zurich tomorrow morning, but so glad our cancelled vacation turned out into something else. I know it is going to be so hard to go back to work tomorrow, but glad I was able to come home! Not sure when the next time will be, but I enjoyed every minute of it.
I hope everyone has a wonderful new year and 2011 brings everything you desire. I know 2010 brought a lot of good changes for me, and I am looking forward to the changes in 2011.
I will definitely post again soon, as my National Sales Meetings season starts....I will definitely have more travel stories to chronicle in the next couple of months.
Until next time....!!
