(no subject)
So as for California we left last thursday fairly early in the morning. The flight was pretty normal and all, only you had to pay for both lunch and earphones if you wanted. So we got in to the airport at San Francisco on time an dtook the tram to the rental car place..ha and passed the stop for BART-Bay Area Train. And then we waited and waited for a rental car, until we finally got on and left for Napa valley, where the wedding was held. It took us about three hours to drive up, but it was a really nice drive and once we got into Napa Valley the entire countryside was covered with expensive looking houses and wineries and lots of beautiful vineyards..hundreds upon hundreds of straight rows of grapevines.
So we got to our hotel in Rutherford (in napa valley) and well it was reaallly nice, like the room had a really big bed and fireplace and stainglass window. It was really cool because all of it was done in the style of southwestern architecture..let's just say that we wouldn't have stayed there if we had actually had to pay for it.
With the time change and all we went to bed early so didn't really do anything until the next day, when we actually went out and did a bit of touristy stuff. We went to Sterling vineyards and took a gondala up the mountain to the winery (the vineyards were at the base of the mountain with the winery at the top) and then we went to the "Old Faithful" of California which was a rather pitiful gyser located in the more hickish outskirts of Napa Valley. And somehow it took us almost the whole day to do those two things and drive around and come back in time for the bridal dinner where I got to meet my uh..cousins and second cousins by marriage.
The next day I went shopping in Napa with the Liz's (the bride) three daughters, their friend (who had come with them to the wedding) and my cousin. And it became rather apparent just how rich they are..(Liz has barely worked and simply inherited a lot of money. (at least my uncle murray-the groom - who is also quite rich has worked his entire life as an investment banker to become rich)..we went into this one store with lots of really pretty skirts and dresses, but they were all at least eighty dollars, but all her daughters seemed to think that that price wasn't too bad if the skirt was nice, whereas my cousin and I were just like no way with that price.
As for the actual wedding is was reallly nice. It was held at a private home and vineyard-and the house was practicaly a mansion with a lot of antiques and surrounded on one side by a vineyard and the other by gardens. The cermony itself only lasted for about ten minutes. ha and the "minister" was a jewish friend of my uncle and his wife who probably just took some online course to become a "minister"..but then again it was california so it really didn't matter. After the ceremony all the adults sat down for an elaborate six-course dinner, while us kids sat at a different table and ate more uh normal food..it slightly annoyed me that they seperated us, but seing the maturity of some of my cousins it was very understandable.
The next day was then the brunch to send the couple off. and then we ourselves left for San Francisco. It took us seven hours to get from napa to the city, because we decided to go west to teh coast and take route 1 south which is very very beautiful but also rather dangerous as it curves up and down the side of mountains. So we finally got into the city and strangely that day was quite like our first one in California.
As was our second day in the city like the seocnin Napa. In th morning we went down to Fisherman's warf to the aquarium and then to a ferry boat which took us on an hour tour around the bay going under teh golden gate bridge and then around Alcatraz..we decided to not take the boat that would have given us time actually on Alcatrz, because of my mom's bad knees. Then we took a cable car up to uncle and uh..aunt's appartment..which given their financial state was very large and nice and had a really nice view of the financial district and of the bay. From there we went to dinner and then chris and I were finally able to leave my mom at the hotel and go on a real walk aroudn the city...see because of here knees she kept complaining about the hills and all..so Chris and I were able to go to quite far and see some of the great views from the top of the city's hills, as well as lombard street which is this really crooked street on the side of a hill surrounded by gardens
hmm..the interesting thing about San Francisco is its one of the only cities that I've felt as though I could see myself living in- probably because it is relatively small and clean and felt safe..for some reason I just had a better feeling about it than I do about the other cities I've been to. Another nice thing about the city, or maybe just in the toursit part of the city, but still, I heard a lot of foreign languages, and surprisingly a lot of french
so sadily we only had one full day in the city and then the next morning we had to be up early to catch our flight and come home arriving in Philadelhpia at 7:30, but not getting baggage and dinner and then home until after 10:00
So we got to our hotel in Rutherford (in napa valley) and well it was reaallly nice, like the room had a really big bed and fireplace and stainglass window. It was really cool because all of it was done in the style of southwestern architecture..let's just say that we wouldn't have stayed there if we had actually had to pay for it.
With the time change and all we went to bed early so didn't really do anything until the next day, when we actually went out and did a bit of touristy stuff. We went to Sterling vineyards and took a gondala up the mountain to the winery (the vineyards were at the base of the mountain with the winery at the top) and then we went to the "Old Faithful" of California which was a rather pitiful gyser located in the more hickish outskirts of Napa Valley. And somehow it took us almost the whole day to do those two things and drive around and come back in time for the bridal dinner where I got to meet my uh..cousins and second cousins by marriage.
The next day I went shopping in Napa with the Liz's (the bride) three daughters, their friend (who had come with them to the wedding) and my cousin. And it became rather apparent just how rich they are..(Liz has barely worked and simply inherited a lot of money. (at least my uncle murray-the groom - who is also quite rich has worked his entire life as an investment banker to become rich)..we went into this one store with lots of really pretty skirts and dresses, but they were all at least eighty dollars, but all her daughters seemed to think that that price wasn't too bad if the skirt was nice, whereas my cousin and I were just like no way with that price.
As for the actual wedding is was reallly nice. It was held at a private home and vineyard-and the house was practicaly a mansion with a lot of antiques and surrounded on one side by a vineyard and the other by gardens. The cermony itself only lasted for about ten minutes. ha and the "minister" was a jewish friend of my uncle and his wife who probably just took some online course to become a "minister"..but then again it was california so it really didn't matter. After the ceremony all the adults sat down for an elaborate six-course dinner, while us kids sat at a different table and ate more uh normal food..it slightly annoyed me that they seperated us, but seing the maturity of some of my cousins it was very understandable.
The next day was then the brunch to send the couple off. and then we ourselves left for San Francisco. It took us seven hours to get from napa to the city, because we decided to go west to teh coast and take route 1 south which is very very beautiful but also rather dangerous as it curves up and down the side of mountains. So we finally got into the city and strangely that day was quite like our first one in California.
As was our second day in the city like the seocnin Napa. In th morning we went down to Fisherman's warf to the aquarium and then to a ferry boat which took us on an hour tour around the bay going under teh golden gate bridge and then around Alcatraz..we decided to not take the boat that would have given us time actually on Alcatrz, because of my mom's bad knees. Then we took a cable car up to uncle and uh..aunt's appartment..which given their financial state was very large and nice and had a really nice view of the financial district and of the bay. From there we went to dinner and then chris and I were finally able to leave my mom at the hotel and go on a real walk aroudn the city...see because of here knees she kept complaining about the hills and all..so Chris and I were able to go to quite far and see some of the great views from the top of the city's hills, as well as lombard street which is this really crooked street on the side of a hill surrounded by gardens
hmm..the interesting thing about San Francisco is its one of the only cities that I've felt as though I could see myself living in- probably because it is relatively small and clean and felt safe..for some reason I just had a better feeling about it than I do about the other cities I've been to. Another nice thing about the city, or maybe just in the toursit part of the city, but still, I heard a lot of foreign languages, and surprisingly a lot of french
so sadily we only had one full day in the city and then the next morning we had to be up early to catch our flight and come home arriving in Philadelhpia at 7:30, but not getting baggage and dinner and then home until after 10:00