When I logged in, I realized that it had been seven months since the urge to blog overcame me.  I think maybe my sanctimony got the best of me…  Although I am relatively good with words, hearing my own thoughts on things appealed to me less and less as I realized more and more that I wasn’t changing the world the way I envisioned with my pithy observations…

…BUT…

The whole time I was on THIS trip… I kept thinking… “Oooooh!   I want to share this with someone!

So… here I am… back and in technicolor with my pas de deux (or Paso Part II…  or Paso retread… or whatever you want to call it!) I wrote my first blogs about it this time last year, and now here I am again!

Last year, Richard and I flew in to Burbank and took a little detour through Santa Barbara.  This time, we flew in from the north in San Jose (Yes, we knew the way).  Again, we took an ultra early flight so that we’d land in California in the morning.  We decided to detour into Monterey for a little brunch and a look at the bay.

As it would turn out, Cannery Row is not really my thing.  It’s really just a bunch of shopping.  Great for those who like to spend their money on inedibles ;-).  Edible shopping, though:  Schooners is in the Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa.  The restaurant itself is nothing special to look at.  My omelet was wonderful…. my bloody mary spicy,  the place itself is kinda old and run-down.

The view from the outdoor decks, however, was a spectacular start for the trip.  We could hear the bark of the sea lions and the sound of waves lapping on the rocks.  It was a good way to remind us we were on the left coast and back in one of our happy places. Knowing that neither of us were much for shopping, we began the two hour drive to Paso.

This is not through the scenic part of the state. Since we knew that Highway 1 was closed at Big Sur, our travels took us through such lovely areas on the one-oh-one as Soledad (made famous in Of Mice and Men) and KingCity–boring, flat farm land where the only radio stations you can pick up are Tejano and Christian.  Still, we were on our way.

We went back to the same apartment we stayed at last year.  It’s a small one bedroom right on the edge of of the square in Paso.  It is about 1/3 to 1/2 of the price of staying at a hotel: you don’t get housekeeping or fine linens, but it’s really decorated nicely and all of the convenience makes it so worth it!

Walking down the stairs takes you directly to an amazing little French restaurant, Bistro Laurent.  The apartment itself is actually right above the wine store.

Then, we knew we needed to shop for the trip.  When we go, we tend to do breakfast in the apartment; then, we pack a picnic lunch.  This (in theory) cuts down on our spending because we don’t stop to eat lunch.  It also maximizes our time for wine drinking!  I bought a great collapsible cooler off of Amazon and packed it in our suitcase.  It was perfect!

Our first food stop was at Di Raimondo’s Italian Market to get cheese.  Lots and lots of cheese!   (and olives and salami and nuts and crackers).  It’s a great little place.  You can go in and taste as much as you want before ordering.  You can also order on line.  I may have to get the Red Witch again.  It was FABULOUS!  There was one group in line in front of us–a group of cousins who decided to do their first ever cousins’ trip.  No joke, they took about an hour to order and probably got a grand worth of cheese.

It was taking awhile, so I was feeling parched.  I left the bear at the store to eat cheese, and I went next door to Chateau Lettau for my first taste of wine of the day.  I’m not going to use this blog to review wine because all I ever really say is “I liked it” or “I didn’t like it” but it was a very cool tasting room where I learned the phrases I was going to hear most in Paso for the week were “right on!” and “of course”  (of course was said in lieu of “you’re welcome”).

Then, it was time for our first tasting appointment of the trip, Herman Story,. This was our only repeat winery from last time. They are right there in Paso.  Anytime you say the name of their winery or their wine maker, Russell From, to anyone in town, you are greeted with a big grin, a shake of the head, and a roll of the eyes.  His wines and his personality are big and bold.  Take a minute to visit the page and read his wine notes; you’ll see what I mean. I’m not doing wine reviews, BUT his grenache is NOT for the faint of heart!  They were gearing up for the release party that Sunday which is known to include keg stands, zoo animals, and plenty of rumors!   We just love them and their wines!   We were even allowed to join their wine club, which is technically closed.  They’re good people and good to us. The tasting room is nothing but a tiny bar in the front of a location next to Dan’s tires.  The place is all about the wine–no fancy trappings of the winery for them.

From there, we traveled to Albertsons’ to get bottled water (We have a rule; in order to prevent hangovers, one must slam a bottle of water between each winery.  We’re professionals!), breakfast stuff, and any other necessities.  We checked out the local wine section there to choose an inexpensive local bottle or two to go with our pizza since that’s what we’d decided to have for dinner that night.

Upon returning to downtown Paso we went to OUR wine bar.  The friend who told us we had to go to Paso last year also told us of this bar:  Taste in the Alley.   They specialize in local wines,  but they also have wine from all over the world.  It’s a unique concept.  You can take any wine from their wall.  All wines have a by the glass price and a bottle price.  Once the bottle is open, it goes into their tap system.  From the tap system you can construct your own flights and taste as many as they have already open.  Larry and Kitty are there most nights and VERY knowledgeable about all of the wines in their shop.  They’re world travelers and collectors themselves.  It was a great place to end EVERY night.  We asked them about their pizza suggestions, and we went over to Artisan. 

Like many places in Paso, Artisan has an excellent cocktail program.  I actually went with a cider while we waited (more on that on day 4!)  We brought the pizza upstairs to enjoy with a bottle of Field Recordings Fiction.  We decided we weren’t QUITE done for the day and wandered down the stairs to the restaurant to see if we could just have dessert.  We could, and it was DIVINE!  I had assorted macarons paired with a true champagne to end the night.   YUM!

So… after waking up at 3:45 in the morning, our full first day was done!   We had a HUGE four days scheduled thereafter.  We love to make the most of our vacations and we sure did this time!

I look forward to sharing the rest with you as well!