Chill Bachelorette

The trip to the Bay area and Napa Valley has been a success!

We started off the weekend with Vivian's birthday on Saturday, which involved a lot of her driving me and Gina (one of her bridesmaids) around the Bay area. The first thing she said to me when I woke up and came downstairs in the morning was "WAIT. you cannot wear that. Let me give you a t-shirt to change into." Now despite my lack of wardrobe (due to a variety of reasons: ruthless closet purge in the UK before moving back, resulting in the Trinity Hospice charity shop on Northcote Road selling most of my tattiest clothes second-hand, some clothes being shipped via sea, and some clothes being mule-d over by Heidi in June), this was not a comment on my poor dress sense (I hope). It was a precaution against the epic lunch that was to come, which came with epic fumes that stay on your clothes and in your hair for a LONG time. We had Korean BBQ, which involves getting lots of marinated meat and grilling it yourself right at your table. The flame grill is great fun and makes delicious meals, but it also causes lots of smoke which gets in your hair and clothes and make you feel a bit like you've been barbecued yourself. Making this particular Korean BBQ even better was the fact that it was all-you-can-eat buffet style. Weekend food coma #1.

Some (sadly unsuccessful) shoe shopping, a Jamba Juice break, and some wild and crazy office supply shopping rounded out the day, and we feted the birthday girl with 3 rousing rounds of Bananagrams at her home in the evening, and went to sleep in anticipation of Vivi's Bachelorette Weekend (which also involved a lot of her chauffeuring us around).

Saturday dawned and we set off bright and early for the Napa Valley. How exciting. I'd never been. Plus, I hadn't had a drop of alcohol since leaving the UK (ye gads! the horrors! a whole week off the booze!) and was well looking forward to some nice vino. We started off the day with some, guess what, that's right, binge eating at an amazing brunch buffet place. I resisted the urge to order a mimosa or peach bellini at 11am in the morning, wanting to make a reasonable impression on Vivian's California friends, whom I've never met. I'm sure I did well by rolling my mini egg benny off my plate and onto the table before i even sat down. Do not take me to classy joints. The best bits of the buffet were the oysters and the tri-tip steak. Weekend food coma #2.

During the brunch, Vivi was forced to wear her bachelorette tiara - a subdued and subtle accessory made personally by her other bridesmaid Stefanie, but the attention-shy Vivi had to be convinced it wasn't too outrageous. She was constantly reminded that we could have gotten her a penis necklace instead, but that didn't seem to help. She was so cute she insisted on being accompanied to the buffet queue for her food, because she was so self-conscious about her tiara. I obliged on one occasion, presumably so that were anyone to approach her and enquire, i could shout "BACK OFF! GET YOUR OWN SANDWICH!" at them (non-North Americans will have to youtube this late 90's advert to understand the reference)

We then headed off for some wine tasting, visiting the Rombauer winery first. Despite a solid 6 years of drinking wine at least two nights a week, I still don't know what the hell I'm doing. Fine stuff is wasted on me. It all tasted good. Got a pretty wine glass out of the tasting though - a good souvenir. Then it was off to a tasting room in Yountville, where our hotel/spa was located. The area was super picturesque (when I upload my pics onto my computer I will append this post with some pics) and I would definitely go back to the Napa Valley just for the views.

We rounded out the evening with a 5-course tasting menu at Redd restaurant, which serves what Stef likes to describe as West Coast Fancy Fusion. Tuna tartare with crispy rice and foie gras were some highlights. Weekend food coma #3.

The two bridesmaids and I then stayed over with Vivi at the Bardessono spa hotel overnight, where they had left no relaxation detail unattended. The TVs in the bedroom played a loop of relaxing images such as fluffy clouds floating across the sky, some beautiful waterfalls in Hawaii, and some dude flyfishing in a river.  This morning Stef Vivi and I went for spa treatments, where I was pummeled with hot stones for a good 90 minutes, followed by a dip in the outdoor pool, which was surrounded by shaded cabana beds that were more comfy that the bed I sleep on at home. Two thumbs up for the Bardessono - highly recommend and I hope to be back.

Overall, a lovely time, even despite the fireman stripper failing to show on Sat night. Jokes - she didn't even want to wear the tiara.

It has been confirmed on this trip that I snore loudly enough to wake people up in the middle of the night. Sorry!!!

Also, I am becoming increasingly aware that my blog is mostly about the food that I eat. Is that all I do?

Monopoly Pub Crawl

To be lazy or not to be lazy... that is the question for today's activities

We have plans with the in-laws tonight, but before that, I could pop out to the Monopoly Pub Crawl that some people at work have organised. Knowing my limits, I have not even attempted to start at 10:30am like the others, following a itinerary and schedule that can only be described as having military precision. Because of said military precision, even without the miracle of modern mobile phone technology, it is possible to join mid-way and just see some work friends for a drink or two.

For any non-Londoners unfamiliar with the concept, what IS the Monopoly Pub Crawl? Well I don't know what the place names of the American version are based on, but the UK version has all streets and areas that are London-based. It is therefore theoretically possible to visit all of the 26 places on the Monopoly Board. The pub crawl challenge, therefore is to go to 26 pubs on those London streets/train stations/areas and have a drink at all of them, all within one day. 26 drinks in one day! Madness!

Seeing this madness is related to boozing, those of you who know Keith will not be surprised that he and his friends have already attempted, and conquered, the Monopoly Pub Crawl. Keith and his buddies did it in May 2009, as soon as possible after we got engaged, in celebration of our engagement. How he going out with 10 guys (without me) for 12 hours one weekend getting pissed off their faces constitutes a celebration of his engagement TO ME is still a mystery to me, but I digress. It was almost a pre-stag do stag do and my one rule for him was to please not call me at all during the day, as I know how much his shit-talking, nonsense-babbling, slurry drunkeness enrages me (if I'm not equally drunk myself).

The WAGs (wives and girlfriends) still don't know all the stories that happened that day, which if the men are honest, has more to do with them not remembering it at all themselves rather than their bravado of "what happens on the pub crawl, stays on the pub crawl". From what we know, there were instances where they were refused alcohol near the end of the night, some frantic running to the next pubs before closing time, some moving of traffic cones from roadworks sites, etc. But they do have this cool momento from their day, where the got the time and bartender signature at every pub.  If you decipher this carefully, you will note a time vacuum between 3:30-5:30pm. God knows where they were.

So I could participate in something similar today.... or just keep lying on the couch... hmm.

p.s. damnit, there is still also laundry to hang up and vaccuming to do. *shakes fist in air*

Getting Old

I didn't go drinking much until I moved to London, but adapting to the culture has meant drinking a lot more than I used to. Which I obviously couldn't handle and have never built a real big tolerance to. But always, I was boastful about the fact that I never got hangovers. However poorly I felt the night of a big outing, I would always get it out of my system in the same night (a euphemism, see blog name), or else just be able to sleep it off. The next day, I would wake up a little dehydrated, sometimes even a little bit tired from not sleeping quite so well, but be able to go about my day unscathed, and perform at my normal level at work. I would laugh and laugh at those who were unable to do so.

However, in the last handful of times where I've had a big night, my age has started to show and Mr. Hangover has become a mild acquaintance. He is no longer a stranger whose face I do not recognise, and when I am alerted to his presence by the accompanying headache and queasiness that inexplicably starts, not as soon as you wake up but creeps up on you at 3pm in the afternoon, I acknowledge that I am not ill in the slightest but being reprimanded for the reckless imbibing of the previous evening.

It is another sign I think that the time is right to move back to Canada where I will be having less benders and being politely asked to leave the pub at 12:20am because it closed 20 minutes ago.