DAY 19 - Napa Valley & UC Berkley - 19th Dec

I far from being a wine connisuer, I hardly drink the stuff. But in one day at Napa I somehow turned into a wine appreciator who kind knew what she was talking about. Ha, I gotta thank my parents for taking me on that winery tour in the Hunter Valley that year. Anyway, Napa is a part of a very large winery county in Northern California. It is absolutely huge, we only managed to perhaps cover 1/10 of the area that day. It was overcast but the misty created such a beautiful atmosphere. Wine regions are always beautiful no matter what, and Napa is no exception.

The real shitty thing is that tasting costs money. We got some free passes from the tourist centre, but I'm so used to the free for all tasking available at the Hunter Valley. So when I see people pay $25 to taste like 8 wines, I think it's an absolute ripoff. That been said, I had an absolute blast getting tipsy at Aturri's, partly cause I didn't each much breakfast.

After going lobster red, we'd thought we'd picnic at Atturri's with our previously acquired KFC. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and coleslaw to dilute some fine wine. Heaven.

Met a bunch of nice people at St Clement's later in the day. I really feel sorry for my cousins cause they're 19 and drinking age is stupidly 21 in this country so there were thoroughly bored, whilst I was having an absolute ball cracking jokes, getting drunk and pretending I understood wine and the like.

Coming back from Napa, we took a stop at University of California, Berkley, where both my cousins are studying undergrad medicine. Very smart boys most of them. Surprisingly I actually liked the Berkley campus more than Stanford. It doesn't purport to be what it's not, aka some historical institution. Outside of the main campus the town is also very nice and has a real college atmosphere. Taking a squiz at their library made me realise just how inadequate UTS is in the world league of Unis. We're like a primary school compared to the likes of Berkley. However, you have to share rooms like school camp. The dorms are all like 3 to a room. And that would kinda suck. I like my privacy too much.

pics here