Well, I never thought I'd say it, but Disneyland is a magical place... for even I, a Disney scrooge, reluctantly left the park smiling broadly. I'd spent the first two days of my conference (American Library Association) begrudging that Anaheim was selected as the location. I bought a ticket for an event not realizing that I was actually buying a voucher to be exchanged for a ticket to the Disneyland theme park. I tried to get my money back and they refused, so I decided not to waste the dough and just go... I wandered around the park for three hours marveling at all the amazing attractions, light shows, landscaping, architecture, sensurround sound, and the thousands of people (and no drunks). I was all by myself having a blast and an unforgettable evening. I really liked the park, but all the commercialism surrounding it is pretty annoying--my hotel is right in the resort and it's difficult to escape. Also, it took a couple days of getting used to seeing "Micky everywhere." If not his entire image, the "three adjoining circles" appear in the most unlikely places such as on the top of lamp posts and metal stanchions, in the wallpaper (photo above), carpet patterns, topiary (although my photo shows Donald), and even his gloved hand graces the decor--they are holding the sconces to the wall in our bathroom. I have to admit though, I prefer the Disney architecture to the barren landscape of this desert that is So Cal. I'm looking forward to returning to the lush land of the Middle Coast!
In the meantime, I was extremely happy to find a very nice wine bar a few paces away from my temporary resident, the Dreams Tower. The hotel campus has a ships and pirates theme, and the wine cellar is below a little place they call Hooks Point next to the Neverland Pool. I was able to fully enjoy a Pinot Noir wine flight consisting of Acacia, Edna Valley, and another not so memorable. The Edna was my favorite, with a nice blend of fruit and earth, with a touch of vanilla. The Acacia was by far the earthiest, but also good. I was able to work in one memorable dining experience at a high end restaurant called the Napa Rose inside the Grand California Hotel (uber lodge extraordinaire--larger than life). The restaurant, thankfully, was more tastefully designed and sized at a more human scale. The food was awesome--had a wonderful grilled salmon with a medly of wild mushrooms in foam, which I successfully paired with a delicious Jade Mountain Mouvedre.
Prior to this trip, I had the pleasure of attending a wine tasting at a great little wine bar in my neighborhood called Perpendicular. The distributor was showing a collection of wines by Brassfield Estates from Lake County, CA and a new appellation called High Valley. The whites were 2006 and included Sauvignon Blanc, Dry Riesling, and Serenity, the latter an unusual blend of 63% Sauvignon Blanc, 28% Pinot Grigio, 6% Gewurztraminer, 3% Semillon. It was my favorite of the whites, with a complex, fruity structure, medium bodied, and nicely balanced with just enough acidity. The reds were 2004 and included Merlot and Zinfandel. The merlot was the best, which was extremely smooth and rich. I agree with their notes which use descriptives like black cherry, cocoa and cinnamon. I don't usually like Merlot, so this was a pleasant surprise. More information about these wines is available at http://www.brassfieldestate.com/wines/.
I found them to be good value wines with prices ranging from $13 - $17.
Time to don my library cap again and get ready for the Newbery-Caldecott Awards Banquet.
Cheers!
6 comments:
What a trip! I have only been to D-land once myself, just like you, for a short day. It is a bit unreal. Don't you remember that back in our Borrower Services days, Jon and Dave used to go every year?
As you can tell--this is my first time, and until I went into the park proper, I swore I would never return, but I could be persuaded to come back under the right circumstances. Walaka, you have to know that I've been thinking about Jon and Dave almost constantly since I arrived--I'm surprised they haven't been in my dreams...
Disneyland may not be the world's leading purveyor of fine wine, but, hey, it's nice to know you can get a decent glass.
From Ariz (for family funeral),
Cheers,
Ronald
I guess you missed the part of the park where the seven dwarves are forced to pick grapes 7 days a week just so you could enjoy that glass of wine...ooh, don't be fooled by the "Mouse-man", there is a dark side to D-land!
Vic
Thank goodness I didn't run into any of the seven dwarves, but it was fun to see Roger Rabbit's pad in Toon Town! To Riceman--if you see this and want to forward my post to Jon and Dave, please do--I'd love to hear from them.
Who knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium?
Help, please. All recommend this program to effectively advertise on the Internet, this is the best program!
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