As if we did not have enough nostalgia in the world, now we’ve been exposed to more, through deprivation. Nothing like something being taken away, making us want it more.
As we now move to a new year of school and gear toward the shorter days of winter, most of us carry a sense of un-fulfillment toward the hot days we leave behind.
Robert Mondavi Winery, Nappa Valley
Summer is traditionally the travelling season when the energizing build-up of expectation and excitement leading to a great vacation lasts as much as the vacation itself. Where after you are back, the thoughts and emotions of recent travels linger pleasantly behind.
Far Niente Winery, Nappa Valley
Whichever camp we’re in, most of us have one thing in common: the loss of a relaxed and long vacation.
My own nostalgia takes me back to California, almost exactly a year ago – to a beautiful and serene place that now I so long to go back to.
To the landing in San Francisco as I got off a disease-free plane. A feeling that we may not fully experience in this generation.
To the magic beach off highway one, that was an accidental find driving from Monterey to San Francisco. The rock as high as a mid-rise condo in Toronto, it’s skin rubbed yellow with California clay.
To the absolute gem of a place that Quixote winery is. Designed by Hundertwasser, a whimsical Austrian architect whose style is organically similar to Gaudi’s, the building is modest and hidden in the land, it’s colours bright and shapes integrated into the landscape. Organic bone-like shapes and intricate surfaces in mosaic tile resonate the Mediterranean style but they have their own language in its own right.
To the exquisite vintage car collection hangar at Far Niente winery and the emblematic archway at Robert Mondavi.
Far Niente Winery, Nappa Valley
Let’s raise a glass to many more lands far away to travel to, learn from, and explore.
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