Review: Chimney Rock

As we all know by now (I'm assuming that you read all my blogs you know ;)), I ADORE Napa. I was really blessed to have the opportunity to FINALLY visit Chimney Rock in Napa Valley. I have passed by loads of times and I kept thinking, I really want to check that place out. I finally did after years of wondering.

Chimney Rock

I went up with one of my good friends Alyssa, solely for the purpose of stopping by this particular winery. I have to say that the wines were very good, but the tastings were a bit steep at $35 a pop. Don't get me wrong, I love good wine and there are many vineyards and wineries that I wouldn't mind paying $35/tasting, but unfortunately this wasn't one of them. I usually like to pick up bottles from the vineyards I visit, but I had to pass. The only bottle I could see myself enjoying was the red Elevage (Chimney Rock's signature blends) that they had, however at over $100/bottle, I feel like the wine should have knocked my socks off, which it didn't.

Great ambiance, decent wine, but the prices were a bit steep. Next time I'll skip this and go straight to Stag's Leap.

Kicking off Dreamforce 2013!

I am SO excited for this year's Dreamforce, and I can't wait to kick off another great year! Last year was my first Dreamforce, and it was absolutely spectacular. Of course last year I decided to opt for a "Silicon Valley Chic" wardrobe, but this year I have to be a little bit more formal as I will be SPEAKING there! (Can you tell that I am excited?)

SASSY & I!

The ambiance last year was amazing, I especially loved how they transformed Howard Street. I'm looking forward to what they are going to do with it this year as it is taking place so much later (and thus actually cold).

Howard Street

Okay, ONE LAST PLUG, if you have a full pass, and you don't want to "Lean In" with Sheryl Sandberg, you can "Lean Out" with me on Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 and hear me speak on: Marketing Cloud: Your Playbook for a Global (and Local) Social Media Strategy. Here's even a sneak peek of my session: 

First Slide

Just kidding, but seriously, come see me speak. See you there! If you want to connect at the show, tweet me: @alisonjudy

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

Once I arrived home from Europe, I needed to hit the ground running so that I could go to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, one of my favorite San Francisco annual events and music festivals. Unfortunately for me, it felt like it was BLAZING hot (imagine coming from England and mid-50s to California's mid-80s), but it was a ton of fun and I was able to meet up with a few friends who I hadn't seen in weeks.

Hardly Strictly!

This year it was NOT for the faint of heart as it was the only event going on in the city - read: SUPER packed. Putting it into perspective, the year before 250k people attended, this year over 900k! If you didn't want to see things you couldn't ever (and I mean ever) unsee, this is not the event for you. However, as usual there was a great line up! I had a blast and am looking forward to HSB14!

Getting REALLY Cosy

Last Stop: Windsor, England

Train Station in Windsor

During my travels abroad, my last stop was Windsor, England. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to visit (what I perceive to be) the English countryside. It was also great to reconnect with many colleagues and to be able to have dinner with someone else! I ended up staying at the Harte & Garter which was the most charming hotel I stayed at during my time in Europe. It was nicely placed directly next to Windsor Castle, so much so that I could see it from my hotel room!

Fireplace in the Lobby

View with Windows Open

View with Windows Closed

Even though I didn't get to spend a whole lot of time exploring, I was still enthralled to stay in such a lovely place. (It also probably helped that I had already been to Windsor for leisure and not work.)

Random Painted Cow

Laduree

Laduree, YUMMMMM, MACAROONS. Okay, I know, I eat, A LOT. I'm okay with it, so I hope you are too. One of the only things that could get me down to Champs-Elysee during Paris Fashion Week was Laduree, one of the best confectionaries ever. Since Laudree's reputation proceeds itself, I will keep this short and sweet and post mouth watering photos instead.

Massive Line

Tea Room

Heaven

Macaroons

More Macaroons

Yummmmm

Exterior

Macaroon Box 

Rose Water (2) | Mint (1) | Pistachio (1) | Cafe (2) 

These were so worth every last Euro, and were delicious as my dinner. Yes, I ate macaroons for dinner, no, you aren't my mother, you can't comment ;). I was going to get more flying out of Paris, buttt as I didn't want to miss my flight (seriously, I was the last passenger to walk on), I sadly was forced to pass.

Montmarte - It Makes My Favorite Parisian Arrondissement The 18th!

During my stay in Paris, I visited Montmarte, my absolute favorite area in Paris. It draws me in because of it's ability to allow you to feel like you are in a small neighborhood when really you're in one of the biggest cities in the world. Sure, Champs-Elysee is a nice draw, but quite honestly it was Fashion Week when I was there and there was no way in hell I was going to Champs-Elysee if I didn't have to. I started out my visit with a quick lunch at Le Consulat - an establishment that has hosted the likes of Dali, Picasso, etc. Of course, I people watched as well.

People Watching at Le Consulat

Once I had finished lunch (and people watching), I decided to take a stroll and find some street art for my living room at home. I currently have a large yellow wall with nothing on it.. After looking around a bit, I found this wonderful street artist who was selling ink/watercolor paintings. I decided that I had to have three that depicted the Eiffel Tour. Arc de Trionphe and of course Sacre Coeur. I'll post photos after I get them framed.

Sacre Coeur

I walked around Montmarte a little more after that, taking in all the sights and sounds that I loved, then of course, had to part for dinner. It was quite a lovely Saturday all in all, and I can't wait to go back!

Oh Paris, How I Adore You!

A few weeks ago I had the most amazing opportunity to travel to Paris for work (well Frankfurt, Paris and Windsor). This was by far my favorite spot by leaps and bounds, but I'm sure having a weekend off in Paris had something to do with that.

View from the Informatica Paris Office

So my first day in Paris, well really flying into Paris from Frankfurt, I learned that my hard drive was about to crash, lucky me! Obviously that meant that I had to rush off to the nearest electronics store (ie. Apple) to grab an external hard drive as soon as possible. Well the only Apple store I knew of was in the Louvre. Naturally, I had to stop in.

Apple Store in the Louvre

I left the Informatica Paris office a bit early that day to run the errand, but mind you, Parisian taxi drivers are TERRIFYING. Also, I would expect that the taxi driver would know how to get from La Defense to the Louvre....

Taxi Driver Clearly Paying Attention WHILE WE WERE MOVING, NOT

On my way into the Apple store, I was able to take my one obligatory tourist photo in front of the Louvre, then I whisked myself away to take care of some business.

Chanel Sunglasses | SAMMA necklace (old, similar here)

Lilly Pultizer belt (old, similar here) & dress (old, similar here)

After I was done with my errands at the Apple store, I had some spare time to kill before meeting up with a friend from Davis for dinner in Bastille. Since I decided to use the metro I had extra time to spare and decided to walk around Jardin des Tuileries and soak in the gorgeous early evening and start of fall.

Jardin des Tuileries

It was really quite a pleasurable Friday, especially since my week started out with staffing Oracle Open World and a trans-atlantic flight! Stay tuned for my posts on Montmarte and Laduree.

Frankfurt, Germany

So this is a very late post, but as I have been crazy busy with Dreamforce planning, the only thing to slow me down enough to blog has been getting sick - stuck at home sick, but not sick enough to sleep through the day sick ie. the worst kind of sick possible.

A few weeks ago I was blessed enough to be able to travel to Frankfurt, and even though I was only there for a night, I was able to experience a few things. First up, I was a little shocked to find a see-through shower waiting for me in my room, guess it was a good thing I was traveling alone?

Taken from the BED

Interesting Installation at the Informatica Frankfurt Office

Just to note, I had the most fabulous dinner there at Pasta Panini. Amazing food, normal (read: not-American portions), super friendly staff - you really can't ask for more than that! 

Review: Google Shopping Express

So this weekend I am home sick, so clearly, I don't want to leave the house, for anything. However, there were a few necessities that I needed around the house - namely cough drops, tissues, toilet paper and of course the ultimate comfort food - mac & cheese. (I didn't forget soup, I have a ton on my pantry shelves.) Instead of dragging my sick butt down to the store, I decided to try out Google Shopping Express. I put my order in through the portal around 1PM and received my items all perfectly packed around 6PM. (I missed the afternoon delivery time.)

Quick hint: If you sign up now, as an early adopter, they give you six months of free service and $5 towards your first purchase.

Note: This service is only available in SF and the peninsula.

The Goods

How it works:

1. Log into Google Shopping Express portal
2. Search for items you want - no perishable items available for now
3. Various stores will fill your order (stores include: Target, Walgreens, Nob Hill, etc.)
4. Your package(s) will arrive at your door! 

Pros:

1. Quick
2. Easy
3. Don't have to leave your house or work

Cons:

1. Very eco-UNfriendly - each store has a separate delivery person, lots of extra packaging 

Overall: The pros outweigh the cons by far, so I would highly suggest trying Google Shopping Express out if you haven't already. I actually put in another order right before starting to write this blog. Happy shopping!

Lots of Packaging

Actually VERY True