H returned safely from her trip through the Sierras, and we decided to have a relaxing weekend off in Napa Valley. Since her trip was physically demanding, I had made arrangement for spa treatment as well.
We drove to Calistoga on Friday evening and spent the night at the Lodge at Calistoga. The hotel offered free breakfast, which included freshly made waffles. It was a good start to the morning.
Unfortunately, our day was interrupted by a flat tire, which we discovered when we left the hotel to start travelling. We had to wait for AAA to come change into our spare tire and drove the car down to Napa for replacement tires.
Since we were already in Napa, we decided to have lunch in downtown. We happened upon on Caffe Cicero and enjoyed a steak sandwich and pesto chicken sandwich.
After lunch, we drove back up towards Calistoga as I had made spa appointment in the afternoon. We stopped by Franciscan and Heitz for wine tasting. Heitz was a great stop because they made a finest wine in the Napa area and tasting was free!
We arrived at Lavender Hill Spa right on time for our appointment. Located just off Highway 29, Lavender Hill looked like a old Victorian house at the side of the road. But it was charming and the garden was beautiful.
Both H and I chose Volcanic Mud bath for our bath. The mud is one time used only and it was not very thick. Lavender Hill had couples facing each other during spa treatment, though we did not try to talk over the flowing water and our eyes were covered by cold cucumber slices. Classical music played softly in the background while we soaked and the atmosphere was serene.
After the bath treatment, we were wrapped in towel and given a foot massage. Then we were ushered to separate massage rooms for our massage treatment. The massage rooms were closer to the road, so there was some vehicle noise, affecting the atmosphere. But the massage itself was relaxing and I came out of the treatment refreshed.
Dinner was at Ubuntu, a chic restaurant and yoga studio in downtown Napa, which had been getting rave reviews for its vegetarian cuisine. We ordered the asparagus salad, baby beets and avocado and cauliflower in a cast iron pot. The asparagus were lightly boiled and all the woody portion shaved off. It was served with a lemon dressing. The baby beets and avocado salad included diced red and yellow beets served with bitter greens. The best dish of the night was the cauliflower in cast iron pot. The cauliflower was soft and sweet and surrounded by a fluffy, creamy sauce. I liked this dish a lot.
Dessert was a bowl of frosted feuilletine, served with vanilla ice cream and warm coconut milk. The dessert was made to look like a bowl of breakfast cereal, and the warm milk and ice cream made for a interesting contrast in temperature. I enjoy this dessert very much too.
Overall, the dishes were carefully prepared and the taste delicate. The cold salad rely too much on the ingredients. Also, portion sizes were small.
After dinner, we drove around downtown Napa a little and headed back to Calistoga for the night.
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