Crios Malbec

Life is just so much better on a boat. I really don't have much to tell you about what I did this weekend because it really wasn't all that much. And, if there's anywhere made for doing nothing - and not getting bored while doing it - well, then there's no place like a boat.

But, let me backtrack to the beginning of this story, or rather this weekend, when I went against all that is natural to me, all that is inherent in my personality, and decided to - gasp - relax.

Friday evening, I designated a self-proclaimed night in - my first one since I arrived. I was at Whole Foods, stocking up on sustenance for the boat (re: granola bars and apples - we vegetarians have to survive), when my phone rang; it was my friend, Anna, asking if I'd like to accompany her to a small house party her friend was having that evening. (And all you friends and family at home feared I'd be bored here, having come from the big city. Ha.)

In true Libra fashion, I hemmed and hawed and ultimately decided that the prospect of sitting on my very comfortable couch all night strongly outweighed the temptation to "seize every opportunity."

And so, I was already in bed at a reasonable 11pm, after a rousing viewing of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie (with French subtitles - thank you, Nathalie), when my phone rang again. I tell you, my phone never rings this much.

This time it was Kendall, un-inviting me onto the boat (?!). Sort of. You see, it was just going to be guys on Saturday and maybe I'd be a little uncomfortable as the only girl. I should come on Sunday instead, when all the girls would be joining.

What does one do when one gets un-invited to a boat party? Well, I somehow found myself in the middle of gay pride weekend festivities in San Francisco with a group of French expats. Yes, you read that right. I'm still trying to come to grips with the reality of that statement myself.

Despite the absurdity of it all, Nathalie, her friend, Marine, and I had a great dinner at a French restaurant in the city (how odd to refer to SF as "the city"; it will always be New York to me), all the while speaking in French (them more than me, their silent partner who nodded a lot and occasionally said "oui"). Later in the evening, I met up with Christina at her friend Shondene's bachelorette party (her soon-to-be husband's bachelor party was the cause for the boat party) to crash with her at her friend's apartment and make our way to the boat together in the morning.

The boat was docked at Lake Berryessa, a beautiful (man-made) lake about an hour's drive from the town of Napa. Christina and I spent an additional hour and a half driving the entirety of the lake, trying to find exactly where the boat was. If anyone needs directions within Lake Berryessa territory, I am now a qualified expert.

I have to say, though, it was worth it, because those few hours on the boat were by far the best part of the weekend (thanks, in part, to the Crios Malbec I brought along). We didn't do too much, but listen to music, dance, a water sport here or there (yours truly, the athletically disinclined, did not partake), but the hours flew by. Isn't it strange that when you're doing something enjoyable the time seems to go by so much quicker than when you're doing something that isn't?

Take right now, for example. Nathalie and I have been cooking a French-themed feast for bocce tomorrow evening (go refreshment coordinators!) and I, frankly, would rather go to bed than wait for my leek quiche to be done. Yet, a watched pot never boils (or in this case, a watched leek quiche never cooks).

But, it would go faster if I was on a boat.