Independence Day 2011
Malibu, CA
Perfect Beach Weather
A couple of weekends ago, my BFF Sandra invited me to visit her to attend the annual Bohemian Club picnic which her boyfriend is a member of. I jumped at the opportunity as I heard a lot about this exclusive private men's club so wanted to see what it is about. It is only during the annual picnic that woman are allowed. No phones or cameras. If one gets caught using the phone or camera, you get banished from the club for a year. Well, it was a blast. All the members are either prominent businessmen, artists or from acadamia. I enjoyed a fabulous magic show, a fascinating lecture on use of DNA in forensics from a Stanford Professor, great music and a wonderful music show. The food and conversations with the members were stimulating. Had a great, great time.
The next day we decided to go the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art as they had a special exhibition called "The Steins Collect". Basically it is a collection of art the Gertrude Stein and her brothers has amassed. I learned several things while enjoying the collection. First, the Steins are from San Francisco. I had no idea! The father was in the streetcar business. And although I know of Gertrude Stein as an author, I didn't realize she was amongst the first to recognize avant-garde artists like Matisse and Picasso. Together with her brothers, they have amassed a significant collection of paintings. It was a fascinating experience. Unfortunately, photos were not allowed as it was a special exhibition but took the photo below before I got into trouble with the security guard. You can see some of the important paintings that are on display including Picasso's portrait of Gertrude Stein here.
The only photo I was able to take of the Stein collection. I believe this is an early Cezanne work but not sure
Since we were at the MOMA and the weather was beautiful we decided to take a quick tour of the museum. It was very spacious and small enough to enjoy in 1/2 day,
Modern Art at SF MOMA
Next on our itinerary was to go to Livermore for some wine tasting. But first we had delicious pizza and salad at Marzano in Oakland so that the wine won't go directly to our heads!
Since our time was limited ( I was flying to NYC) we visited 3 wineries. The first winery was Murrieta's Well. We tried some of their Merlot from the library collection and some interesting Touriga and Tempranillo. Touriga is a grape from Portugal and I found it to be hearty and a very unique tasting wine.
Our next stop was Wente where we tasted some fine wine. Our favorite was the small lot Counoise which is a blend of grapes from Rhone and the Small Lot GSM which is a special blend made only at Wente. I loved Wente wines.
Wine tasting at Wente is alot of fun. The short man with his back facing the camera was the best! He patiently explained all the different wines to us
We also went to Tamas Winery which is next door and owned by the same folks. After Wente wines, we did not enjoy the wines from Tamas as much. However, we found an interesting cream for sell below. Basically, it removes the red wine stain from your lips and teeth! Pretty cool.
Sandra than dropped me off at the Bart station where I went straight to the airport to catch my flight to NYC. Another great weekend with my BFF Sandra. She is coming down to my neck of the woods the end of July so stay tuned for some more of our adventures.
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