Wed.., March 9th in MARLBOROUGH COUNTRY!

For us Napa Valley wine drinkers .... WHAT A THRILL TO BE IN THIS WINE COUNTRY!  And what a super fun day we had with The Bubbly Grape Wine Tours!  No driving for us ...

Love their motto!

We visited eight wineries and had just TOO MUCH DELICIOUS FUN.  Pics work better than words ...

This is Jonathan .... our driver and host.  What a super fun and great guy!

We took the back row of the bus ... the bad boy seats.

First stop .... Cloudy Bay.  And pouring champagne first?  HELLO!



My man ... the BEST bartender

Ahhh right .... the Love Birds

OK .... do we look relaxed and happy??

Second stop ... Nautilus.

I don't know where the guys went in this tasting area, but Carrie and I did NOT taste gin. 

Whitehaven was a sleeper and surprise.  We loved their wines. 

OMGOSH!  They served only two bubbles and they were FABULOUS!
Number One Family Estate and OF COURSE Carrie and I loved their bubbles.
In our van we had us 4 Bloody Yanks, 2 English, and 4 from Latvia. 
All were really nice people. 

 

Mr. Artsy Fartsy



LOO WITH A VIEW!
OK ... .so we've had a few and we had to pee.
BUT LOOK WHERE WE ARE!!!  

Loved the story of this winery ... two young people with a vision and LIVING THE DREAM!
Bladen Winery ... the name is a combination of their 2 kids names.   

Pinch me .... WE ARE REALLY IN NEW ZEALAND!



Oh yeah ... can you tell that the afternoon is wearing on?

Villa Maria .... EXCELLENT wine.

 

I felt very comfortable here ...

Oh yeah ... the wine is kicking in by now.  What ... DO I WORK HERE???

A breathalyzer??  Another tick on my bucket list; THANK GOD I have never had a police officer make me do this. 
I blew a .98
But I don't feel so bad .... Carrie was a 1.2!
Remember that you can be arrested in Arizona for driving while intoxicated if you blow a .08
 

But all is well that ends well.  We came back to our "home in Blenheim" and Tony made a delicious lamb and steak dinner on the BBQ with salad and corn.  Now they are out for a walk with our hosts while I post this blog at a REASONABLE HOUR so I can get some sleep tonight.  If I can finish this and be asleep by 10 PM, I'll be SO HAPPY.

We drop our 2nd car and take the ferry to the NORTH ISLAND tomorrow.  Time and life and this trip moves on .... I AM STAYING IN THE MOMENT.