One of the more classic (and classy) of the Napa Valley wine tours is the limousine tour: you choose a six- or eight-hour tour.  You schedule a pick-up destination for your party.  And you are chauffeured from the spot in a stretch limousine, taken along the gorgeous hills and into the valleys of the Napa/Sonoma areas while you start with complimentary champagne, visit four or five wineries, and get expert lessons and advice at a “state-of-the-art” winemaking facility.  Then, the limousine takes your party for a catered gourmet picnic lunch, Varity of cakes , also featured at one of the wineries—so you can enjoy the panorama of hills and vineyard colors, smells, and subtle nature sounds.  I discovered by way of Beau Wine Tours that this is one fine way to sample, learn, and fall in love with the area.

One of the more unusual and at the same time more intense versions of Napa Valley wine tours is the blind wine tasting experience.  This is not one wherein sighted folks are blindfolded but wherein visually impaired persons can still have the wine tasting and winery education: legally blind visitors are taken to the vineyard where they physically pick the grapes and get an opportunity to taste them, as well.  Then, the group is offered a “palette testing” session…with jelly beans.  They sniff and taste and try to identify flavors.  The tour includes, of course, a wine-tasting hour; the group is ushered to the wine cave where the people taste a selected wine.

And of the hundreds of Napa Valley wine tours offered, the most unique is the Napa Valley Wine Train tour: your party chooses a dining car—either the restored 1915-1917 Pullman Dining and Lounge car, the “open-air railcar,” or the “glass-topped” 1947 Pullman Vista Dome dining car.  The seats are plush velvet; the sights are pure Northern California.  Even my friends, who were born, raised, and who live here, take the train once or twice a year.  Now that’s Napa Valley Wine tours at the top of the grade.

Recently my sisters and I decided that we would take a trip together.  No parents, no children and no spouses.  We each had ideas of where we should go so we each decided to gather information on a destination and would share what we found.  I have always wanted to go on a New England vacations.  I knew there would be many things to do on New England vacations, but I was over whelmed with the number of attractions.  New England vacations offer such a variety of things to do that it would be difficult to choose which ones to take in.

We had decided that we would look into tour groups so that we would not have to drive in an unknown city.  New England vacations offered many tours ranging from sightseeing on buses to tours of specific regions or specific areas of a city.  New England vacations cover a large territory that is rich in history.  One of my sisters is a real history buff so I new that our New England vacations would have to include time spent at some of the historically sights.  I love special events because I find them a great way to meet and talk to the local people.  New England vacations offer several special events throughout the year.  Several of the special events are centered on the change in seasons.  The beautiful changing of the leaves in the autumn lends itself to several festivals and tours. The spring time offers the cherry blossom tours and the winter months have holiday tours as well as packages that include the winter sports of skiing, skating and sledding.  I also found information on many restaurants, Inns and hotels that seemed like they would be very fun to visit.  New England vacations are also known for their outstanding bed and breakfast accommodations.

I was very excited about the information that I had gathered about New England vacations and could not wait to share it with my sisters.  They agreed that there was an abundance of things to do and as we read through all the information about New England vacations it seemed like it would be a great place to bring our spouses as well.  New England vacations include so many opportunities to see professional sporting events, which would really appeal to my husband as well as my sister’s.  Soon our plans to have a “girls only” vacation turned into a trip for 4 couples, I am sure we will not regret our decision to go together.  I am also sure that this will lead to many more New England vacations because there is no way we will be able to take everything in during one visit.