Hosting Jarka; Day Two: Walnut Creek; Frankie Valli at Wente

We planned the second day of Jarka's visit around our evening at the Wente Vineyards in Livermore. Frankie Valli, yes the real Frankie Valli, & The Four Seasons were performing as part of Wente's summer outdoor concert series.

Before heading to Livermore, I showed Jarka around Walnut Creek. We did a bit of shopping at Nordstrom



and at La Lavande, a lovely gift store which is only in Walnut Creek and which features unique gifts, and French soaps.



Wente does not allow any photography of its grounds on concert nights, so the best I could do were a few pictures of some grapevines on the property near the parking lot.




Concert goers can choose to dine in Wente's restaurant, which is open year 'round, at a special buffet that is set up for the concert, or, more casually, by purchasing sandwiches and salads at The Grill. The seating location and price of tickets relate to your dining choice. We opted for the buffet and were seated at round tables of 8. The buffet included salads, appetizers, vegetables, three entrées, desserts, coffee and tea. Wine, served at the table by a server, is optional. Our meal was excellent.

Before dinner, we visited the wine tasting room where Jarka tasted a flight of Wente's premium red wines.

The concert started at 8 p.m. and was wonderful. Frankie Valli looks amazing for his 75 years and his voice remains excellent. The current Four Seasons are a significantly younger group of four, who, while they never saw their original counterparts, totally capture the spirit.