Napa Days 2 & 3

striped sweater, cropped straight leg jeans, cashmere scarf, Napa Valley wine tasting

When: March 6 // Weather: 50s and cloudy // Real life: exploring Napa Valley

striped sweater, cropped straight leg jeans, cashmere scarf, Napa Valley wine tasting

striped sweater, cropped straight leg jeans, cashmere scarf, Napa Valley wine tasting

striped sweater, cropped straight leg jeans, cashmere scarf, Napa Valley wine tasting

striped sweater, cropped straight leg jeans, cashmere scarf, Napa Valley wine tasting

Sweater (on sale) // Jeans // Shoes // similar Scarf // similar Bag

Here’s a key wine tasting tip for you: remember to eat! Otherwise, a classy, adult vacation quickly turns into sophomore year spring break. Don’t worry, I’m not speaking from experience. I planned our meals strategically and even carried protein bars with me just in case. Our second day in wine country started with a hearty breakfast at Oxbow Public Market; if you stay in Napa proper, you’ll want to get familiar with this place because it’s great for grabbing good, quick, reasonably priced food.

I planned out our days so that each one more or less focused on one town in the Valley. Day 2 was St. Helena. Our first winery stop was Del Dotto where we opted to pay for the cave tour and tasting. You get to taste wines right out of the barrel, which was cool even though I’m fully aware it’s just a gimmick. They also served a charcuterie plate and a fresh pizza (remember what I said about food? yeah).

After that, we walked around St. Helena’s downtown area and stopped by Model Bakery, which I’d heard a lot about. I was kind of surprised at how high-end the boutiques were such a quaint little town. But judging by the prices of the real estate I saw advertised, I really shouldn’t be shocked! Luckily, pastries were still in our price range.

After that, we went to Robert Mondavi, which is one of the more well-known wineries in the Napa Valley. They have some in-depth tours, but we opted for single glasses so I really can’t tell you that much about the place. The weather during our week in California was – I’ll just say it – crappy. It was chilly and cloudy/drizzly pretty much the whole time. But crappy weather in California is still better than what they were having back in Indiana (10 degrees or something horrible like that). On the bright side, the “crappy” weather seemed to keep everyone else away, so everywhere we went was practically empty. I think we waited in one line the whole time! Still, the gloom kind of got to me on Tuesday and by the time we got to Robert Mondavi, I just wasn’t feeling it.

I got kind of down on myself when my perfectionist tendencies took over and I was annoyed that I didn’t want to keep exploring and tasting. But luckily, my better half reminded me we were on freaking vacation and we could do whatever we wanted. So we went back to the Airbnb, made guacamole, and watched Crazy Rich Asians.

The next day was much better. We started by driving to Guerneville to the Armstrong Redwoods reserve. If you can find an opportunity to see redwoods in person, I insist that you take it. I’m kind of obsessed with them. They’re incredible.

Then we headed back over the mountains to Calistoga and hit up two wineries: Sterling Vineyards and Castella di Amorosa. The main draw at Sterling was the air tram that takes you over the hill to the tasting area. Oh, and the views (like the one in these photos). And where do I even begin with Castella di Amorosa? It’s absolutely ridiculous. There were actual peacocks. Peacocks.

I saved the best for last. Calistoga is famous for its hot springs and mud baths, so we ended the day at Moon Acre Spa. On Wednesdays they have a happy hour special where you can get 2 short treatments, plus a glass of bubbly, plus hang out in the hot tub, for $85. There are tons of spas in Calistoga, but the retro vibe of this place was so fun and unique. I would definitely go back…like, tomorrow preferably.

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Weekend in San Francisco

Rebecca Minkoff red bag, Madewell cropped straight leg jeans, J.Crew polka dot roll neck sweater, Chucks outfit, San Francisco travel

When: March 3 // Weather: 50s and foggy // Real life: exploring San Francisco

Rebecca Minkoff red bag, Madewell cropped straight leg jeans, J.Crew polka dot roll neck sweater, Chucks outfit, San Francisco travel

Rebecca Minkoff red bag, Madewell cropped straight leg jeans, J.Crew polka dot roll neck sweater, Chucks outfit, San Francisco travel

Rebecca Minkoff red bag, Madewell cropped straight leg jeans, J.Crew polka dot roll neck sweater, Chucks outfit, San Francisco travel

Rebecca Minkoff red bag, Madewell cropped straight leg jeans, J.Crew polka dot roll neck sweater, Chucks outfit, San Francisco travel

Sweater // Jeans (on sale) // Bag (on sale) // Shoes

Those of you paying attention (good for you) already know we spent the first week of March on vacation in Northern California. Now that I’ve had a week to reacclimate to non-vacation lifestyle – which is super lame, by the way – I’m ready to start the recaps!

The main focus of the trip was on wine country, and don’t worry, we’ll get to that soon, you lushes. But we had never been to SF, so it just made sense to fly into SFO and spend the weekend there, cramming in as many sights as we could see, before heading to Napa to kick back and relax. It turned out to be a pretty great plan. After 2 days, I’m certainly no expert on the City by the Bay, but if you’re planning a trip, here was our itinerary, which was pretty awesome if I do say so myself:

Day 1

  • Brunch at Fiorella (generously sized bellinis and Instagrammable wallpaper)
  • Visit to the Walt Disney Family Museum (interesting even if you’re not a huge Disney fan, and definitely a museum, not a Disney attraction)
  • Shopping and sea lion-spotting at Fisherman’s Wharf (tourist trap, but a neat one)
  • Live jazz and cocktails at Mr. Tipple’s (very relaxed, classy but not stuffy atmosphere, good music)

Day 2

  • Breakfast at the Bean Bag Café (quick and casual with lots of yummy breakfast basics – we picked it because it opened early and we were still on Eastern Time!)
  • Spotted the Painted Ladies (if you’re confused, that’s the row of different colored Victorian houses including the “Full House” house)
  • Saw the Golden Gate Bridge up close (we went to the Visitor’s Center for good lookout points with informative signs and exhibits)
  • Tour of the Castro neighborhood (there’s a free one offered by SF City Guides, which does lots of other tours as well)
  • Lunch in the Castro at Fable (the red quinoa brunch bowl was deeeeelish)
  • Cable car ride (underwhelming but it’s part of the experience, right?)
  • Visit to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (reminded me of the Whitney in NYC – lots to see and would definitely recommend if you enjoy modern art)
  • Shopping at Westfield Centre (a mall with spiral escalators and a really cool dome)
  • Dinner at Tropisueno (really cool, sorta upscale Mexican place with an insane margarita menu)
  • Visit to the Museum of Ice Cream (incredibly ridiculous and incredibly fun, especially when you’ve just had a margarita or 2 at Tropisueno)

There’s plenty more to do, and I’ll definitely be back to do it one of these days! But I’m quite pleased with my intro to San Fran. If you’re planning a first-time visit and have any questions, please leave a comment and I’ll be happy to answer.