Travel
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Napa Valley/San Francisco
Trying to plan a 30th bday trip for myself and the hubby. Friend told me last night that napa valley was beautiful and that we must go. Wanted to know if any of you ladies been there, your reviews and must go spots.. I think i want to try something different and stay at a Bed & Breakfast for a couple days in san fran and than drive out to napa valley. Still don't know. In planning stages. Thanks!
Re: Napa Valley/San Francisco
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.
Mark Twain
My Travel Blog
San Fran is cool. if you are looking for a Palm Tree type California vacation....this is not the place. This is northern Calif!
that being said, we did a San Fran/Napa trip last year, we hit Mumm's, Rutherford Hill, Peju and Cakebread winieries (we only did one day in Napa but could have stayed longer!)
We went in May to see friends and do the Bay to Breakers race so we didn't have a typcial tourist experience.
Napa weather is unpredictable but should be nice if you go then, especially if you go in September. We went in October for DH's 30th (2010) and it poured in late October; we went again this past December (2011) and DH was swimming in the pool before dinner. The weather we had in October '10 was uncharacteristic for the place, but you won't generally find it to be 85-90ish unless you go in the middle of summer.
That being said, Napa is gorgeous in the fall and that's when the crush happens so it's a really fun time to visit. I personally think Napa is a great destination any time of year (even when it rained, we still had fun - though we were coming from SF on a party bus with 20 people so that helps).
If you decide to go, there are literally hundreds of wineries in that region. You could spend a week going to different wineries in Napa / Yountville / Calistoga / Sonoma and not even come close to seeing them all. Peju is a great one; I also like Gloria Ferrer if you venture over to Sonoma for a day.
You can also eat your way through wine country - my favorite restaurant in Yountville is obviously French Laundry, but if shelling out hundreds of dollars a person isn't your type of thing (or if you can't get a reservation because it is close to impossible), there are a ton of more affordable options nearby - Bottega, Ad Hoc, Bouchon, etc. You can also try the Resort at Meadowood if you want another 3-star Michelin option (French Laundry being the first).
If you decide to plan a trip feel free to PM me with questions as I go up to Napa quite often from SF.
We went towards the end of Sept this past year for our 30th bdays/anniversary. We did 2 nights in SF and 2 nights in Sonoma. The temps were much warmer in Sonoma, I was in jeans sandals and a short sleeved top for Sonoma. SF during the day was like maybe 70 but at night was chilly so bring something to throw on.
We used Beau wine tours to set up a wine tour in the russian river valley ( they will go wherever you are interested in- or set things up an itinerary if you don't know where to start) I found them through trip advisor and they were awesome. We did 5 wineries and had a picnic lunch at one half way through the day. We also went to Napa for dinner twice which was phenomenal. I wish we could have spent more time bc we had some amazing food and wine in both SF & Sonoma/Napa
Sept and Oct in Napa can get really warm- like high 80's
Napa and San Fran are in Northern Cali and so the weather is a little bit different than SoCal. That's around the time we get Indian summer so it will actually be warmer than that, although SF will be a little bit cooler than Napa.
If you go to Napa and stay there for a few days I highly recommend the Inn on First. It's really really romantic and overall wonderful.
Casa Nuestra - The wine is ok, but it's a really cool vineyard. They waive tasting fees if you buy a bottle, very private, tastings are outside. There's goats and the scenery is gorgeous. Eco friendly too.
Trefethen - Probably my favorite wine ever. I joined the wine club I like it so much. I literally like everything they have. Whites, desserts, and reds. And I'm not a red person but theirs are some of my favorites.
Duckhorn - EXPENSIVE, but amazing wines and the tasting area is in a big old house. Also good views.
Artesa - Great views outside and really good wine. Also a couple cool fountains and sculptures. The prices range from reasonable up to unreasonable. Haha. There is an art gallery downtown that if you go there they have 2 for 1 tasting cards.
Flora Springs - I like their Cab the best and have actually gotten it every time I've visited sort of by mistake (I never remember until I go home and see I already have one). It's also probably the most reasonably priced red. It's a cool space andabout 2 blocks from downtown St. Helena, but doesn't have the same views/vibe as the others as it's very modern.
Cuvaison - French style wines. The best Chardonnay EVER. My friend actually got 2 she liked them so much. The guy who did the tasting with us was super friendly and we all left extremely drunk.
Mumm - if you like champagne this places has like 20 different kinds to taste, a big outdoor seating area with amazing views, and an art barn.
If you're looking for a place with a good tour go to Beringers or the Castle (Castello di Amorosa). Both tours are really informative but have totally different feels/info.
There's some good wine tasting rooms in downtown Napa. We especially like the Wines of Napa Valley. Very informal, but they have tons of of different wines and the guy there gave us sooooo much stuff for our money.
Restaurants:
In St. Helena - Cook (more expensive, American + Continental Comfort food) & Cindy's Backstreet Cafe (savory deliciousness, reasonably priced). Also, if you go to St. Helena I'd visit Olivier and St. Helena Olive Oil Company. They are both on the main drag and right next to each other. Tons of free tasting stuff and all the sauces/vinegars/etc. are AWESOME.
In Yountville - Bouchon Bakery (get food, eat outside, usually a line, but their sandwiches and baked goods are amazing and it's the only reasonably priced place to get food in Yountville)
In Napa - Azzuro Pizza (REALLY good Italian style pizza), Carpe Diem (a winebar with good food), Celadon (expensive, but awesome local/seasonal food. California meets Asian meets French. Probably my favorite restaurant in all of California). There's also a good cupcake place called Sift.
Tea Time for Lulu
Just be aware that the bakery for Bouchon burned down a few months ago. They're working on rebuilding it, but right now their selection of baked good items is really limited compared to what they usually have.