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smilee
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Not 3tc California Girls or those who have been... help! (SAIFW)
smilee
member
in Infertility
We are planning a trip to CA for as soon as school lets out.
I am thinking we will do 3 days in SanFran... any suggestions on where to stay? ?I actually have been before, but still looking for input.
?
Here is the big question:
Would you choose Sonoma or Napa Valley for the other 3 days of the trip?
How far are they from one another? ?If we stay in one, could we drive to the other for the day?
Thanks!!!!!?
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Re: Not 3tc California Girls or those who have been... help! (SAIFW)
Sonoma and Napa are very close to each other, but we stayed at The Meritage Resort in Napa and LOVED it. SO beautiful!!
One thing I would recc. in Napa is doing the Wine Train...worth every penny!!!
DD #1 {04-19-2004}
Secondary IF: Severe MFI (low testosterone, low count, low morph, & very low motility) & Annovulation
After 22 months IUI # 3 Clomid + Follistim = BFP
DD #2 {12-31-2009}
2 more years of failed IF treatments and a failed adoption TTC #3
TTC Journey Over~ Not By Choice
I'm not a Cal Girl but we did our honeymoon in San Fran and Sonoma. It was the best trip of our lives!!! We always stay at The W when we are in San Fran, it's very modern and fun. We then speant four days in Sonoma, stayed at Andrea's Hidden Cottage. I preferred Sonoma because it was a little more low key to "wine tasting newbies" like we were and I really enjoy the small mom/pop type places. Our first day in Sonoma we did a private wine tour with Soussan Taleghani, she was awesome and we learned so much! She also took us to Russian River Valley where we got to taste olive oil. The tour was a little spendy but well worth the money, a full day and VIP status at all the vineyards. We did spend a day over in Napa and had a wonderful time there as well.
www.soussanswinetours.com
Can't wait to hear about your trip!!!
Sonoma Sonoma Sonoma Sonoma!!! DH and I got married in Healdsburg
I feel like Sonoma is a bit more laid back whereas Napa is pretty fussy. It takes about an hour or more (if I recall) to get from one to the other so it makes more sense to spend a full day in one, then another day in the other. Yep, you could stay in one place then travel - very doable.
I recommend a few places to stay in the area (remembering back to wedding planning!)
https://www.hotelhealdsburg.com/ (just gorgeous and right in the heart of healdsburg)
https://www.duchamphotel.com/ (where DH and I stayed... awesome!!!)
and https://vintnersinn.com/ Off the highway so not as quaint in terms of location, but very very nice. My parents stayed here.
I'm so jealous! We lived in SF for 5 years and went to wine country several times a year. It's just beautiful. Feel free to PM or email me if you have questions. It's been a while but not too much has changed. There are several wonderful, less well known wineries that you should not miss... Porter Creek, Quivira, Matanzas Creek, Rochioli, Gundlach-Bunschu... SO JEALOUS!!
I am a runner, knitter, scientist, DE-IVF veteran, and stage III colon cancer survivor.
Napa and Sonoma are near enough each other to stay in one or the other, but spend time in both areas.
I don't really have hotel recs because I only live about 45 minutes away and we mostly do day trips (a lot of trips because my husband is in the wine business and we're big ol' winos!). Let me know what kind of wine you're into and I can rec which wineries you might like best!
I've heard good and bad things about the Wine Train, so we haven't wanted to spend the money on it. I think it's something that people either love or hate.
As for SF, I live pretty near there, too so I still don't have hotel recs. I hardly ever go over there, which is sad, but I know my friends on the local NorCal board would have TONS of places to tell you about!
In San Fran try to stay around the fisherman's wharf area.
Napa and Sonoma are very close and you can definetely visit both. I would reccomend staying in Napa though, just because it is bigger and you have more options.
While in SF, I strongly suggest having a drink at the Tonga Room ( my favorite!) https://www.fairmont.com/sanfrancisco/GuestServices/Restaurants/TheTongaRoomHurricaneBar.htm
Page me if you want any more tips as far as nightlife and wineries
Have fun!
You MUST visit all of these, they are great! Also check out Imagery Estate Winery, great art and wine.
I think I
you. We would have good times together!
I didn't mention places in Healdsburg because people never seem to know what I'm talking about! I love wineries there more than anything in Napa.
Porter Creek is one of my favorites. Best viognier EVER. It's in my blog (link in siggy). We also love Moshin Vineyards, which is right up the road from Porter Creek. Rochioli is also awesome, as is Matanzas Creek (hello! worth it just to see the lavendar gardens!). Gunlach Bundschu was beautiful and has awesome caves, but I don't remember being crazy about any of the wines there. I could go on about Healdsburg and the Russian River area for DAYS...
GO THERE, Smilee!
I even volunteer to be your tour guide if you want. DH has connections. 
Girls..... THANK YOU!!!!!! ?I hope those of you who offered ?don't mind it I bug you with questions.
?I am so excited for this trip!!!!!!!!?
I love Healdsburg (in Sonoma county). So much less crowded than Napa.
You will have so much fun!
After 2 rounds of IVF & 2 rounds of FET, we were blessed with identical twin girls!
Jamers - one day I'm coming to visit
DH and I waited three years to get on the shipment list for the Rochioli vineyard designates. INcredible, those wines. Gundlach is just worth a trip since it's one of the oldest, I think. The wine was tasty, but you're right - it's not Porter Creek or Rochioli. I heart the RRV 
I also almost forgot about Wellington - that's another one off the beaten path that we liked. Hey - have you checked out Amphora? Totally off the grid but wonderful. The winemaker is a total character... I got drunk at a barrel tasting a few days before the wedding. Those were the days!
I am a runner, knitter, scientist, DE-IVF veteran, and stage III colon cancer survivor.
epphd - we DID recently discover Amphora. My husband is usually off work on Mondays and Tuesdays so we visit when it's not as crowded and actually have time to talk to the winemakers and other people working the tasting rooms. It's so educational and interesting. I *think* we met the winemaker at Amphora when we were there in December, if we're thinking of the same guy, then yes - quite a character!
We were impressed with all their wines. We got to taste a lot because we were the only people in the tasting room. I think they had us taste EVERYTHING, which was probably close to 20 wines!
DH also liked Papapietro Perry, which is up that same hill where Amphora is located. He likes big, heavy zins, and they make some of those. I think they're also pretty expensive, though.
We were up there again for Winter Wineland in January, but that's a super busy event so no chit chatting with winemakers then.
Sonoma. Apparently it's a tad less touristy.
Have fun!