Travel

Wandering around Sonoma

 in General Fashion / Travel  tagged outfits / sonoma / staycation / winter 2024 by

wearing: sweater / statement earrings / black handbag / nail polish / straight leg jeans (old, also love this pair) / black belt /rose and white sneakers /

If you are heading up to wine country and are looking for a beautiful place to grab coffee and learn a little bit about California history, then Downtown Sonoma is the place to go!

There is a fabulous cafe where you can grab coffee and a small breakfast when you first arrive. Basque Boulangerie Cafe has delicious coffee and an overall good vibe. We enjoyed grabbing to-go coffee’s and wandering around downtown.

Sonoma has a mission built in 1823 which you can visit; but double check hours if you would like to go inside.

In addition to a mission, Sonoma State Park includes the Sonoma Barracks, Blue Wing Inn, La Casa Grande, and Toscano Hotel. These sites can be seen downtown, very close to each other by the square. This is the site where California declared its independence from Mexico and captured General Vallejo.

After soaking in California history, I highly recommend indulging in local chocolate! The Chocolate Cow offers locally made chocolate which is to-die-for! I enjoyed a S’Mores, and it was amazing!!

Of course, after eating chocolate you will want to burn it off! haha. You can take a nice walk over to the Hacienda of General Vallejo; one building on site is pictured below. There you will find hiking trails and a serene location to spend some time, or your day. If you aren’t up for walking, there is a parking lot.

We didn’t end up eating lunch downtown, but there are several places to eat; hopefully next time I can find a place and recommend it to you! In the meantime, eat chocolate. haha

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Cathy

Places to eat in Santa Rosa

 in Travel  tagged lifestyle / restaurants / santa rosa / staycation by

pictured: pasta from 19ten Bar & Provisions /

Santa Rosa is a quick drive north on highway 101 from the city. There are a lot of fun activities to do in the area for either a day trip, or a weekend staycation. While visiting Santa Rosa in late December, we ate at several restaurants, some we loved, and a couple which were “meh.” So, I decided to curate all my favorite places to eat in Santa Rosa right here in one convenient post! This way, when you head up to Santa Rosa for a day trip or staycation, you will know exactly where to eat! Yum!

pictured: Santa Rosa Omlette from Americana

  • 19ten Bar & Provisions
    • 115 4th St., Santa Rosa
    • Favorites: Miso Cilantro Fettucine, 19ten Burger, Spiced Apple & Brie
  • Jackson’s Bar and Oven
    • 135 4th St., Santa Rosa
    • Favorites: all the pizzas, Mac & Cheese, Truffle Fries, and the burger.
  • A’Roma Roasters Coffee and Tea
    • 5th St., Santa Rosa (near the train station)
    • Favorites: Salted Caramel Latte, all the coffee is good tho!
  • Americana
    • 205 5th St, Santa Rosa
    • Favorites: Santa Rosa Omlette, Chicken Fried Chicken, Breakfast Sandwich
    • They also serve lunch, but we didn’t taste it. I am sure it is good! They use all local ingredients, love that!

When you walk around downtown, see how many Peanuts characters you can spot! It’s fun!

Do you have any favorite places to eat in Santa Rosa?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Cathy

pictured below: Spiced Apple & Brie from 19ten Bar & Provisions

Olive oil tasting in Sonoma

 in Travel  tagged lifestyle / sonoma / staycation by

Did you know you can go Olive Oil tasting right here in the Bay Area? Well, you can! Love that!

People tend to equate our wine country with, well, wine! Of course, it is a world-class wine country, so there is nothing wrong with assuming it is all about wine, I mean, it kinda is! haha

Well, thankfully there is a fun activity you can do if you don’t drink, or if you want your kids to enjoy everything the Sonoma area has to offer. You can go olive oil tasting! Love!

First off, I love olive oil. I was taught at a young age to cook with olive oil, not cooking oils. When I fry food, I use olive oil, not cooking oil. Olive oil is also used in salads, foods, and more. I tend to have a light oil for cooking, and heavier one for recipes, dipping, and more. Olive oil is an integral part of the Mediterranean diet, plus it is yummy!

While there are several options for olive oil tasting in the Sonoma area, I chose to take my family to Jacuzzi Family Vineyards, home of the The Olive Press. This is one of my favorite local olive oils, so going olive oil tasting there seemed like the perfect option.

We booked our tasting ahead of time, which is the perfect way to enjoy olive oil tasting. Jacuzzi set up a special room for us where we had a private tasting and were able to ask questions and learn about both the winery and olive oil. It was so much fun!

We tasted five olive oils during our tasting. In addition, we were able to taste olive oils with vinegar from The Olive Press. It was really fun, and a great way to discover olive oil flavors I hadn’t considered before.

Our favorite olive oils were the Arbequina, Italian Blend, Blood Orange, and Basil. We really enjoyed the tasting and visiting the property.

You can day trip to Sonoma or stay locally. I recommend making an olive oil tasting online at TheOlivePress.com. They don’t serve food at the tasting, so you can always visit downtown Sonoma for a fabulous meal.

While this is a fun activity for the family, be sure your kids will actually taste olive oil from a shot glass. If your kids are too young, I would recommend waiting until they are older. For my high school and college aged kids, this was a great activity.

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Cathy