California Dreaming

I had the opportunity to travel to California twice for work over the past few years and I took some personal time to explore. Both times I stayed in the heart of San Francisco and on the second trip I was able to make it out to Sonoma Valley with some friends to explore wine country. I'm dreaming of the day I can make it back to see other parts of California because San Francisco and Sonoma stole my heart for the entire beautiful state. Just look at that majestic view of the Golden Gate bridge I was able to capture on a clear day. It's typically quite foggy around the bridge.

Here's a glimpse at some of the scenery I witnessed while touring California.

San Francisco

Sonoma, CA

This recap makes me want to plan a trip asap back to California to explore more of the beautiful US west coast.

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San Francisco Recap

I didn't have much time on this trip for touring the city instead I used my one free day to visit Sonoma Wine Country with some friends which I posted about last week.

I flew out there on Saturday and enjoyed the views of California from the plane. 

I checked into my hotel and went exploring the downtown financial district which has lots of good shopping. 

Later at night I checked out the Waterbar restaurant which had a beautiful view of the Bay Bridge. (Grainy iPhone photo)

On Sunday we drove by the marina before heading over the Golden Gate bridge to Sonoma for some wine tasting and lunch. 

On the way back from Sonoma we stopped off at a lookout spot for some beautiful views of the Golden Gate Bridge. 

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were stacked full of work at the conference followed by a quick dinner and then off to bed. 

The last place I want to mention is Bask Tapas restaurant. The same friends that I went to Sonoma with suggested we have dinner there on my last night.  We shared several small plates including the meatballs, duck foie gras, mushrooms, croquettes, tiger prawns, and a tomato & cheese plate.

That was the extent of site-seeing on this trip. I went to the same conference last year and had a free afternoon to explore the city on a double decker bus where I was able to cover a lot more ground. Here's my San Francisco recap from last year.

Such a beautiful city!

Sonoma Wine Country

On Sunday I drove out to Sonoma from San Francisco with some friends who live in the city. What we didn't know is that most of the wineries require reservations ahead of time so we weren't able to get into the first one we stopped at. They recommended we go to Cline Cellars Vineyard which is open to the public and we weren't disappointed. It was beautiful there and every wine we tried was amazing! They also don't charge for wine tastings like most of the others do. 

We had a wine and cheese picnic is the garden and enjoyed the sunny yet cool weather.

After our picnic we headed into downtown Sonoma which is cute and quaint. We walked around the farmer's market and checked out a few shops finally settling at The Girl and The Fig for a drink and some appetizers. Once again, amazing food and drinks here! 

So glad I got to cross Sonoma off my bucket list. Wine country is truly breathtaking!

Touring San Francisco

I have to say San Fran is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever visited and I was lucky enough to be there during a sunny (and non foggy) week. The first day I arrived, I took a taxi over to the Fisherman's Wharf and explored Pier 39, which also has a beautiful view of Alcatraz Island.

I then hopped on a double-decker bus tour and went site-seeing through the city ending at Union Square, which is where my hotel was.

Day 2: After a full day at my work conference, I hopped back on the same city bus tour to finish the rest of the tour.

We saw the Japanese Tea Garden, all the beautiful parks and historical buildings, Chinatown, and the most magnificent Golden Gate Bridge. 

I loved everything about this city and was so happy to get the opportunity to visit even though I was working most of the time.

Have you ever been to San Francisco?