Our wedding is officially 2 and a half months away now. Exactly 80 days. Partly I can’t believe how close it is, and partly I just want it to get here faster! This past week, my two best friends and I went on the best girls trip ever to California for my bachelorette trip. We flew in to San Francisco, so we got to spend a couple of days there on our travel days, and the rest of the time was spent about an hour and a half north in Napa Valley! We seriously did it all…wineries, exploring the city, hiking, mountains, the ocean…So I’ll just walk you through day by day and give you our basic itinerary. Just a warning, this post will be overloaded with pictures because there are just too many good ones to choose from!! Also, I say “cool” a lot. Someone count and tell me how many times I use that word.
Wednesday, July 10th: We had to get up at 3:45 in the morning to head to the airport. I got less than 2 hours of sleep and only had one cup of coffee the entire day, plus California is 2 hours earlier than Missouri so it was a long day! But seriously so fun. Our flight went smoothly, and I always do whatever it takes to get a direct flight if I can. We landed in San Francisco at 8:00 in the morning Pacific time. Got our rental car and immediately went to brunch at Plain Jane which is in the Mission district. I got the red velvet pancakes and a cinnamon bun coffee. Delicious. Then we went to see the Painted Ladies (iconic, colorful houses you might recognize from a certain 90s sitcom…) and walked around a bit in the park where you get the best views of the houses and the skyline in the background.
Next, we went to the De Young Museum, where you can go up in Hamon Tower. It’s a great view of the entire city, plus it’s free! The museum is in the middle of Golden Gate Park, which I didn’t even realize how big of an area it is. We had a bit of a walk from where we had to park, and ended up stumbling on a beautiful rose garden. I could spend an entire day just walking around a rose garden so this was a highlight of my day actually.
For lunch, we got sushi. I honestly don’t even remember the name of the restaurant but it doesn’t matter. One of the things we loved about San Francisco was that there is fresh, great quality sushi EVERYWHERE. Parking was hard to find in this area so we literally just went to the closest one once we had found a spot, and it was very good.
After lunch, we pretty much spent the rest of the day around, over, and under the Golden Gate Bridge. This is what I was looking forward to the most, and it did not disappoint. The first view we got was at China Beach. This was so fun because it was not very crowded. For most of the time we were there, there were only a few other people on the whole beach. Definitely more of a hidden local spot rather than a tourist area.
Next, we went to Four Point National Historic Site, which is right up by the bridge. This is where we got to walk under and over the bridge. Definitely the busiest, but still really cool.
After this, we drove over the bridge (also super cool experience) and stopped at Vista Point just on the other side. This was definitely the coolest view of the bridge and the best pictures. Also from this same parking area, we walked about a mile each way down to Kirby Cove which is right on the beach with a great view of the bridge. By now, it was getting close to sunset and the fog had all cleared, so it was a gorgeous view.
We were pretty exhausted at this point, so finished the drive up to Sonoma and checked into our Airbnb. Which, by the way, was the best place I have ever stayed at. We had the whole house to ourselves, and it was a wonderful place to stay. Let me know if you want the exact recommendation.
Thursday, July 11th: Our first official day in Napa Valley! We started by doing a tour and tasting at Robert Mondavi, since that was my favorite California wine. This was the only place that we actually did a tour, and I would highly recommend it! Our tour guide was so fun and took lots of pictures of us. For the tasting, we all sat at a table and he walked us through each of the wines and really taught us how to properly taste the wines. It was really nice that they only allow like 12 people on the tour, so it was just us and 3 other groups of people.
After a quick lunch, we then went to Domaine Carneros. This was the only other winery that we needed a reservation for. This was also one of the prettiest views, and best tasting experiences. The wine was honestly only okay compared to other places, but the view was incredible and it was very laid back. More of a restaurant style. They didn’t actually walk us through the tasting much, but it was nice to just sit and chill for a while.
Afterwards, we drove back to our Airbnb, and then went out to dinner at HopMonk Tavern in Sonoma. Really fun atmosphere and we loved the outdoor seating. I also couldn’t get over how pretty California was…flowers everywhere!
Friday, July 12th: Friday was the first day that I wore any “bride” attire, and it was so much fun! We got great treatment from the staff at each winery we went too. Almost every place gave us free champagne and/or let us taste extra wines. The first winery we went to was Castello di Amorosa in Napa. This winery was really unique because it is an actual castle. The tasting itself and the wine were not very impressive, but the winery itself was worth it just because it is so pretty and lots of good photo ops.
For lunch, we just went to a diner in St. Helena. Next, we went back to Sonoma and went to Viansa, which ended up being my absolute favorite winery in every way. The tasting was fun, wines are amazing, and the view is perfect. We also found that the wineries in Sonoma are more relaxed and less touristy than Napa, but the wine is even better than Napa from our experiences.
Saturday, July 13th: Since we were so close to the ocean, we drove about an hour away to Bodega Bay to go to the beach. We were definitely not prepared for the temperature to be in the 50s, but it was still a fun time! First we went to Salmon Creek Beach which was the only actual sandy beach. All of the other beaches are rocky, but beautiful. Next we stopped by Schoolhouse Beach, and then went to lunch at Fisherman’s Cove which is right on the harbor. The shark tacos and oyster po’ boy were amazing.
After we drove back to the Airbnb to get cleaned up, it was time for more wineries! We stayed in Sonoma this time and went to wineries that were right next to each other. First was Jacuzzi, which was a fun tasting, amazing wine, and we got great service from the olive oil lady! I had never done an olive oil tasting but it was fun mixing different flavors and I actually ended up taking some home. Next, we went back to Viansa because we had loved it so much! And finally we went across the street to Cline Cellars. Cline was one of the best tasting experiences, and some of the best wine too. We found out that Cline and Jacuzzi actually use grapes from the same vineyard. Jacuzzi has all the Italian wines, and Cline is known for their zinfandels. All amazing though. For dinner, we went to a new little Mexican place that was recommended by the olive oil lady, called Las Diablitas. Some of the best tacos I’ve had, and that’s saying a lot! Plus, it is just a small, family-owned place and they had really great service. Would definitely go back.
Sunday, July 14th: Our last day in California! We checked out of our Airbnb and headed down to Muir Woods National Monument to see the redwoods. One of the coolest places I’ve been. Unfortunately we only had about an hour and a half there, so we only went on a short walk.
Next, we drove back over the Golden Gate Bridge and went to Fisherman’s Wharf. We were in such a rush though and parking was so hard to find, we really didn’t get to see much. Now we know to park in the parking garage… Just had time to buy some souvenirs and then had to head to the airport for our flight home. Also, I wanted to see the curvy part of Lombard street, but when we saw the line of cars waiting to drive down the hill, we knew we didn’t have time for it.
This trip was unreal. I still can’t believe it’s come and gone. We all want to move to California now because it was just so beautiful. I know this post was long and overloaded with pictures because I just couldn’t decide which ones to post! They all turned out so great! We will go back to Sonoma someday <3
Sounds amazing!! 🍷