In honor of the new Amy Poehler directed movie, Wine Country, that hit Netflix last week, here’s to celebrating some of the best Sonoma Valley has to offer.
Visiting Napa during Memorial Day weekend is a must for my all time festival love, Bottlerock, but I actually almost prefer the less crowded, easy going nature of the Sonoma Valley. They’re both great. This is how you know you’re old, by how much you enjoy wine country.
If you’re a Clemson or Alabama fan, you’ve probably found your way to San Jose for the College Football Championship tonight. If you haven’t, then this post is for you!
San Jose Mineta International Airport is one of the main airports that serves Northern California/Bay Area and specifically the number 1 airport for Silicon Valley. It’s only 4 miles away from Downtown San Jose, and thus you’ll notice that the buildings aren’t super tall in this tech hub due to FAA regulations.
Fun fact: this is the first airport I ever flew into when I was 9 years old, so it has a special place in my heart.
There are 30 gates split between terminals A and B. Terminal A services American, United, Air Canada, Aeromexico, ANA, Delta, Frontier and JetBlue and B houses Southwest, Alaska, Hainan, and British Airways. You can tell there’s a lot of business going on in the area based on the airlines.
This airport is very bare bones, but it gets you to and from where you need to be. There’s an airport flyer bus that will take you to the Santa Clara station, where you can hop on a train to get to Great America station which is close to Levi’s Stadium.
Remember: ✈️ = facebook to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = apple (just kidding facebook bot who may be reading this post)
Convenience to the city: ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ (4 miles away!)
Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (it’s not a big airport)
Convenience of check in/security lines: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (this is an efficient airport, it helps that most passengers are well-heeled travelers)
Dining:✈️✈️✈️ (Gordon Biersch, Peet’s, Jamba Juice, smashburger, Starbucks not too many fast food options)
Bathrooms: ✈️✈️✈️ (fair, not the newest, but pretty clean)
Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (I mean, you’re in Silicon Valley so…)
Amenities: ✈️✈️ (randomly a Bearfruit jewelry kiosk which is a very niche jewelry store in CA, CNN newstands, See’s Candies, only one paid lounge: the SJC lounge)
Flying out of Sacramento, California (SMF) airport is probably the fastest experience of any airport. It’s impressive. I’ve flown out of here dozens of times and it has literally never taken me more than 15 minutes from parking to gate, and this is even on holiday weekends.
The airport is about 15 minutes from Downtown Sacramento, so depending on the time of the day, you could be stuck in infamous California traffic, so plan accordingly.
There are two terminals: A & B with 32 gates total. A is home to American, United, Delta, Jet Blue. B has Southwest, Alaska, and Hawaiian. I appreciate when airports have multiple options for coffee shops, and while they are still chains such as Starbucks and Peet’s, at least you have options. The unique thing about Sacramento is that the food offerings are almost exclusively local Sacramento restaurants, which is an extra nice touch for people to get the local flavor of the town if you only have a layover.
Other than security being fairly efficient and fast, the airport is clean, has a lot of outlets for charging your devices, and has plentiful restrooms. Downsides, there are not any lounges, but as there are not too many direct international flights, you’re probably not going to have too long of a layover or need to shower here.
Remember: ✈️ = old sac to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = sac kings
Convenience to the city: ✈️✈️ (it’s pretty far from downtown, even though the traffic isn’t usually terrible)
Security: ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️: super efficient, especially if you have pre-check
Dining: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (Dos Coyotes, Burgers and Brew, Iron Horse, Paesano’s, Cafeteria 15L, and Squeeze Inn are all local restaurants, which is nice if you don’t end up leaving the airport)
Bathrooms: ✈️✈️✈️ (clean facilities)
Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️✈️ (free wifi available, charging available both in common areas and at the gates)
Amenities:✈️✈️ (no lounges, not a lot of shopping, a somewhat out of place Asian Pacific Californian exhibit?)
I left more than my heart in San Francisco (SFO). Mainly, my patience.
Honestly, SFO is never my airport of choice to fly into or out of, and there’s one reason for that. The morning fog that chills the air…turns out I DO care, Tony Bennett. I care because I’ve never had a morning flight that was not delayed due to nature’s wet blanket.
But, it’s one of the busiest airports in America as it is a gateway to the East and Europe, so sometimes its inevitable. It’s about 13 miles from Downtown SF, which is basically a year away, approximated for traffic. The exterior reminds me of NY JFK, and the interior is also reminiscent. That’s not a compliment for either airport.
There are 4 terminals and 7 concourses with about 85-90 functioning gates. Terminal 1 (Delta, Frontier, Southwest); Terminal 2 is Virgin and American, Terminal 3 is United, and then there’s international (for some reason Hawaiian and JetBlue are grouped in here) which is another ballgame.
The thing I do appreciate, however, is the dining and shopping options. There’s a real focus on local brands amongst the national chain restaurants, and lots to see in the duty free shopping portals (2 Gucci stores! Most cities don’t have one Gucci store!). There’s a Three Twins Ice Cream, which almost makes up for the delays… almost. Of course, as a huge international hub, there are 17 airline lounges.
It’s not the worst and it’s not the best place to have a layover, depending on the area.
Remember: ✈️ = basically alcatraz to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = bae area
Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️ (it’s the largest airport in CA, larger than LAX which is HUGE)
Convenience of security lines: ✈️✈️ (there’s a lot of people which slows things)
Dining: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (so many local options: Gott’s, Dogpatch, Gordon Biersch–from Palo Alto, Boudin, 24th & Mission–but, at local prices)
Bathrooms: ✈️✈️ (as with any major airport, could be cleaner)
Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️ (free wifi but it is shotty at best)
Amenities: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (yoga rooms, kids areas, museums, airline lounges, Xpresspas, a Ghiradelli store, luxury shopping–which is very good in International, did I mention there’s 2 Gucci stores?)
shooting at the walls of heartache, bang bang, I am the warrior
When I was living in Northern California, I went to Oakland all the time. But I’ll admit, most of those excursions had been to attend the Alameda Flea Market.
What? This should be no surprise, I’m ancient.
I have, however, attended games at the Oracle Arena and Oakland Coliseum, so in light of the Warriors hosting another Finals appearance starting with Game 1 tonight, here’s some tips for those heading to the games. See, I had to be equal to Cleveland — I’m Switzerland in this battle, I’m just here for good basketball. Of course, it may be cheaper to literally buy a game ticket, plane ticket, hotel and rent a car to go and see the NBA Finals in Cleveland…because tickets to see Steph and Co. at home are, as they say in NorCal, hella pricey.
Oakland definitely in the house…
My favorite weekend of the year to visit Napa Valley is Memorial Day. Why you ask? Well, it’s the annual Bottlerock music festival weekend. Alas, this year is the first year I am not attending of the past few years, as I’ve moved away from Northern California. That means I’ll be missing out on the Killers, Bruno Mars and tomorrow’s headliner, Muse (all of whom I’ve seen before, but still). This is the most civilized of all the festivals, with culinary stages and wineries to boot.
While you’re enjoying the festivities, don’t forget to head out from the festival grounds and explore the valley, one of the best weekender locations in the country!
Wine or wine not?
So I have to confess something here. I’m not much of a drinker. I know, I know. Is it too late now to say sorry? Just kidding, I’m not sorry. You’re wondering: how could a light imbiber possibly have anything to say about the most famous wine producing region in the US?
Turns out, there’s a ton of things to do here that don’t necessarily involve spirits, and don’t worry, I will feature some absolutely fantastic wineries on our journey through the beautiful Northern California countryside. There’s just one question you have to ask yourself:
Wine or wine not?
Sacramento may seem like a random place to visit, but thanks to Greta Gerwig’s stunning (read: STUNNING) ode to cinema and her hometown, Lady Bird, California’s capital city is taking its turn to bask in its own deserved spotlight.
I think the best way to describe this city is that when you’re here, you feel like you’re in a vintage Instagram filter, a bygone era of Americana with modern splashes. It is simply an easy place to be. There’s that old school charm, from the architectural gems of the Fabulous Forties to the neighborhoods dotted with old neon signage (featured prominently in the movie and as you know if you’ve read this blog, are one of my favorite things) and the proximity of farms and citrus tree groves.
Beyond the capital, it is one of the top destinations for locavore cuisine, earning it the nickname of “America’s farm to fork capital.” For a city of its size, there’s every type of food you could imagine, and ingredients are so fresh due to its proximity to California’s central agriculture industry. People forget California is one of the largest farming states in the country–next time you eat those strawberries and avocados, think of us.
Eureka, I’ve found it!
Arguably some of the most beautiful spots in California, the coastal towns of Monterey and Carmel-by-the-sea near Big Sur have long been upscale havens for the jet set. It’s definitely high end, with its ocean view cottages, European ivy wrapped cafes and the famed Pebble Beach Golf Club. Clint Eastwood is the former mayor of Carmel for pete’s sake! With its million dollar (baby) homes overlooking the picturesque Central Californian coast, you can see why this area is the background for many novels (notably those of native son John Steinbeck), movies and television shows, most recently Big Little Lies.
It does seem like a place to where a person with secrets would escape (just picture yourself out on a balcony, wrapped in a cashmere shawl, wind whipping through your hair, gazing wistfully over the turbulent surf–channel your inner Nicole Kidman for this). You can see it, can’t you?
you CAN see it (photo credit: hbo)
I made my escape there for a weekend wedding, making a mini-road trip of it, Joad family style. It is definitely doable in a weekend, but obviously the more time, the better to experience the serenity and calm of this seaside retreat.
San Francisco is one of the world’s great cities. Sitting up high on the tip of a Northern California peninsula, it’s natural beauty and cooler climate is as unique as the citizens that inhabit it. For being such a small area in terms of acreage, SF packs so many things to see and do in every square mile. There’s no way you can see everything, or afford everything, as it is one of the most expensive places in the world. But, there’s also many free or affordable things to do as well, which we’re all about.
One visit, one dozen visits are not enough to experience the entirety of “the city,” but this what I like to do on a weekend visiting the city by the Bay.
save me, san francisco
Traveling docs 