We have had such great response from our ongoing travel series, both from our readers and from the wonderful travel locations we’ve featured. Since we usually do these trips for just our employees, we wanted to change it up a little bit and offer a different angle for our trip to San Francisco, Oakland and the Napa Valley. The four who participated in this trip were Angela Lee, her mother Joann Lee, Paige Zutavern and her mother-in-law Meredith Zutavern.
On an interesting side note, while planning this trip, we got the chance to visit with a very nice media rep from the San Francisco area. When she found out where we were from, she told us she was making plans to visit our area to go to the new quilt museum in Lincoln! What a small world it is and what an honor to know that we have such a great tourist attraction right here in Nebraska! This conversation prompted us to visit the museum ourselves. You really should check it out if you haven’t. It’s truly an educational experience. There are over 2300 quilts on display, many with fascinating stories or histories behind them. I never knew that quilts could be so interesting!
The International Quilt Study Center and Museum is located at 1523 N. 33rd Street in Lincoln and can be reached at (402) 472-6549. They are open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 am to 4:30 pm and Sunday from 1 to 4:30 pm. Admission is only $5 for adults and $3 for children and students.
Woodfin Suites Hotel
(510) 601-5880 • 5800 Shellmound St • Emeryville, CA 94608
Reservations 1-888-433-9042 • www.woodfinhotels.com
The foursome stayed at the Woodfin Suites in Emeryville, CA, which turned out to be the perfect location for their itinerary. The Woodfin Suites Emeryville is located on the East side of the San Francisco Bay which makes for very easy access to San Francisco, Oakland and Napa Valley. Woodfin Suites in Emeryville is a beautiful all suite hotel with large rooms that feature a separate bedroom, living room and kitchen area. The hotel also has an on-site restaurant, the Emery Grille, where the group had a wonderful breakfast buffet on Monday morning before heading to the airport. Woodfin Suites is an excellent choice for those who want a well-appointed suite that is in a great location for visits to the wine country.
Scott’s Seafood Restaurant
http://www.scottsrestaurants.com/oak_intro.cfm • (510) 444-3456
After checking into the hotel and relaxing, the foursome went to dinner at Scott’s Seafood Restaurant in Jack London Square. The restaurant features delicious fresh seafood in a classy environment with attentive and professional service. The ladies got to choose from selections such as Scott’s Oysters Rockefeller, Macadamia Crusted Halibut, Cedar Planked Orange and Bourbon Salmon and, of course, lobster. This waterfront restaurant with great views is perfect for the seafood lover who wants an elegant dining experience!
Local Tastes of the City Tours
(415) 665-0480
Saturday morning, the group met with their tour guide to take the Local Tastes of the City Tour. This is an excellent choice for the foodie who wants to eat their way through San Francisco. The company offers tour areas such as North Beach\Little Italy and Chinatown. Our group chose North Beach, where they got to enjoy fresh roasted coffee and learn how its roasted, savor award-winning chocolate and watch bread baked in 130-year-old ovens (and taste it too, of course!) You’ll be full when you finish this tour, so make sure you don’t make lunch or dinner plans anytime soon!
Hobnob Tour
(650) 814-6303
After the food tour, the group got to walk off some of their treats on a walking tour of Nob Hill conducted by Hobnob Tours. During the tour, they got to learn some of the secrets of Bonanza Kings and Railroad Barons, tour mansions, cathedrals and parks and view rare memorabilia. The tour, which lasts approximately two hours, was very educational and fun for the group and they recommend it to any history buffs or those who just want to learn more about the Nob Hill area.
BART System
www.bart.gov
The foursome used the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) system to get into and out of the Bay Area on Saturday and were impressed at how easy it was to navigate and get around with and the fare is only $3 each way. Highly recommended for those who don’t want to use a rental car and want a quick and easy way to get to their Bay Area destinations.
Neptune’s Palace
http://www.pier39restaurants.com/neptunes.htm
(415) 434-2288
The group concluded their Saturday night with dinner at Neptune’s Palace on Fisherman’s Wharf. This restaurant offers an incredible view of the Golden Gate Bridge as well as the sea lions that reside there and the infamous Alcatraz Prison. The foursome lingered over a delicious dinner that included choices like Garlic Roasted Dungeness Crab Legs, Seafood Saute, Coconut Fried Prawns and Seafood Bisque. An excellent restaurant for those who want scrumptious seafood in an amazing atmosphere. They were very impressed by the Fisherman’s Wharf area and wish they would have reserved some more time there as they could have spent hours exploring all the parks, museums and shops.
Copia
www.copia.org • (707) 259-1600
No visit to the wine country is complete without a stop at COPIA. COPIA is a non-profit discovery center whose mission is to explore, celebrate and share the many pleasures and benefits of wine, its relationship to food and its significance to our culture. Through a menu of fun and interactive programs, tastings, exhibitions, festivals, dining, performances and organic gardens, COPIA brings the general public and enthusiasts together with leading vintners, chefs, gardeners and artists to explore and celebrate wine, food, gardens and the arts. We had such a good time at COPIA, especially in the Edible Gardens and Julia’s Kitchen (a restaurant inspired by Julia Child and which gets many of its ingredients from the Edible Gardens) and during the cooking class we took. Another favorite aspect of COPIA was the machines you could purchase wine tastings from. You could choose from one ounce, half a glass or other quantities and simply had to purchase a card for the machine in the denomination of your choice to get your tasting. COPIA is definitely a must-see for all wine enthusiasts.
Pine Ridge Winery
5901 Silverado Trail • Napa, CA • (707) 253-7500
Pine Ridge Winery was a quaint winery tucked into the hillside that we really enjoyed. Our favorite part was the underground caves (called the Cabernet Caves) where the barrels of wine were stored. The winery even hosts dinners in these caves that are 130 feet underground and 300 feet into the hillside! Pine Ridge also holds cooking and wine pairing seminars with their executive chef Eric Maczko, which would be great for the cooking enthusiast in your group. This was a great unique winery to visit and of course, the wine was delicious!
Robert Mondavi Winery
Highway 29 • Oakville, CA • 1-888-766-6328
After visiting Pine Ridge, we made our way to the large and beautiful Robert Mondavi Winery. This modern winery offers a number of tours, including one that allows you to see how their wine is made from the vine all the way up to it being bottled and sold. You can also enjoy in-depth wine tastings that teach you how to better enjoy your wine. This is a huge winery with a lot to offer and we recommend you reserve at least a few hours when you visit here!
Domaine Chandon
1 California Drive • Yountville, CA • (707) 944-2280
After our experience at Robert Mondavi, we rounded out our Napa Valley tour at Domaine Chandon, premiere makers of sparkling wine. The grounds of this vineyard were breathtaking and it was so interesting to see how sparkling wines were made differently from still wines. With our tastings here, we also got to experience some delicious California cheeses, so it was a big hit with our entire party!
Bouchon
6534 Washington Street • Yountville, CA • (707)944-8037
After tasting wine all day, we were ready to relax with an elegant dinner and Bouchon exactly fit the bill. Bouchon is certainly a unique experience with offerings such as Pate de Campagne and caviar for appetizers, Boudin Blanc (white sausage, potato puree and French prunes) for main courses and a wonderful selection of fine cheeses to nibble on while sipping one of their delightful wines. Bouchon has garnered a coveted Michelin star rating for the past two years and it’s easy to see why. This is definitely the place to go if you want something completely unlike what you’ll find in Nebraska and was the perfect way to cap off our trip.
If a relaxing trip to the wine country and surrounding areas sounds like a vacation right up your alley, you should definitely visit Napa Valley. We recommend our hotel for easy access to all of your destinations and endorse each of the above restaurants, vineyards and tours—they’ll make your California trip as special as they did ours!