STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

kenzie · Chanel

San Francisco Bay & Monterey Bay areas

tara t · Marc Jacobs

i was jsut in napa for the 1st time about a month ago. we went to 12 wineries, so i can help you with that part!

we got a limo to drive us around because we were doing some drinking... that was a great idea, so if you have time for that, it's great.

i liked the views at Sterling, but the wine didn't thrill me. the tour is very informative.

castillo di amariso (sp) is so cool. it's this big castle with the tasting room on the bottom floor. you really feel like your in the midieval times.

i loved cuviason. the caves are really neat.

there are some great restaurants in that area, so if you need those, let me know.

kenzie · Chanel

Thanks, ttara! Did you rent the limo when you got there or did you set it up ahead of time? What company did you use? That's a great idea!

tara t · Marc Jacobs

i set it up about a week before. the company i used was great. they suggested several wineries that i loved! you can pay them an extra fee to get them to set up your appointments for tours of winieries that require reservations.

some tastings are free, some aren't and you can share some too...

i think napa may be my happy place. it's just so nice, and peaceful and fun.

sonoma is supposedly the more laid back sister of napa, but i really didn't see that. sonoma was really crowded when i was there, it was their "passport" weekend, which i think all tastings were free if you pre-paid for a ticket. so you can imagine what a zoo it was. napa was just quieter imo, but consider the passport part of sonoma.

the limo was from www.californiawinetours.com

but i also saw napa wine tour cars, so you may want to check that out.

i heart wine.

gingembre1 · Kate Spade

You can also do the train - you can hop on and off at wineries along the route in Napa.

If you want to stay overnight in Napa, I HIGHLY recommend The Old World Inn. My BF and I LOVED it. The Starry Nights room is definitely the best. And the chocolate desserts and breakfast are to die for.

Not in SF, but Chez Panisse in Berkeley is a true dining experience.

wicked · Coach

I wanted to bump this. I'm going to San Fran too. Would you guys tell us about museums, site-seeing, shopping, restaurants etc?

Also, what is the most practical way to get from San Fran to Berkeley? Berkeley is a "hip" college town, right?

kenzie · Chanel

wicked wrote:

I wanted to bump this. I'm going to San Fran too. Would you guys tell us about museums, site-seeing, shopping, restaurants etc?

Also, what is the most practical way to get from San Fran to Berkeley? Berkeley is a "hip" college town, right?

Thanks for the bump! My vacation is 13 days away!

rosie_the_riveter · Gucci

wicked wrote:

I wanted to bump this. I'm going to San Fran too. Would you guys tell us about museums, site-seeing, shopping, restaurants etc?

Also, what is the most practical way to get from San Fran to Berkeley? Berkeley is a "hip" college town, right?

Yup, that's Berkley. You'll have to cross the horrendous death trap - The Bay Bridge. We were just in San Francisco on Saturday but with a baby you can't really do anything. I wanted to go to the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, I hear it's beautiful. Also the Palace of Fine Arts. We drove by it but didn't stop. They were doing some work on it. But that's not why we didn't stop - Mimi was throwing a fit. I love Union Square for shopping. I remember Berkley being fun - we went a long time ago and walked around their little downtown area. Emeryville, across the Bay Bridge has shopping too.

I'm originally from the Monterey Bay area but somehow I'm not really the person to ask for things to do. Hmmm.....the Aquarium is kind of cool. Cannery Row is pretty and has some shops. 17 mile drive in Pebble Beach is beautiful. Big Sur is stunning but I'm not sure if it's still on fire? The Carmel barnyard has shopping Anthro, Lush, and other stores but the people are kind of snooty. Monterey has the Del Monte mall - nothing special there. They used to have a Farmer's Market on Alvarado I think on Tuesdays. They used to sell everything from, you guessed it, fruits and veggies, to crafts and jewelry. It was quite lively from what I remember.

If I think of something else I'll repost.

rosie_the_riveter · Gucci

I forgot to mention the trolley tours. I've never been but my sister raves about them.

http://www.allsanfranciscotours.com/body.asp?tour=SFO-B0010&page=TourDetails&headerson=off

jj · Kate Spade

Great minds think alike - my hubby and I are going to SF/Sonoma next week.

So far, we are planning to see the Dale Chihuly exhibit at the de Young (requires advance tix). I have seen his exhibits before and they are AMAZING!

We may go see the Frida Khalo exhibit at MOMA.

I tore out the SF section from the most recent Domino with information about shopping in the Mission and Russian Hill/North Beach.

We like to go to the Ferry Terminal Buidling, get some food from the markets and eat it just outside overlooking the bay. Cowgirl Creamery has the best cheese ever.

In Sonoma, we have one day planned for winetasting with a limo. Another day will be spent hiking, at the pool, then massages at MacArthur Place Spa before dinner at my most favorite restaurant, Girl and the Fig.

trixie · Kenneth Cole

My husband and I were just in SF in May and had a wonderful time!

For a restuarant in the city, I loved Zuni Cafe on Market Street. We had lunch there and it was one of the best meals of the trip. If you like coffee, don't miss out on the Espresso Granita - shaved espresso ice topped with whipped cream. Pure coffee decadence.

For shopping, we did the Union Square thing, but I really enjoyed the shops of the following neighborhoods, because they were things I couldn't find back home.

The Mission - great home and vintage stores. Funky, young neighborhood. Tasty burritos!

Russian Hill - antiques, cute little boutiques especially Cat Seto for stationery. If you're looking for breakfast, we really enjoyed Polkers and La Boulange de Polk for a post breakfast treat (croissants, coffee, etc.)

Union Street - very pleasant and beautiful area in what I think is called the Cow Hollow neighborhood. Mix of chain and non-chain shops. Lots of restaurants and bars too.

Okay, for wineries, we headed into Healdsburg and the Russian River Valley and Dry Creek areas, which are northeast of Sonoma. I'd highly recommend this if you're looking for something a little more relaxed and under the radar (at least this was our experience compared with Napa). We stayed at the perfect little modern resort called Boon Hotel in Guerneville. Favorite wineries were Gary Farell and Bella Vineyards.

This is a very condensed review of our SF experience - I could wax on for hours about everything, so if you want more detail, just let me know!

Have a great time!!

Edited to add: In Napa, I would recommend Peju for a winery. Excellent wine and gorgeous grounds.

-- Edited by trixie at 17:45, 2008-07-21

gingembre1 · Kate Spade

If you want to go to Berkeley, just take BART. There are several stops in Berkeley to choose from. What, specifically, did you want to see/do in Berkeley?

wicked · Coach

gingembre1 wrote:

If you want to go to Berkeley, just take BART. There are several stops in Berkeley to choose from. What, specifically, did you want to see/do in Berkeley?

I'm not sure. I really don't know anything about it, it's just one of those places I hear about. I mean is there anything to do there or is it more a place to hang out and watch "the cool kids?"

kealoha · Kate Spade

gingembre1 wrote:

If you want to go to Berkeley, just take BART. There are several stops in Berkeley to choose from.

ITA. i temp'd in berkeley and found that BART was easy to use with 3 different stops (Ashby, Downtown, and North Berkeley stations) to choose from. Telegraph Ave. is fun and Shattuck is a busy street; both are near the University.

i've only been here for a little over a month and really enjoy it. we live 2 blocks away from MoMa and 4 blocks away from the ballpark. when we first got here, there was a free night at the ballpark where they held a live broadcast of the opera which was a lot of fun.

we haven't checked out everything, but did go to Zuni cafe (on a trip last year) that trixie recommended. we enjoyed it, but it is quite busy so plan accordingly. we LOVE Slanted Door at the Ferry building, but that place is so busy, getting in w/out a reservation is nearly impossible; we booked 3 weeks ahead and had no problems and they suggest reserving a table @ least 2 weeks ahead.

portrero hill and the mission are fun. sunset is near golden gate park and hayes valley is just past downtown. try to search online for what's going on in those areas during the week of your trip. we wing it every weekend and have fun that way.

when you get into town, grab a copy of SF weekly to see what's going on as well. have fun!