Carmel, CA - Part II

CARMEL, CA PART II

 

L'Auberge Carmel

12 table restaurant, Aubergine

In my last blog, I forgot to mention L'Auberge Carmel.  What a lovely European style boutique hotel right in the heart of Carmel.  The hotel is 4 blocks from the Pacific Ocean.  The hotel is housed in 3 buildings set around a pretty courtyard.  The buildings were built in 1929 and are historic treasures.  There are 20 rooms each uniquely styled.  The bedding and bathroom amenities are top notch.  Many of the rooms have views of the Pacific Ocean.  Valet parking and breakfast are included in the rate.  This is a very romantic location for those looking for a city hotel rather than a resort in the countryside. 

 

young chef, Justin Cogley

I had heard about the hotel's fabulous 12 table restaurant, Aubergine and it's young chef, Justin Cogley from my daughter's wife who is a real foodie.  Justin's philosophy is built on spontaneity with an emphasis on local products.  I am so happy that we did this because it was one of the most memorable meals that I've had in years.  We tried the chef's tasting menu which was full of surprises.  When we were first seated, we were given the regular menu which looked wonderful and a separate sheet of paper listing 12 items.  We were told that each item would be incorporated into our meal.  The four of us decided to be brave and try the mystery tasting menu.  We decided to include the wine pairing.  We traveled through one

Aubergine Tasting Menu

course after another and enjoyed each item and the wines specifically chosen to accompany the food.  I especially appreciated the chef's respect for dietary requests.  What a wonderful experience.  This is a pricey thing to do...but really worth it if you are a foodie!!

Special Alert:  Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises are have wonderful Spring promotions through April.  

Please call for details.

The World is Our Playground!

Mari



Carmel Valley Ranch in Carmel, CA

CARMEL VALLEY RANCH

Carmel Valley Ranch

Carmel, California is a 6-7 hour drive from Los Angeles.  We wanted the shortest route and took the 5 Hwy to Hwy 101 then got off in Salinas to get to Carmel.  Once off the main highway, the drive toward the Pacific Ocean is quite beautiful with rolling hills, sheep and vineyards.  We decided to visit for the first time with our best friends of over 30 years, Steve and Janet.

Arriving at the Old Gate House
Greeted by the first of The Ranch's 7,000 lavender plants

I am so happy that we discovered Carmel Valley Ranch.  The 139 all suite property is spread over 500 acres.  As we drove past the security gate, we saw gardens, bee hives, deer and beautiful native flowers.

We were warmly greeted and escorted to our rooms.  The rooms at Carmel Valley Ranch are huge.  They are romantic, yet intimate and spacious enough for families.

As I entered my room, I noticed a large TV, refrigerator, desk and a wonderfully large sofa with a queen sleeper inside.  The bathroom is nice and I especially loved the hotel's bathroom amenities which were a mix of lavender and mint.  The only negative in the bathroom was the lighting for makeup.

 

The Lobby in the Carmel Valley Ranch Lodge,
home to Roxy, The Ranch's English Bulldog

The bedroom is comfortable with a TV and a gas fireplace.  The turn down service was nice as well.  There is a Keurig coffeemaker in the room with a choice of coffees and teas.

The property is absolutely lovely!  It is peaceful and even though the resort was almost at 100% occupancy, it was quiet.  The 30 plus year old resort went through a major refurbishment 2 years ago.  Everything is in wonderful shape.  They keep their pools heated to 82 degrees year round.  

Also, did you know that there are over 300 days of sunshine in Carmel?

The Lodge Pool, Carmel Valley Ranch's "quiet" pool for Children at Heart
(Children at Play are welcome at the River Ranch Pool)

Carmel Valley Ranch's spa is next to the pool.  You make the arrangements through the gift shop desk (wonderful products there!), then you are escorted to the spa which is next to the adult pool and adult Jacuzzi   My friend, Janet and I had great massages on their heated massage tables.  Ask for Amber!

I love the resort's family concept.  They have a separate area for families.  Family pool, family/kids activities and club including a wonderful play area. 

Living Room in a spacious Garland Suite, featuring a cozy fireplace and
comfortable queen-sized sleep sofa.
The Ranch's 139 guest suites average more than 800 sq. ft.

Bedroom in a spacious Garland Suite, including fireplace, flat-panel television,
and Carmel's classic warmth

The resort has a beautiful golf course, tennis courts, bocce ball, herb garden and most unique a bee keeping class.  There are activities galore here including the children's Ranch Hand activity from 5:00-9:00 which keeps the children busy at the dinner hour so the parents can have a quiet dinner together.  The fitness center has a yoga center, tennis clinics, barre strength and more.

Carmel Valley Ranch's signature Bee Experience,
led by resident beekeeper and lavender expert, John Russo

Right now, the resort is offering a Stay 4, Pay 3 promotion during certain dates.  Carmel Valley Ranch is a Virtuoso property so daily continental breakfast for 2, a one time $100 activity credit and an upgrade based on availability upon check in is included with my reservation.

As always, please call for details and rates.


The World is Our Playground!

Mari


Back "Home" in Napa, CA!!

BACK “HOME” IN NAPA, CA

March, 2013 

JK! - not our house - We Wish!!

After leaving Farmhouse Inn in Forestville, a few miles from Healdsburg, we journeyed over ­­­­­­­­­­­­the cross to Calistoga and then headed south to St. Helena to meet Monica at 750 Wines.  

David & Monica from 750 Wines

I’ve mentioned Monica and David Stevens before in my previous blogs.  They are my go-to people in the Valley for what is exciting and new in the wine world and beyond.  Through 750 Wines, we have tried new wines from boutique wineries with small productions, enjoyed private tasting appointments with wine makers in their home or wineries and lunches with the wine makers.  These experiences have opened up the wine world to us.

Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena

After another fantastic lunch at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, we visited Bell Wine Cellars.  Maggie Smith was our host as we tried a few of their wines.  Maggie is a burst of energy – straight from Chicago and it was fun swapping mid-West stories.

Bell Wine Cellars

We checked into Meadowood, my favorite resort in St. Helena.  BTW, St. Helena is in the middle of NapaValley.  It is a VERY quaint, lovely city with fun local shopping, restaurants and fantastic wineries to explore.

Meadowood is a 5 star property.  I love the newly renovated rooms.  The architecture is Cape Cod and the resort boasts tennis courts, a spa that is about to be renovated and moved (shhh…it’s a secret), croquet and a 9 hole golf course.  The resort also has wine courses and hiking trails.

Meadowood

We had dinner at Cole’s Steakhouse in Napa.  I had always wanted to try Cole’s but was disappointed.  This is not a "Mari recommended restaurant".  Try Press in St. Helena if you crave steak instead.

Press in St. Helena

The following morning, we found our way up to David Arthur Vineyards in St. Helena.  What a beautiful drive up the winding Long Ranch Road and the wines were spectacular as were the views from the winery!  We toured the grounds and heard the David Arthur story.

David Arthur Vineyards in St. Helena

***
Just an aside … once you are an established wine drinker and not a novice, having appointments to taste wine is a necessity when traveling in the Wine Country.  Most of the wineries are in obscure locations around the valley and/or are behind security fences.  Private wine tastings are the way to go rather than follow others that travel in buses from large winery to large winery.  I do want to point out that my experience as a novice wine taster began at one of the large wineries.  I took the tour, drank the wine and this started my love and journey in the wine world.
***

The afternoon ended with a dud of a tasting (yes, there are dud’s) at Round Pound Winery which had been recommended by a friend.  We had an appointment, were taken to a beautiful patio on the second floor then given 3 wines to taste and the host never returned to describe the wines we tasted.  This is a major no-no in my book!!  He later returned and told us that “since we were “good”, he would let us try a 4^th wine” – again without a description.  So, we left…and didn't buy anything.

Alex’s Restaurant in Rutherford

After recovering from the dud of a wine tasting, we had a wonderful meal in front of the fire at Alex’s Restaurant in Rutherford.  I especially loved the homemade pasta.  Alex’s is a hidden gem amongst the many wonderful restaurants in Napa Valley. 

Tra Vigne in St. Helena

Other highlighted meals included another fantastic Italian dinner at Tra Vigne in St. Helena and a return to Oenotri Restaurant for more homemade Italian food in Napa with our good friends, Tracy and Rick from Black Cat Vineyard.  We enjoyed their delicious 2004 Family Cuvee at dinner and of course, it was a big hit!  Wonderful wine, great people, perfect evening.

Oenotri Restaurant

Black Cat Vineyard

Napa/Sonoma is just one area of my expertise.  

Please contact me about any of your travel needs.   I’m always here to help!

The World is Our Playground!


Mari

Another View from the Silverado Trail in Napa, CA

A Taste of Sonoma & then My "HOME": Napa Valley

A TASTE OF SONOMA AND THEN MY “HOME”: 
NAPA VALLEY, CA

Sonoma, CA

Picture from our Private Tasting at 750 Wines in December 2012

As many of you know, I've been to the Napa Valley for over 50 times.  It really is my second home.  I love the people, the feel, of course the wine and food and the beauty.  Periodically, people ask me about Sonoma and while I've visited the Sonoma Valley many times, I had not experienced it for a few days together.   For this trip, I wanted to discover a few gems that Sonoma had to offer and then return to My “home”: Napa.

My good friend Monica from 750 Wines (in St. Helena, CA) helped arrange a few wine tastings in Sonoma and Napa.  

Chocolate Pot de Crème

Arista Winery

The first day, we went to Arista Winery and then LimmerickWines. I preferred Arista.  We decided to stop for lunch at Chacuterie and enjoyed their friendly service and great soup and ribeye sandwich.  They had my favorite chocolate pot de crème that Jeff “forced” me to try.  All I can say was it was worth the calories!  We walked around the city square to get a feel of 2013 Healdsburg.

Hotel Le Mars

While we were in Healdsburg, I went over to do a site visit at Hotel Le Mars.  Hotel Le Mars is a Relais and Chateaux property in the heart of Healdsburg.  It is a lovely property with 16 spacious rooms on 2 floors and I would recommend it to anyone who wants experience a day/evening in Healdsburg.  It has a country french feel (my personal favorite interior design style) and is known for its wonderful service.

Farmhouse Inn

We checked into Farmhouse Inn in the late afternoon.  Farmhouse Inn is 15-20 minutes south of Healdsburg off a country road.  The Inn has 16 rooms in all.  Two above the restaurant which are really small and only good for 1 night.  There are 6 rooms along the path from the road toward the back of the property which were cozy and had wood burning fireplaces.  If you are okay with “road noise” (white-noise), then these rooms are perfect because of their coziness.   The last 8 rooms are their Barn Rooms which were the most modern and spacious and had gas burning fireplaces.  We stayed in one of the Barn Rooms. The rooms were very comfortable and we liked our rooms location toward the rear of the property overlooking the trees.

We stayed at Farmhouse Inn for two nights.  We had dinner in Guerneville at Zazu which had the feel of “real” Sonoma County.  Good meal with sizable portions and I would recommend that you try it.

Zazu

MacPhail Winery

The following day, we drove to MacPhail Winery which was my favorite winery in Sonoma!  They had wonderful wines to taste and buy – which we did!

Martinelli Winery

We met our friends, Jose and Sherri at Barndiva for lunch.  We enjoyed our lunch outside on their courtyard and discussed the rest of the itinerary with them.  After lunch, we stopped at Bell Wines and did an impromptu tasting at Martinelli Winery then returned to check Sherri and Jose in at Farmhouse Inn.  Farmhouse Inn was having a dining event, “Dueling Sommeliers” that we had prepaid for.  Our dinner was fun and engaging.

The following morning, we left Sonoma for “home” in Napa.  My takeaway from Sonoma versus Napa is that I am still a Napa person.  Two nights in Sonoma are plenty to get a feel of this part of the world.  I would add visiting the Valley of the Moon in Sonoma if I had an extra half day.  I would recommend either the Farmhouse Inn and Hotel Le Mars and would guide you based on the experience you preferred – country versus city.

Look out for my next blog: Part II, “Back in Napa”!


The World is Our Playground!

Mari