Weddingbee boards

It's decided!  We (two definite food and wine snobs) are heading to Napa Valley and San Francisco for our honeymoon, but internet research can be deceiving, so if you've been to wine country...Where did you stay?  Where did you eat?  What did you do?  Share the good stuff!

OH Napa..how fun! Brix is a great restaurant and one of my favorite wineries is the v. Sattui..they have a great cute little deli where you can buy things and have a picnic! Robert Mondavi is very nice too, including the tour. Another fav restaurant is the Greystone Winery-Culinary Institute...pricey lunch but worth every cent...;-)

OH and then there's the winery that's really beautiful on top of a hill...you have to take a tram up there..very scenic.(sorry, I can't remember the name)

 OH and one more HUGE tip...there's a place called COPIA center for the wine, food and arts...It's a restaurant, museum, garden...there's a great bookstore in there too, plus, of course wine tastings!

 Unfortunately, I don't have any advice about hotels...I've heard of the Sonoma Mission Inn.

 Napa is so much fun, even downtown Napa...what month are you going? Hopefully it's not the summer, it can get super hot and crowded....

Napa holds a special place in my heart...FI whisked me away here post-proposal! How fun for you! We stayed at the Meadowood Resort in Napa and LOVED it. The cabins are so lux and comfy, and the place is very laidback and quiet. He originally wanted to stay at Auberge but it was booked. 

You MUST eat at Auberge (do lunch there and make sure you get a table on the terrace...the most amazing view of the Valley), and La Toque (FI says it is the best meal he has ever had in his life).

You will want to get a car service for the day to go around to the wineries...they usually have good recommendations (as will your hotel concierge). We visited many wineries so I don't recall every name, but Frog's Leap was SUPER fun. Feel free to message me if you want more info...I'm sure he has our actual trip itinerary saved somewhere!  

we head to napa every two months or so and its really a special place! my recommendations:

 eat:

• tra vigne (this is michael chiarello's restaurant- he's on the food network)
• bistro jeanty- my favorite french restaurant in the bay area. be daring, order the bone marrow.
• martini house- a gorgeous old house with amazing rustic fair
• french laundry- if you CAN get reservations and you dont mind paying $300+ pp

wineries:

• napa is great. but i'm a  huge fan of sonoma. its more quaint and not as touristy. i cannot remember the wineries because they're so small and off backroads. but if you like exploring  sonoma rocks.
• but in napa, i concur with domain chandon, v. sattui

sf: *rubbing hands together*

• slanted door- cool, hip great vietnamese food.
• aqua/michael mina/ gary danko/fleur de lys- all 4 star/1-2 michelin star restaurants. yum yum yum
• ferry building- great place to just roam on a sat or sun morning.tons of specialty food shops and yummy restauratants.
• and i know a ton of "hole in the wall" yet awesome restaurants. just let me know if you'd like recs!

in terms of where to stay in SF, i've been around to a lot of hotels looking for a wedding reception- so here's my take

Union Square- center of the shopping area/downtown

• clift hotel- very *cool* hotel. along the lines of the W
• westin st. francis- michael mina's restaurant is inside.
• four seasons- my gym is inside here. great hotel right on market st near all the hubbub
• westin at market- nice and near union square
• the palace hotel- grand old hotel

nob hill

• the fairmont/mark hopkins intercontinental/ritz- all on the top of the hill with amazing views. $$$ but prepared to walk very steep hills.

Financial District

• Mandarin oriental- 5 star service in one of the tallest bldgs in sf
• the omni- smaller and pretty affordable

Embarcadero- its quieter here but is right near the water and the ferry bldg

• hotel vitale- great boutique hotel and has a great happy hour bar called the americano

my cousin came to visit and stayed in fisherman's wharf. i'd suggest not staying here. its the northern most part of the city and gets super windy. plus you can just go to the wharf during the day. at night, not much to do.

g luck!

Thanks to all for your fabulous suggestions!  I absolutely cannot wait to be married and celebrating in Cali!  Missy Jenn, my wedding date is September 13, 2008, so hopefully mid-September won't be too hot or crowded, but I know we will love it regardless.  Hopefully, it's not TOO cold either because we are planning an outdoor ceremony and dancing in Michigan.