The Savvy Tourist

Is this your kind of vacation?

There are endless vacation options for today's savvy tourists but the one I am asking you about in this post is a Bed and Breakfast vacation. Have you ever experienced the type of lodging where you actually just feel like a guest in someone's home, rather than a large impersonal chain hotel? As luxurious and special as some B&Bs can be, I personally don't think they are for everyone. Large families with children will probably not feel comfortable in such a place, nor do many B&Bs provide the proper accommodations for such families. Bed & Breakfasts, as well as some small boutique hotels and Country Inns, are reserved more for the intimate traveler such as the romantic couple.

I personally was able to experience a stay in a lovely romantic B&B called The Darley Manor Inn located in Wilmington, DE. as a gift from my grandparents on my wedding night. It was very quiet and exquisitely decorated and I surely felt like I was a friend of the family as the Inn Keepers were waiting up for us and excited to congratulate us on our recent nuptuals. The strange part was that we got married on a Tuesday, so the Inn was empty that night except for us. We were the main attraction and got lots of attention, maybe even too much attention. Breakfast was a little uncomfortable since we were the only guests at a very large family sized table with many people waiting on us and asking us questions and trying to be personable and polite. As much as I appreciated their hospitality (and awesome breakfast) and would definitely stay there again, I prefer not to be the center of attention.

Next time I think I would like to try a larger scale B&B, where we will be able to enjoy the home cooking and the hospitality, but also be able to blend in and possibly mingle with some of the other guests. I just happen to have my eye on a few in the Napa Valley Wine Country up in northern California. My savvy sis-in-law lives in St. Helena so I will be using that as an excuse to try these fancy places when we visit her. One of the ones I have my eye on is The Wine Country Inn where they offer full buffet breakfast, afternoon wine and appetizers, luxury honeymoon cottages, spa services, pool and jacuzzi, wine tours and a shuttle to local wineries. This is my kind of vacation!

For a more intimate setting, I would also like to try The Glass Mountain Inn which is more of a homestyle environment and nestled in a secluded wooded area that is very close to town even though you feel like you are very far away in your own little paradise. Activities include biking, hiking, horseback riding, golfing and birdwatching or just lying around while you recover from the two course gourmet breakfast.

So, for the more intimate savvy tourist, let me suggest trying a Bed and Breakfast vacation for you and your special someone. If you already have a B&B that you are crazy about, please write in and share with all of my savvy readers.

Now is a good time to plan your next B&B vacation or possibly give one as a gift.

Wine Tasting in Temecula

My originally planned trip to San Francisco got scrubbed due to an illness in the family...mine!!! The flu caught up with me and changed my plans drastically.  So, no long distance travel for my savvy little family this time, but we did find a few day trips that were quite enjoyable and close by.

Wine tasting is one of our main attractions here in the Temecula Valley, whether you are a local or a tourist, it never gets old. We are known as Southern California's Wine Country and we are quite proud of it. There are over 25 wineries tucked away in our beautiful little valley and they each have something special to offer. So, we took a day and checked out a few of them, actually just three of them to be exact.

Our day started off with lunch at The Ponte Family Estate Winery in their very quaint all-outdoor dining restaurant, The Smokehouse. The warm Autumn day could not have been more perfect for outdoor dining, but then again, that's why we live in Southern California. The service was exemplary and generous. I say it like that because not only did our waiter take great care of us, he allowed my "Savvy Aunt" to leave with all of the wine glasses on the table...and the menu...and the dessert menu...and the napkins...only kidding, she didn't take the napkins. Lunch gave us the opportunity to do a little wine tasting with our food so we didn't do any official wine tasting in the Tasting Room as much as we just enjoyed the views of the vineyard and the mountains and the beautiful countryside. We also enjoyed the gift shop with all of it's specialty items including more incredible food and wine. The Ponte Winery is one that I highly recommend to anyone whether you are in the valley for a long visit or just passing through. I for one can't wait to try their Sunday Brunch Buffet one of these days soon.

Our next stop was going to be what I thought was Van Roekel Vineyards. I have lived in the valley for over 12 years now and knew this winery existed. I saw their wine in the local grocery stores, but couldn't for the life of me find them on "winery row". I thought they had been affiliated with another winery once so we went there instead.

Maurice Car'rie Vineyard and Winery was one of the first vineyards planted here in our region back in 1968. The actual winery was founded by Budd and Maurice C. Van Roekel in 1986. Hence the affiliation I had heard of!  The Maurice Car'rie Winery is gorgeous as well as warm and inviting. Buddy and Cheri Linn are the current owners of this award winning winery known for it's sweet and fruity varieties of Chenin Blanc and Riesling, along with the traditional greats of Chardonnay and Merlot.

While my savvy hubby and savvy auntie were partaking in the wine tasting passport offered at this establishment, I did a little asking around. I found out that I wasn't losing my mind after all and the so called Van Roekel Winery is now known as La Cereza Winery, the sister winery to Maurice Car'rie. Just so happens there is a combo wine tasting passport that can be purchased so that wine lovers can sample wines at both establishments for one low price.

La Cereza Winery is also run by the Linn family and shares the talents of the same veteran winemaker, Gus Vizgirda. Both wineries have their own distinctive label, identity and wine list. La Cereza Winery has received a little bit of a face lift since being known only as Van Roekel. Although still very European, they have added some personal pizzaz with their new signature series "Girlfriends" wine and cigar products.

Maurice Car'rie and La Cereza are both on my list of places to revisit, maybe for the upcoming holidays!!