NOLAFrank

In what might seem like a localized version of "Visit 8 Countries in 10 Days", my wife & I have decided to pack as much as possible into an upcoming 8-day vacation to Northern California during the last week of April.

Some background--we're both in our early 50's, we're foodies and wine lovers (though not snobs about either); We love good music, esp. traditional jazz, big band, swing, and orchestral/symphonic. I like to walk--she'd prefer not to, especially if it's strenuous. We will have a rental car for the duration of our visit, even though we will most often take public transportation in San Francisco.

Neither of us has been to any of the places we're planning to visit (okay, my family visited Yosemite when I was 10, but that doesn't count). We've planned a San Francisco trip several times, but something's always come up before. The last time, we were in Carmel & Monterrey and loved the area so much, we never made it to the city. This time, the reservations are made, the tickets in hand, and all we need now is some final fine-tuning.

Any comments, or suggestions are greatly appreciated (and if you visit New Orleans, I'd be glad to reciprocate).

We'd especially like any guidance away from restaurants/sights that are just for tourists only. Any "only in San Francisco" type ideas also appreciated. Lastly, some suggestions on places to shop for ship/take home goodies for friends & family.

Day 1—Fly into OAK in the a.m. Rent car; Have lunch at Zachary’s Pizza; Drive to Sonora. Check into Hotel and have dinner at Banny’s Café’ in Sonora.

Day 2 (Sun)—Tour Yosemite. Picnic in the park and overnight at Yosemite Lodge

Day 3—Drive to Napa in the a.m. Pick up lunch at Oakville Grocery and visit/taste at 3 wineries in Sonoma area: Cakebread, Chateau St. Jean, and Sebastiani (?) Dinner at Café’ la Haye in Sonoma; (Don Giovanni was my first choice, but thought it might be too much like Tra Vigne; overnight tonight & Day 4 at Blackbird Inn in Napa)

Day 4—a.m. shopping and touring Napa area. Lunch at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen. Afternoon, limo tour of local wineries. Possibilities: Duckhorn, St. Supery, BV, Sterling, & Chappellet. Dinner at Tra Vigne

Day 5—Drive to San Francisco in the a.m. Lunch at Tadich Grill, Grayline City tour, then check into hotel. Dinner at Jeanty at Jack’s, then drinks/dessert at either Bix or Top of the Mark. (Next four nights lodging at Orchard Hotel in Union Square area).

Day 6—a.m. Alcatraz tour; Return & walk around FW & Ghiardelli Square; Lunch at Frjtz Fries (or should I drive to Ti Couz?). Afternoon—Golden Gate Park ; stop for snack and to pick up goodies at Tartine Bakery on way back to hotel. Tonight we’re headed to Beach Blanket Babylon and then a late dinner afterwards—tentatively at Café Jacqueline

Day 7—Head to the Ferry Plaza Building for a quick tour and for lunch at Ferry Plaza Seafood. Then onto Sausalito and Muir Woods for the remainder of the day. This evening is our “special” night out. Dinner at Gary Danko.

Day 8—A.M.--Walking tour of North Beach & Chinatown. Lunch at R & G (or Great Eastern?) Afternoon is open to shop or explore things that have caught our attention earlier in the week. Dinner at Delfina, then Yoshi’s in Oakland for jazz.

Day 9—Breakfast at Mama’s on Washington Square, then back to airport for flight back to New Orleans.

yale

We just did a similar trip in October. We'd both been to SF before though so we were able to cut our time short there.

My one recommendation, if you can, spend one more day in Yosemite and condense two of your SF days into one. It's worth it. The park is huge. I wouldn't feel satisfied with just one day there.

SAB

RE: SF--you seem to be going from one side of town to the other on some days and maybe you could arrange some activities a little differently, especially if you don't intend to drive. For example, on the day you go to Alcatraz, you might follow that with a tour of North Beach and Chinatown which are much closer,rather than going across town to GGPark. BTW Tartine Bakery is in the Mission and not near GGPark or Union Square.

razzledazzle

Comment on Day 3-
You are driving to Napa in the AM
(4.5 hrs from Yosemite)to pick up lunch at the Oakville
Grocery, then head over to Sonoma
do 2 wineries( Cakebread is between Oakville and Rutherford in Napa and I think I would save it for your Napa day) and eat dinner at Cafe
le Haye, only to drive back to Napa ?

Why not drive to Sonoma town, have
lunch at Cucina Viansa or stop at the
Viansa winery deli on the way to Sonoma,
then visit a few Sonoma wineries,
then dinner. This part is troubling-
I would not advise driving back to Napa
if you have been drinking. Hwy 12/121
is no place to be at night after alcohol. I do love the food at Cafe le Haye, so , is a designated driver possible ?

If not, there are fabulous restaurants in Napa town-do check out Celadon and Pearl for starters. You are already eating at Cindy's (my current fave)
Have you considered Martini House
or Market in Yountville ?

My other thought is to perch in Napa
and surrounding county after your long drive,(Day3) and then do your limo tour
in Sonoma County the next day.

I agree with Yale, that Yosemite merits an additional day.

Now, I hope you a planning a spa day
to relax when you return to NOLA ?

R5

crefloors

My only suggestion for you would be to get a winery map...i'm sure your hotel and other places have them and rather than necessarily head for the "biggies", just drive around...there are zillions of small wineries..I did the wine tour in January and there were 90 wimeries participating and that was only a portion of the wineries in the area. I've found the smaller wineries are really nice to visit, you are often talking with the owner and wine maker and you can get some wonderful wine...but of course that is always a personal taste...but anyway, you might just give that a try if it appeals at all to you. I hope you enjoy.

FainaAgain

Day 7 - is it Saturday? just making sure you'll be there on a market day

dok94901

Cafe La haye is very good. Make sure that you have reservations. It is small, but excellent.

kimamom

Yes, Cafe La Haye is very good. They are rather strict on their reservation policy, tho. We called from the tasting room to say we would be about ten minutes late for our 5:30 reservation and she was not pleased, so we high-tailed it from the tasting room to the restaurant and made it in time.

The pot roast is very good here and they also have excellent desserts. We also very much enjoyed the Harmony Club at the Ledson Hotel for dinner last week. Have a fun trip! ***kim***

KathrynT

I would agree with trying to add a night somehow to Yosemite. Perhaps on Day 1 you could just drive straight to Yosemite and have lunch in Sonora instead. Be sure to take the little trails to Yosemite and Bridalveil Falls and, if you don't mind a bit of a hike, do the trail to the Vernal Falls bridge (or further if you're up for it and don't mind getting sprayed by the Fall.)

KathrynT

I would agree with trying to add a night somehow to Yosemite. Perhaps on Day 1 you could just drive straight to Yosemite and have lunch in Sonora instead. Be sure to take the little trails to Yosemite and Bridalveil Falls and, if you don't mind a bit of a hike, do the trail to the Vernal Falls bridge (or further if you're up for it and don't mind getting sprayed by the Fall.)

It looks like you've done lots of good research. Have a great time!

travelagent73

As a Michigander that has toured the same area, S.F. is a must. Spending the day (morning maybe) browsing through Chinatown is a "don't miss" experience. Especially if you decide to have lunch there. The other S.F. destination would be the wharf area. No first-time visitor should avoid that seafood extravaganza. You may want to purchase an "all day" bus pass (its good for the trolley also) and save a ton of time with parking and gas.

MileKing

I am all for packing in as much as possible on vacations (and Mrs. MileKing and I do), but have to say....re-think your itinerary...it seems WAY too much for 10 days. Napa, Sonoma, Yosemite, and Sausalito? Much too much.

We are headed to the area for 12 days in early June and are limiting ourselves to Yosemite, Sequoia, and Napa. We like the outdoors so we plan on spending much of our time there. We'll save San Fran and Sonoma for another day. I would suggest that if you only plan to spend one day in Yosemite, that you not bother going there on this trip. Eliminating the drive there/back plus the tour of Yosemite saves you close to two full days. Better to spend that time in wine country or in San Francisco given your love of wine and music.