My Bachelorette Party: San Francisco and Sonoma

I have the best Maid of Honor in the world!  Between grad school, work, and preparing to move into a new apartment, she miraculously found time to plan THE BEST bachelorette party ever (and 3 time zones away, I might add).  I had such a fabulous time being surrounded by (and loved and adored by!) all my best friends for four days.

The weekend started at 4:30 a.m. Thursday when my Santa Fe friends and I drove to Albuquerque (a 50 mile trip made possible by Panera breakfast) to catch our early flight to the Bay Area.  After a 2 1/2 trip (complete with Bloody Maries, Tequilla Sunrises, Coffees with Baileys, gossip and a few bridal magazines) we landed in Oakland!  One of my dear bridesmaids from Chicago who had arrived a few days earlier picked us up and we headed into San Francisco.  We met up with the other gals, checked in early to our hotel (Parc 55 Wyndahm in Union Square) and set out to explore the city by foot.  Some locals recommended Mama's in North Beach for brunch, and it was clearly THE PLACE to be on a Thursday morning as evidenced by the line down the street to get in.  Our Mimosa craving was too strong for a 1-2 hour wait, so we found another cute brunch spot on the same block: Café Divine.

We ate, drank, and cheers-ed to the start of a fabulous weekend together!  San Francisco turned out to be a very walkable city (with the right shoes!) and in the course of the afternoon we discovered the Fisherman's Wharf, Lombard Street, and several cute parks (as well as a pack of random goats). 

The crooked-est street!

It was a little windy...

After an afternoon of exploring we headed back to the hotel to get ready for a night out on the town.  My fabulous Maid of Honor (did I mention how great she is?!) put together survival kits for each girl: water bottles (a necessity for wine tasting!), sunscreen, coordinated nail polish (called Pinot! of course), wine bottle stoppers, and matching sun hats.  The best part was her clever poem about everything and the witty nick-names for everyone (“Sandy-gria,” “Jess” the bottle please!, and "Shelly" we open another bottle of wine?).  

We took some group pictures in our room before heading to dinner at Basil, a restaurant selected by my bridesmaid who recently moved to the Bay Area.  I absolutely LOVE Thai food and this menu was to die for!  After sufficiently stuffing our bellies with spring rolls, curry, and stir friend deliciousness, we ventured to Asia SF, an exotic and unique nightclub where we had an entertaining show by the most GORGEOUS men in drag I've ever seen, some creative shots, and our own private dance floor.  I had so much fun dancing and drinking with my girls!  We ended the night at Butter, where I coincidentally met a bachelorette who is getting married the same day as me.  We bought each other drinks for good Karma!

The whole group at Asia SF

Butter

The next morning consisted of the recountings of details from the night, the nursing of hangovers, and the packing of suitcases as we prepared for the next phase of our trip: Wine Country!  We picked up two rental cars (conveniently located in Union Square, saving us a cab fare to the airport) and set out over the Golden Gate Bridge to Guerneville, a small vacation town located along the Russian River in Sonoma County.  Our vacation home was appropriately named the Russian River Paradise.  

 

The whole group in our vacation home!

We had a perfect and relaxation afternoon getting settled into our house, enjoying delicious peach salads made by one of my Santa Fe girls, and soaking in our own private pool.  

The whole group in our matching sun hats!

We went for happy hour wine at an ADORABLE wine tasting room in Guerneville with rustic wood decor and a cute lounge area that seemed like it was made just for us.  After sampling some local vino we headed to dinner at Underwood, a classy bistro in Graton featuring to-die-for tapas and an impressive wine selection.

 

Saturday was the day we were all looking forward to the most - WINE TASTING!  We managed to squeeze in a short walk in a nearby park, part of the Redwood Forest, before the festivities.  

The day of wine then began at Korbel Champagne Cellars, conveniently located next door to our rental home!  The tasting room is across the street from the vineyard and surrounded by gorgeous gardens.  There's no better way to start the morning than with some bubbly!

After enjoying some mimosas, our limo picked us up and we headed to stop Number Two: Rochioli Vineyards.  The tasting room here was small and intimate, and the view of the vineyards was absolutely beautiful.  This was a short stop, though, and we piled back into the limo to head to our next destination.  My amazing Maid of Honor thought of everything, including boxed lunches from a delicious bakery on the way to Wine Tasting Number Three.  

 

 

Stop Number Three was the most beautiful vineyard we visited: Ferrari-Carano in Healdsburg.  The Enoteca Tasting bar, located in the winery's underground cellar, features their Limited Release and Reserve Wines.  I absolutely fell in love with their Pinot Noir and Eldorado Noir dessert wine.  

Ferrari-Carano Winery

After an elegant and relaxation wine tasting experience, our limo transported us to our final destination of the day: Bella Wine Caves.  The tasting begins outside on their beautiful lawn and then continues into the cave, nestled under a hillside, where the wine barrels are stored in the optimum climate.  This was the most fun winery on our tour and a perfect spot to end our afternoon with live music and yard games.

Bella Wine Caves

We were all sad to say goodbye to our limo driver after a FABULOUS day of wine tasting, but we all looked forward to an exciting final night together!  We returned to our rental house for an amazing meal together (fish tacos for the four pescatarians!) followed by GIFTS and GAMES!  All I can say is that I am very impressed with the artistic skills of my friends, exhibited by their homemade lingerie creations. 

On Sunday we cheers-ed together one final time over homemade French toast and fruit salad before packing up and heading back to San Francisco.  

After arriving in the city, we ended the weekend with lunch and Bloody Maries at Foley’s Irish House in Union Square.  We then parted ways at the BART station, where my Bostonian, Iowan and Minnesotan girls left out of SFO and the Santa Fe girls and I departed from Oakland.  I would say that the trip ended there, but after another 2 hours in the air we truly concluded the amazing weekend in the most appropriate way possible by belting out 90s ballads for 50 miles from Albuquerque to Santa Fe.

Every single detail of our Wine Weekend was perfect and the only upset of the weekend was saying goodbye on Sunday.  I had so much fun with my besties and can’t wait to become Mrs. Ross in a few short weeks!