Wine & Knomes

Decided to drive out to Temecula today. It's approximately 1 hour 20 minutes from my place in Orange County. It's a nice day getaway. You can either take the 91 to the 15 south or if you are in South OC like me, you can just take the Ortega Highway (Highway 74) which goes directly over the mountains and into Lake Elsinore. Then from there, hop on the 15 south for about 8 more miles and you are there. The Ortega Highway is a windy road going through Cleveland National Forest but it's got less traffic and is a little more direct depending on where you are coming from. I happen to live down the street from the entrance so it's perfect for me.

Most of the wineries are off of the main road Rancho California Road. We decided to have lunch in Old Town Temecula which reminded me of Knott's Berry Farm for some reason. haha. There are a few restaurants, antique stores, candy store, etc. Then we headed to our first winery.

We chose Briar Rose Winery. The original land owner worked for Disney and had built a replica of Snow White's cottage on the land for his wife. The cottage is still there and is actually the wine tasting room. It's so cute. This winery is a little different than most of the others in the area. They actually serve you at small tables in the cottage. It's not the normal counter kind of winery. They also say they require reservations however, if it's slow enough there isn't a problem coming in as a "walk-in" without a reservation. The white wines were amazing. So yum. They were light and sweet. I loved the Estate Viognier, Gewerztraminer and the Citronier. This winery is a must visit. Cozy, whimsical and best of all great wine!

The other winery we chose was South Coast Winery. This is one of my favorite wineries in Temecula. I go there each time. They have tons of great whites, sparkling wine and I even liked some of the reds! They have a large tasting room and a large selection of wines. You get 5 wine coupons ($15 fee) plus you get to keep the glass. You can pick from about 50 types of wine and sparkling wines. I love their Ruby Cuvee sparkling wine and also their Spumante Diamonte sparkling wine. I also love their 2009 Gewurztraminer and the Riesling. There are tons that I have not tried yet either. I really want to try the sparkling Gewurztraminer!

We only had time for the 2 wineries this time. I am looking forward to going back in the spring time when the grapes start growing. Or in the fall when they harvest. It's such a pretty area with the rolling vineyards.

Back to the real world tomorrow. Getting ready for a busy few months. Good thing I have a nice new bottle of wine to pop open in case of work stress... :-)

Super Secret wine tip: Yes, Sparkling Wine is what we normally would call "champagne". However, you are not allowed to call it champagne unless it's actually from Champagne, France! So, if you are wine tasting, it will be called Sparkling Wine. Not Champagne.

Cheers!

Weekends Ahead

As my good "friend" Kelly Clarkson would say..... "I'm Ready Now!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMMkIqfmW2s

Ready for what?? For my 2 upcoming weekend trips of course! This weekend I'll be celebrating 2 of my good friends' birthdays in Manhattan Beach and next weekend is my Labor Day DC trip! I'm so excited.

Currently I'm concentrating on Manhattan Beach as it's coming up this weekend. I have picked out a dinner place which I cannot disclose at this time for the off chance that my roommate (who is one of the birthday girls!) may read this post. I also have a nice bottle of champagne which I received as a 30th birthday present to me from said roommate. Roommate had a free 2 night stay for the Manhattan Beach Marriott Hotel which she won from a work raffle. My ex-roommate's ex boyfriend also works there and he is going to take care of our parking charges and possibly get us an upgrade. Which we totally did not ask for but are sooooo excited about!! I will let you know what we end up doing on our little weekend trip.

Then...next week I will concentrate on the DC trip coming up next Friday! We will be making a Target trip sometime next week for the last minute necessities. We also decided that a great way to save money will be to bring breakfast bars/snacks so we won't have to go out to breakfasts. This will save us 3 meals! Once we are there, I will pick up some sort of fruit from a market. Fruit is something I crave while on vacation. Maybe it's all the walking or maybe it's the lack of fruit in the meals eaten on vacation. All I know is I always want APPLES!!! haha. Oh and of course WATER! Always have to make sure you buy water before you head back to your hotel for the night. The worst thing is when you end up having to drink the bottle of water the hotel has provided and then seeing the $5 charge on your bill! Fail Whale!!

Ok kids.... enough of this random post. I just wanted to let you know that fun things are coming. In fact....I think I shall make a DC playlist for my Zune. I'll let you know how that goes. All of these pre-planning rituals make the wait a little more bearable. :-)

A bientôt Travel Peeps!!
translation: See you soon!

Travel Girl gets her last minute travel necessities from:
TARGET
www.target.com

San Diego Zoo

Working at a hotel has it's perks. Sometimes you get free stuff. In this case... tickets to the San Diego Zoo!

San Diego is about 1 1/2 hours south of Orange County. I loved this zoo. I haven't been in years so it was great to visit. There were lots of babies and most of the animals put on a show for us.

Things I Learned At The Zoo:

1. Hippopotamas' are ginormous!

2. Baby monkeys get in trouble by their mama's too.

3. Gorillas are amazingly human like. Especially when they interact with their babies.

4. Big cats like to sleep alot.

5. Baby Bears and Koalas are hilarious when they try to get comfortable in a tree.

6. Polar Bears like carrots.

7. The San Diego Zoo is very hilly.

***A GREEN TIP- The San Diego Zoo does it's part to Recycle. They have tons of recycle bins for cans and plastic containers. You can also recycle your old cell phones there.

Here are a few pics from the day.

This is the most action we saw out of all the big cats.

Look at the way he is sitting. So human like...it's scary!

You see a lot of reflection from the window but how cute is this little guy playing with his mom or dad. His face is priceless. You may need to click on this one to see his face up close. Adorable.

This guy is in charge.

These guys were swimming all over.

About to take a swim.

This is a cool pic.

This position didn't work too well. His paw is soooo cute! ha ha.

Maybe this position is better.

Now it's the Koala's turn to get comfy.

Focused.



Ciao Travel Peeps!

Travel & Adventure Show- LA

So yeah.....I went a little crazy on brochures.






Got to meet Rick Steves and sit in on his seminar. http://www.ricksteves.com/ He reminded me of my Travel & Tourism teacher back in the day. He was enthusiastic about what he was talking about and for travel in general.



After listening to him speak about what makes his tours different from other tours and what people would be a good fit for his tours......I decided that I would most likely not be a good candidate for his tours.... your luggage has to be approximately 9 x 22 x 14! wtf! For those of you that don't want to do the math...that is the requirements of a carry-on at the airport. There is absolutely no way! The reasoning behind the small luggage is because they stay right downtown in main cities (as opposed to some of the bigger tour companies who stay outside of town in bigger hotels). Some of these main cities have lots of stairs, no elevators or a little bit of a hike since the bus cannot access some small areas in which these hotels may be located. Also, everyone carries their own luggage. The advantage is that you get some great family owned quaint hotels in some amazing cities right near all of the action. When all of the bigger tour buses have to leave for the night, you will still be there in the middle of everything! But yeah.....2 weeks worth of luggage in a carry-on?? I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to do that. :-)



We also got to listen to Samantha Brown speak. She is host of a few shows on the Travel Channel. Passport to Europe and Passport to Great Weekends and next season's Passport to Asia. http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Samantha_Brown She pretty much has the best job ever! Getting paid to travel and stay in wonderful places! Luckyyyyyy.

I put my name in all the drawings. I haven't won anything yet but I'm waiting for a phone call or an email telling me i've won a 6 night trip to Ireland or a round trip ticket on Jet Blue to anywhere they fly or one of the sweet gift baskets or the trip to Vietnam. ;-) I'll keep you posted!

LA Travel Show this weekend!!!!

So I just found out about this travel show coming up this weekend in Los Angeles. It's called the Los Angeles Times Travel & Adventure Show. The show will be at the Los Angeles Convention Center this Saturday 2/14 and Sunday 2/15. The cost to get in is $10 at the door or $8 if you purchase them online. Parking is $12 so car pool!! The show will be open to the public from 10am-5pm. http://www.latimes.com/extras/travelshow/index.html

I checked out the exhibitors list and they have some really awesome ones. A few that I am excited to see are:

Authentic Ireland- www.authenticireland.com
Car Italy And Tours- www.caritaly.com
Celebrity Cruises (Europe)- www.url.com
Contiki (Europe)- http://www.contiki.com/
Greek National Tourist Organization- http://www.visitgreece.gr/
Holland America-Cruise Stars- www.hollandamerica.com
Holand America Line Alaska- www.hollandamerica.com
Jet Blue- http://www.jetblue.com/
Oceana Cruises (Europe)- www.oceaniacruises.com
Travel Bound (Europe)- http://www.aaa.com/AAA_Travel/EuropeanVacations/european_vacation.htm
Travel Impressions Africa- http://www.travimp.com/brochures/ti_south_africa/index.html
Travel Indochina- www.travelindochina.com
US Department of State Passport Agency- www.travel.state.gov

Some of their sponsors are AAA, National Geographic Adventures and The Travel Channel.

Along with all of the booths, there will also be Destination Workshops, Speakers and chances to win some sweet prizes (trips!!!!!).

**Also, the US Department of State Passport Agency will be there and you can apply for a passport if you need one or renew your current passport. I will be renewing mine as I'm pretty sure it's almost expired. ;-) See the show's website for information on what you need to bring to the show if you are interested in getting a passport or renewing your current one. If you don't have a passport, it is always good to have on hand.....just in case!!!!

I am looking forward to collecting brochures and information and adding my name to all of the drawings. ha ha.

Hope you get a chance to check it out too!

I am SUPER excited!

Another Hike!

So, I'm going on another hike tomorrow. Well actually, today. (approx 8 hours from now. ek!) If I don't blog again.......I've been eaten by mountain lions.

I'm scared.....

Day Tripping- La La Land

Hooray for Hollywood!

I know, I know. The economy sucks! But that doesn't mean you can't try new things and visit new places. Since I (like the rest of you, I'm sure) am currently on a budget, the big trips are on hold. Most recently, I've decided to give Hollywood another try. They've actually cleaned it up a bunch in the last few years. I've taken 2 separate day trips to Hollywood recently and here's what I've found:

Griffith Park Observatory:

http://www.griffithobs.org/

Admission is free! Woo hoo! Located in Griffith Park above the neighborhood of Los Feliz, the Griffith Park Observatory over looks the city of Los Angeles (including the Hollywood sign). It has great views of the city and the stars if it's a clear night! They have a ton of exibits on astronomy including the planets, stars, the moon, etc. All for free. For approximately $7, you can check out a show at the Planetarium located within the Observatory. http://www.griffithobservatory.org/psoplanet.html A very interesting show and I definitely recommend seeing it while you are there. You can also check out the ginormous telescope (only open on clear nights) and check out the stars and planets live and in action.

The view of LA from the Observatory

Pink's Hotdogs:

Hollywood's famous hot dog stand. Opened in 1939. Tons of celebrities grab a Pink's hot dog while they are in town. There are autographed pictures all over. The line is crazy long and it's literally a big "stand". No inside dining. They do have an outdoor patio with lots of seats. Any kind of hot dog you can imagine, they have. The dogs are all named after celebrities. Vegetarians, don't worry, they even have a vegi dog! Woo hoo! And yes, we did stand in line for 45 minutes to get a freaking hot dog. Don't judge. We wanted to say we'd been there, done that. :)

http://www.pinkshollywood.com/

The Grove:

The Grove is such a cute outdoor shopping center. I love it there. They have a ton of shopping places, a few pricy restaurants, a water show (think a tiny Bellagio watershow), live music, a trolly, coffee and icecream stands, etc. The Grove is a good "people watching" place. The Farmer's Market is also next door.

http://www.thegrovela.com/

The Grove @ Christmas time

Universal Studios:

Soooo expensive! However, I got in for free since there was a travel industry day. Yayyyy me! It was fun, but there is not a ton of things to do. The rides are more about the special effects rather than speedy rollercoasters. Be careful of all the rides because pretty much all of them squirt water in your face. Seriously. The Backlot Tour is fun, but I've been on it so many times, that it's not as exciting as it used to be. I would say go if you've never been. But if you are looking for speedy roller coasters, try Disney or Knott's in Orange County instead. Universal is more about special effects and movie making.

We did get to meet the Grinch and take pictures with the "Who's" since they had "Grinchmas" going on. ;-)

http://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/

Pantages Theater:

So this one's gonna cost you. However, you should definitely see a show here if you can. The theater is amazing. I saw Lion King there and also Wicked....TWICE! Both shows were amazing and the theater was beautiful.

http://www.pantages-theater.com/?gclid=CNPu4omDkJgCFRYiagodDXDYng

Disney Soda Fountain & Studio Store:

Located on Hollywood Blvd near Hollywood & Highland. Fun old fashioned icecream parlor with a Disney flare.

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/el_capitan/soda_fountain/main.html

***Just in case you are wanting a picture of the Hollywood sign......it is NOT lit up at night. Take your pictures during the day! I'm just saying....

If you would like to get close to the Hollywood sign, check out this website for the best places to view it: http://www.hollywoodsign.org/see.html They show you directions to see the sign. I personally took the Beachwood Canyon one which leads into some really cool houses. I would definitely like to check out the Lake Hollywood one. And of course I've been to Hollywood & Highland but that is pretty far from the sign.

**The Capital Records building was built in 1956. It was the worlds first circular office building. It resembles a stack of records (vinyl 45's) on a turntable. The needle at the top has a red blinking light that blinks in Morse Code to spell out the word Hollywood. It has done so since the building opened in 1956.

There are a ton of other things to do while in LA/Hollywood. Melrose Ave has funky hip shops and cafes, Robertson Ave is famous and most likely filled with Papparazzi because of the famous expensive shops such as Kitson. There's Rodeo Drive, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood & Highland, Grauman's Chinese Theater and the Fashion District are just a few more highlights.

Another thing to do is to just drive around. Drive up into the Hollywood Hills or Beverly Hills and gawk at the mansions!

Have fun discovering Old Hollywood!

Movies to see:

All of them! It's Hollywood biatches!

(However, The Holiday is a good one!)

Happy New Year!

I know, I'm a little late but..... Happy New Year!!!!!

I hope you all get to go somewhere fun this year. Whether it's a European adventure, a trip to New York City or just a weekend getaway, I hope you have wonderful travels!

Don't let the economy get you down. Save your pennies and take a day or weekend trip. Learn something about a near-by city or your own city. (google can be helpful!) Learn about others. Just get out there and do something!

Take care and be safe in 2009!

Coming soon...... DAY TRIPS! (mainly because I'm poor and bored with no big trips planned!) haha. I've already taken some fun day trips and plan on taking more. I will let you know what I've been up to soon. ;-)

Ciao fellow world travelers!