California Archives - TRIPRAMBLER

What It’s Like to Visit One of America’s ‘Happiest Places’ on California’s Central Coast

About 230 miles south of San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge and just over 200 miles north of Los Angeles’s world-famous Hollywood sign – right off highway 101 — lies the central California community of San Luis Obispo. Referred to by the laid-back locals with the simple moniker “SLO” (pronounced as “slow”), the town and […]

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THE IRRESISTIBLE CHARM OF NAPA’S CULINARY CAPITAL YOUNTVILLE

NORTH AMERICA / Nicholas Kontis

The Napa Valley town of Yountville is like a beautiful well-crafted bottle of wine: carefully thought out and the longer you spend in its atmosphere, the better it gets. You immediately become infatuated by its carefree, unhurried vibe, unmistakable charisma, and sheer beauty intertwined with vineyards. The Town of Yountville is steeped in upscale epicurean

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BOTTLEROCK NAPA VALLEY – WHERE THE FOOD RIVALS THE MUSIC

NORTH AMERICA / Nicholas Kontis

If it’s Memorial Day weekend in the Napa Valley, then it’s time for BottleRock, the three-day music, food, wine, and brew festival. The first taste of the summer festival season begins with BottleRock presented by JaM Cellars and taking place at the Napa fairgrounds. Move over Muse, Snoop Dog, and The Killers; there’s more to BottleRock

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Napa Valley: A Culinary, Palette-Pleasing Tour for the Fifth Sense

NORTH AMERICA / Nicholas Kontis

SolbarTantalize your five senses with our roadmap to restaurants we’re loving in the valley of vino. At a blind tasting in Paris in 1976 known as the “Judgment of Paris,” Napa Valley vintners shocked the wine world with not one, but two first-place finishes. Stag’s Leap S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon won for reds, and for whites

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Is Sonoma County America’s Most Complete Wine Region?

NORTH AMERICA / Nicholas Kontis

Robert Frost said, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” That mantra bodes well when deciding where to visit Northern California’s two most celebrated grape destinations. Napa Valley is a deserving queen to the throne, holding the torch as America’s preeminent encounter with

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Casual dining at Napa’s River Terrace Inn Alba Restaurant

NORTH AMERICA / Nicholas Kontis

Visitors to the cradle of modern day wine country, the iconic Napa Valley, have discovered solace on the Napa River at the River Terrace Inn. Located on the banks of the Napa River, the cozy property is a member of the stellar, one-of-a-kind group of hotels managed by the hospitality gems at Noble House Hotels &

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Seafood Magnificence: In a Fantasy World Décor at San Francisco’s Waterbar

NORTH AMERICA / Nicholas Kontis

Located on San Francisco’s Embarcadero Waterfront with panoramic bay views A veritable seafood feast with breathtaking views of San Francisco Bay, the Bay Bridge and Treasure Island. Famous among local San Franciscans and surely, now under the visitors radar. A seafood lover’s dream eatery. How can you not love a restaurant with an oyster bar

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Made in the Shade in Manhattan and Redondo Beaches

NORTH AMERICA / Nicholas Kontis

Minus images of glamorous movie stars and the dreaded thought of being stuck for two hours in L.A. traffic on the I-405, nothing evokes “California Dreaming” quite like the epic beaches of Los Angeles. They make the area a magnet for sun worshippers, who flock to its soft, warm sand and swaying palms. While most

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The Stanford Court Hotel – Contemporary Nob Hill Luxury in Old World San Francisco

NORTH AMERICA / Nicholas Kontis

In 1882 the author Robert Louis Stevenson, perhaps described it best naming Nob Hill, “The Hill of Palaces.” Later, the great crooner Tony Bennett sang of “To be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars.” Tony Bennett might not have been from San Francisco, but surely had San Francisco’s Nob Hill neighborhood in

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