Category: Restaurants

When we last left me, I was reveling in the tranquil charms of Capitola’s Monarch Cove Inn… But another sublime experience awaited me in Carmel-by-the-Sea. I was welcomed to L’Auberge Carmel by a smiling host proffering a fresh watermelon cooler, and I easily settled into the laid-back luxury of this European-style hostelry. The lavishly appointed guestrooms embrace a charming garden courtyard where intimate events are held, but now all was quiet, save for the trickling of a fountain.

My favorite part of working at Here Comes The Guide is visiting wedding locations. During a recent jaunt along the California coast, I spent two very different evenings in two very special places.

Continuing our mission to explore Half Moon Bay, Jan and I uncovered more delights: We visited Cypress Meadows, a new wedding location hidden behind a flower farm. We lingered in the sweet terraced garden as long as we could, and Jan had to practically drag me out of the wooden swing.

My colleague Jan Brenner and I recently combined business with pleasure in Half Moon Bay. With its fun and artsy downtown, exhilarating coastal hikes, and water sports, Half Moon Bay is a day tripper’s delight and a wonderfully easy and rewarding wedding destination—just ask our very own Meredith, who wed her sweetheart on a Half Moon Bay beach!

The Lark Creek Inn has charmed me every time I’ve been to the restaurant, but now there’s another excuse to go: half-price bottles of wine for the whole month of July. If you haven’t thought about your rehearsal dinner location yet, try out a meal this month at this sweet old Victorian in a redwood grove.

I’ve never been to an Indian wedding, but I’ve seen pictures of them and they are a feast for the eyes. I’m fascinated by the rituals and all the color: lots of bejeweled women draped in gorgeous saris, vibrant flowers in abundance … That’s why when I heard about this upcoming event—a “scintillating evening of fun and information, focused on the Bay Area Indian wedding market,” I signed up right away.

There are so many options in the Napa and Sonoma Wine Country, both for wedding locations and for lovely places to stay. We decided, just this time, to forgo the spa/resort route (though, I love me some spa!) and instead chose the super-cozy and yet boutiquey Cottages of Napa Valley.

I remember the first time I saw Lake Tahoe—I had just moved to San Francisco for graduate school. My then-boyfriend invited me to a summer weekend at his family’s cabin on North Shore. As a city girl, I had precious little experience with life more than 10 minutes from a shopping mall, and was instantly enraptured with Tahoe’s quiet beauty and mountainous grandeur. Six months later, the same boyfriend took me on a spontaneous Tahoe jaunt for another first—my first time skiing. And even though at the end of the day the Bunny Hill still seemed like K2 to me, there were plenty of other joys to be had. I was amazed at how different and yet equally magnificent the blue lake was in its winter setting, and how crisp and clean the rustic terrain appeared with a dusting of snow. Hot chocolate just tasted better in the sweet mountain air, and surely Lake Tahoe had more stars in the sky than anywhere else on earth!