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California

Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa

  “Can I get you a glass of sparkling wine? It’s from Gloria Ferrer just down the road.”  Max at reception smiles, the reception area is small, but they deftly get everyone though. My teenage daughters looks over at me. “And for you, he says looking at my girls, we …

Highway 1 through Big Sur is open! #driveHWY1

  Yay! Highway 1 is now open all the way through Big Sur from Carmel to Morro Bay. Storms and mudslides forced the iconic road to close for nearly 18 months, but Caltrans worked its magic and re-opened the road two months ahead of schedule. To celebrate, Visit California – …

Sonoma County: Twisted Horn Ranch

  “That big one is Rocky, he was our first!” Kristine Beck, our host, points to the tan Longhorn bull just outside the window of our bunk house.  He weighs about a ton and is nearly as tall as Kristine’s rancher husband Dave. If his twisted horns were straight they …

9 places see wildflowers in Northern California #ad

Hallelujah! Governor Jerry Brown has announced that California’s 5-year drought is officially over! The warm oceans waters of El Nino have resulted in a plethora of rain. The heavy rains have given California another gift –  the most spectacular display of wildflowers the Golden State has seen in years! The best time …

15 cool things to do at North Tahoe’s Mourelatos Lakeshore Resort

  One of my favourite places to stay in Lake Tahoe’s North Shore is the Mourelatos Lakeshore Resort in Tahoe Vista. I discovered it last April, on our trip to Tahoe to enjoy a little Spring skiing. We all loved it so much then, I knew that a summer break would be a MUST. …

California: Sonoma Coast for families

Sonoma Coast for families Not many people in the UK know about Sonoma County. Located only 50 miles north of San Francisco, it’s long been a favourite getaway for city folk wanting to escape the foggy summers. With a family, Sonoma’s the perfect place to enjoy an active holiday, with kayaking/biking/hiking/fishing or …

Tipping in California: Guide to how much and when

Americans are used to navigating the highly subjective world of tipping. Like it or not, it’s how their famous “service with a smile” culture is funded.  Most service jobs pay less than $10/£6.30 an hour (minimum wage in California is $8.35/£5.30). That’s not very much if you consider the knowledge of say, …

Do you say Cali?

The first time I heard the apocopation Cali I cringed. I almost broke London etiquette and corrected the offenders on the tube. They had smart Prada bags, looked like they were in PR, and were discussing a recent trip to “Cali”. Erm, no one in California would actually use the term Cali. They …