Sonoma Valley: What to do...

...or at least what we did!

There are so many vineyards & activities

in wine country, that it can be overwhelming

to decide what to do.

Since we didn't have a lot of time, 

and we really just wanted to relax, 

I made sure we didn't schedule too many things.

First off, we were really glad that we 

stayed in Glen Ellen instead of Sonoma.

Glen Ellen is a gem,

just 10 minutes from Sonoma,

but it's quiet, picturesque.

It truly feels like you are in a story book.

One vineyard that I knew we had to visit

was Valley of the Moon.

I had some of their wine on our honeymoon

and loved it.

They were so incredibly nice to us,

explaining the finer points of wine tasting, 

talking to us about what wines we normally

liked & making suggestions.

Our favorites here were the Cuvee

and the Port...oh my goodness, the Port.

It was overcast & rainy for nearly our whole trip, 

but the sun would peak out every now & then, 

allowing us to snap a few photos of the gorgeous area.

Grapes everywhere.

If it had been sunnier, I would definitely have been

tempted to rent bicycles.

We also visited B.R. Cohn, 

where we tasted some fabulous

Cabs & olive oils made on the property,

& took a short tour where we learned

the winery's connection with 

the Doobie Brothers,

as well as how the wine is actually made. 

But the rain started to pick back up, 

so no photos from there.

Both of these winerys were just a few miles 

from our Secret Cottage.

Glen Ellen also has some

gorgeous parks that are wonderful

to run or stroll through, 

as well as tree-lined streets

& quaint bridges.

We drove through the Sonoma Developmental Center

which is a campus for folks with

developmental disabilities 

that boasts some gorgeous historic buildings.

It was there that we came upon Tuggy, 

& I just had to get a picture.

Other Glen Ellen musts

are lunch at The Glen Ellen Village Market

 & dinner at The Fig Cafe, 

both just steps from where we stayed.

Of course we wanted to visit Sonoma, too, 

so one evening we headed down to the

town plaza for some scrumptious

thin crust pizza at The Red Grape

& browsed through the many

shops selling vintage wares, kitchen goods, 

and our favorite: books.