Memorial Day Weekend in Sonoma Valley

This past Memorial Day weekend we spent five beautiful days in Sonoma Valley. We stayed in Downtown Sonoma for two days and Downtown Healdsburg for three days. We do not drive so it is convenient for us to stay in the downtown areas, plus we love walking everywhere. Below are the highlights from the trip plus a few other places we have been to previously.

Sonoma

Stay

The Ledson Hotel- We stayed at the Ledson once before this visit and it does not disappoint. There are only six rooms in this historic boutique hotel, each is dedicated to a Ledson family member. It is centrally located and this time we had a terrace overlooking the square.

Pros: Super comfy bed, in room fireplace, bathtub in the bedroom, terrace, prime location, historic building and furniture.

Cons: Not too many, but there is nobody there at the front desk at night or room service. We didn’t need any help but some might say that is a con. I liked the privacy of the hotel. Also no pool, spa, or gym.

Other hotels we have stayed in:

The Fairmont Mission Inn and Spa

Highlights: Beautiful resort and grounds, incredible spa with multiple pools, their restaurant Sante is one of my favorites in Sonoma, cozy rooms with fireplaces, nice casual breakfast restaurant, across the street from a coffee shop. This hotel is also where we stayed during our honeymoon so it is just extra special to us.

Cons: A bit far away from the downtown square. We have still walked there but it is about a 45 minute walk. You can bike it as well which we never did.

MacArthur Place

Highlights: Beautiful modern farmhouse resort, nice pool, a small spa, outdoor shower in room, fire pits around the grounds, about a ten minute walk from town, good restaurant and coffee shop.

Cons: Expensive with not that much to do there. We kept walking to town, but it is also not a bad or long walk. I think the pool and spa are also better at the Fairmont.

Restaurants

The girl and the fig- A classic Sonoma restaurant that never disappoints. We ate our first meal of the trip here and I had the best Croque Monsieur of my life.

Valley- A newer farm to table restaurant. The food was so healthy and delicious, and the space was very quaint.

Tasca Tasca- A delicious tapas restaurant, with some of my favorite macaroni and cheese I have ever had. We get it every time we are in Sonoma. They also serve it at La Salette, their sister restaurant.

Casual Eateries

The Sausage Emporium- A fantastic meal if you are hungover, they have a giant breakfast burrito which cured me

The Sunflower Cafe- A quaint and casual breakfast place, definitely worth a visit. They have a beautiful outdoor area.

Wineries/Tasting Rooms

Hamel Winery- A modern and elegant winery that is family owned. The views are gorgeous here, we never tire of doing wine tastings here.

Sebastiani- A large beautiful tasting room that is a ten minute walk from the square. I recommend doing a tasting in their barrel room that houses one of the biggest barrels in the world.

Pangloss Tasting Room- A modern tasting room on the square with one of the best cheese boards.

Sigh- A champagne tasting room that is the only kind in the square.

Sozie- A newer tasting room inside of the pink courtyard that has a prime spot right next to the fountain.

The Beacon- The only craft cocktail bar on the square. If you are sick of drinking wine this speakeasy is the place to go!

Healdsburg

Stay

Hotel Le Mars- This is also our second time staying here, and it feels like you are transported to a French chateau in Paris.

Highlights: Such a comfortable bed I felt like I was sleeping on a cloud, in room fireplace, Bvlgari bath products, jetted bathtub with scented bath salts, bidet, wine and cheese hour, complimentary in room breakfast, Parisian decor, prime location.

Cons: Definitely expensive but mostly worth it! They allow dogs but they charge a crazy amount for them to stay, so we didn’t bring our dog the second time. No pool, spa, or gym.

H2 Hotel- An eco friendly hotel that we stayed in the very first time we came to Healdsburg.

Highlights: Beautiful modern rooms, rooftop bar with views, two terraces in the room, eco-friendly, complimentary breakfast, outdoor pool, more reasonably priced.

Cons: Not my favorite hotel, I liked Hotel Le Mars better, but I can’t think of too many cons either. Next time we will try out Harmon House which is the sister property to H2.

Restaurants

Valette- One of the best local farm to table restaurants in town. A must do!

The Matheson- From the chef of Valette comes this new bustling restaurant with huge rooftop.

Guiso- A small spanish restaurant with a fantastic chef who’s family works the restaurant.

Bravas- Amazing tapas restaurant with a huge menu, a stand out dish is the fried eggplant chips with honey.

Barndiva- It’s name says it all, pretty much a bougie restaurant housed in a barn. We ate here once before but just got drinks this time. The food is good but the ambiance is what you come here for.

Camp Fina- A wonderful wood fired pizza place with large menu and quaint outdoor dining.

Casual Eateries

Little Saint- A new vegan food hall that used to be the SHED but looks very much the same.

Oakville Grocery- It is worth a stop in this quaint food store to check out all the local products.

Wineries/Tasting Rooms

Ferrari Carneros- A sprawling Tuscan style winery, you feel transported to Italy

Jordan-For another European style winery, this one is housed in a French style chateau. I loved the tour of the facilities and then at the end you have a sit down tasting in a secret room.

Roth Winery- A must do is their private wine cave tasting.

Lancaster- Another incredible wine cave tasting. This one in particular reminds me of something our of Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings.

Places I would not recommend:

There are not many, but this was just my personal experience:

Dry Creek Kitchen- I was so excited to dry this restaurant as it is a very famous restaurant in Healdsburg. The food was very good but as I started eating my main course I found a large piece of plastic in my food. It really turned me off from the rest of the meal and the manager was rude and pretty much made it seem like that was an impossible thing to happen. (I realized later that I took a photo of my food which I do before eating and saw the large piece sticking out in the photo)

Chalkboard- I was expecting maybe something a little different from this restaurant, it is way more casual and gastro pub like than I thought and the food was just okay.

The Montage- I was honestly super underwhelmed by this resort and all the hype there was around it. We wanted to check it out first to see if we wanted to stay here. However we decided against it, because it just did not look like it was worth the price, plus driving distance to town.

My Inspiration

One of the reasons I became a photographer was purely because it has been ingrained in me since birth. Photography runs very deep within my family. I have a collection of hundreds of photos taken by my grandmother and mother that spans decades. They traveled to places like Greece, Venezuela, Jamaica, Rome, and Paris. My half brother is also a photographer on my dad’s side. It was only natural for me to fall in love with the craft.

My mother died when I was very young and my grandmother passed away a few years ago from Alzheimer’s. I never really got to know my mother so I am able to see what she was like through these photos. I am grateful that I had a lot of time with my grandmother.

After rummaging through tons of photos in storage I chose these as some of my favorites. They capture the style of photography that I love and that I try and recreate today. During the pandemic I started watching Mad Men for the first time and I fell i love with the show. I was always very into Mid Century style for a while and I can’t believe I never watched it. I feel like my grandmother channeled Betty Draper while my mother was like Meghan Draper. I also found postcards, a vintage Barbie case, and Life Magazine from the 1960’s. I am so glad my family saved so much for me to look back on.

- Rebecca Dale Adler

(3 years old)

The Mansion Las Vegas

My husband and I just celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary. We met in Vegas, got married in Vegas, and have really called it home ever since. This year we decided to celebrate by staying at the MGM Sky Lofts which was a first for us. We have stayed in just about every Vegas hotel and this one was probably our favorite. When you stay at the Sky Lofts you also get access to the incredibly exclusive Mansion. The Mansion is invite only, you cannot even just pay to stay here. We had a fabulous lunch here where it feels like you are transported to Italy. The service was top notch and so was the food of course. I just snapped a few photos with my iPhone instead of my camera, because honestly I was not sure if cameras were allowed. It was such a special experience and I cannot wait to come back here again soon!

The Westgate San Diego

March has been a month of lots of things to celebrate. The pandemic seems to be ending, at least in San Diego, life is getting back to normal, and it is the 5 year anniversary of my marriage. The day of our anniversary we decided to get brunch at The Westgate Hotel. It is really a diamond in the rough, considering the hotel is not located in the best area. The entire hotel feels like you have stepped back in time, with decor that reminds me of Versailles. We ate a delicious brunch here in their light and airy dining room. The truffle and leek quiche was one of the best quiches I have ever had. They also have afternoon tea in the lobby but we will just have to try that another day!

Chamomile

It has been a new ritual that every week I head to the Farmer’s Market in San Diego and pick out a bouquet of fresh flowers. They have the most beautiful selection there, and I am always testing out new species of flowers. This week I chose a bunch of beautiful Chamomile. I feel like they go with my home decor incredibly well. I love how they are so delicate and look like tiny daisies. After I purchase flowers I like to read up on how to care for them. Chamomile are great because they do not attract bugs often, they do not need direct sunlight, and you can use the flower to make tea!

The ASU Art Museum

In keeping with my minimalism theme lately, I had the chance to go to Phoenix and photograph the ASU art Museum. I find this series similar to the one that I did of the San Antonio Library back in 2017. You will find much of this style of architecture in the southwest. This time I stuck with my Fujifilm x100s camera instead of my DSLR which I have been only using this year so far. It was harder to zoom into the shots that I wanted because of the fixed 23mm lens (which is 35mm full frame) I just had to move my body instead. I still found it much more enjoyable to shoot with.

An Ode to Ranunculus

A few days ago I purchase a bouquet of gorgeous ranunculus from the farmer’s market. They were hiding in the back and I asked if I could buy them. The man there said they were straight from the farm and not ready yet but that he would sell them to me anyway. I was so happy to get these beautiful flowers so early in the season. I truly felt so inspired to capture their beauty.

I spent a few hours photographing them in all kinds of ways. I finally settled on this lighting because I feel that it captures the elegant folds and details of the flowers. I also love the shadow play. That was fun to work with. These photos remind me of Irving Penn’s work, but are not directly inspired. In fact I only thought of his work after the shoot was over. I looked online at his flowers series, and while they are similar he mostly photographed flowers when they were decaying. In contrast, I enjoy photographing them when they are bright and living. I think this photo series might just be some of the best work I have done.

San Diego Water Front

The weather is finally perfect in San Diego, and a great time to walk around by the water. It is 75 degrees out which i think is the best weather, not too hot or too cold. I love that the waterfront is only a few blocks away from me and I can be by the water at any time, now I just need to hop on one of these beautiful boats!

Angelina New York

Angelina is a French tearoom that originated in Paris in 1903. I have never been to the one in Paris but when I heard there was one in New York that opened up I had to try it. Luckily it was located right around the corner from our hotel in Bryant Park. It was freezing cold that day so we rushed inside to warm up. We ordered tea, breakfast, a pastry, and their famous hot chocolate. I do not have a big sweet tooth, so I did think everything was a bit too sweet for me. The hot chocolate was very balanced but incredibly rich, I could only have a few spoonfuls. After a few bites of everything, I was stuffed with way too much sugar. I enjoyed the experience but I honestly think it is a place to come and take photos, not to eat. I do wonder if the Paris location is better, one day I will go and compare!

Hotel Le Mars

For my birthday last year we stayed at the beautiful Hotel Le Mars in Healdsburg, California. I love to visit wine country because it feels like a little bit of France without leaving the country. This hotel was no exception as it is a French hotel. I feel like you could find this little chateau on a quiet street in Paris. I loved the Parisian furniture and wrought iron balcony, sans the Eiffel Tower view.

A Stroll Through Central Park

Central Park is one of my favorite places to walk around in New York. I have been doing it since I was a child and have a pretty routine way that I walk in order to take in all of the sites. I do not live in the city anymore so any chance I get to come back here I am so excited for. I also got used to using my Fujifilm camera instead of my DSLR. I think the images are quite dreamy and cinematic.

Seneca

If you are in San Diego, there is a good chance you will eat Italian food at some point. The Little Italy area is one of the best in the nation, and possibly better than New York’s in my opinion. One of the best new restaurants in San Diego is Seneca. It is not located right in Little Italy but it is just a few blocks away on the 19th floor of the InterContinental Hotel. I have been here many times for dinner but as soon as they opened up for lunchtime I knew I had to go. It is much quieter during the day and you actually get to see the water from the rooftop views which is hard to see at night. The decor is beautiful and it truly feels like you have jetted off to the Amalfi Coast. Everything I have ordered here has been great so it is hard to choose a favorite. A must do though is their hand pulled mozzarella cart where the server makes the cheese right in front of you.

A New Year

2022 is a new year and a new beginning for positive change. This year I am hopeful that life can return to normal or at least closer to the normal that we were used to. I am making a lot of small changes in my life that so far have been incredible. One big change is a rebrand and a restart to my photography business. I have had a lot of time to think about my work and what I want it to portray as both a photographer and an artist. I decided to enter into a new creative phase. We all grow and change who we are all the time, and our work is a reflection of who we have become.