Have you ever traveled to a place where the landscapes took your breath away? Carmel and Big Sur were on my bucket list.. so when we booked Napa again this year, Andy and I went a few days early to drive through the Northern Coast of CA from San Francisco to Big Sur. It was amazing! 

DAY 1 : We arrived at the airport around 11:00 a.m and rented a car and drove straight down Highway 1 along the coast. I usually plan everything, but Andy picked this cute little restaurant, Barnalicious in Half Moon Bay that had the best farm to table burgers and fries! After lunch we stopped along the way at a  few scenic spots below.. when I saw this field of yellow flowers I made Andy pull over immediately. So gorgeous. We stopped through the beautiful town of Monterrey, then it was on the seven mile drive. So worth all the gorgeous views! We finished the day at our quaint hotel Playa De Carmel and had a nice Italian dinner in town. I feel like we packed in a lot that day! We crashed at 8:00 p.m that first night exhausted from the 3 hour time change.

Day 2: Big Sur, California 

We started the morning with the champagne breakfast buffet at our hotel. So yummy! I loved walking the grounds in the morning and seeing everything in bloom. I loved all the bouganvilla. Then it  was off early to drive Big Sur. I loved stopping at the Bixby Bridge, and the windy roads ( with no guardrails in spots) definately had me gripping the seat handles! It was worth it once we got into Big Sur for the views and lunch at wine at Nepenthe overlooking the coastline. We also stopped at the Big Sur bakery for a yummy blueberry croissant. We also explored Pfeiffer Beach and McWay Falls and took our time taking in the gorgeous scenic views.

We ended the day back in Carmel to do some wine tasting at Folklore Vineyard before meeting up with our friends Michelle and Daren, who drove up from Southern CA. We had a great night catching up at Clint Eastwood’s Mission Ranch and looking forward to our weekend in Napa. The views were amazing and the food so good.

Folktale Winery was worth the visit for the rose’ and can we mention the decor?

This cute little Mission I stopped at for a few photos…Dinner at Mission Ranch.. love the views with the sheep in the pastures and that fog in the distance.Day 3: Walking tour of Carmel

On our last day in Carmel we woke up early around 6 a.m to do a walking tour of Carmel.. I love this quaint little town and needed to explore more before we left for San Francisco. My heart didn’t want to leave.. every little alley way is filled with the cutest architecture and succulents everywhere.. reminded me a bit of Germany. It was a rainy, dreary morning and nobody was quite awake yet, so we had the town all to ourselves. I love all the little inns downtown. If you haven’t been you need to put it on your bucket list.. one of my favorite little towns in California.

Next up.. San Francisco, the museum of Ice Cream and our adventures in Napa!

(Taken with the iphone 7 plus.)