We decided to spend our holiday week in New Orleans, Louisiana, and it was definitely an enjoyable trip. We stayed in the French Quarter and spent our days wandering the streets, doing some tours, and eating wonderful meals. New Orleans is one of those places that has its own unique take on the holidays, especially in the French Quarter, which is the old town section of the city with a history that goes back hundreds of years.
Uniquely New OrleansAltar in the St. Louis CathedralFestive Streets in the French QuarterHotel Decorations
Although it was the holidays, the French Quarter remains pretty much the same as it does throughout the year, meaning that it is basically a big party. The streets were a little quieter on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but generally there were a lot of tourists in town and the restaurants were very busy. Many of the buildings were decorated for the holidays and we enjoyed seeing some of the more whimsical decorations. As with many other cities, hotel lobbies are adorned with elaborate decorations as are many of the restaurant interiors.
Jazz Paintings and Holiday LightsWhimsical FunNativity Scene in the CathedralRestaurant Decorated for the Holidays
To really get a feel for how festive the streets are decorated, it is best to see them at night when the lights are all lit. We happened to do a carriage ride one evening and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the balconies all brightly decorated throughout the French Quarter. There are many other places to see holiday lights in New Orleans, but there is something special about seeing the decorations in such a historic atmosphere. In many ways it reminded us of the decorations that we saw throughout Europe on other trips we have taken.
Decorations at NightChristmas Tree Near Jackson SquareHistoric Building with DecorationsSouthern EleganceChristmas Tree in a Hotel
Located on the coast of southern California, Carlsbad has a combination of food styles that makes it a great food destination. First of all, being on the coast, seafood is a staple at many of the restaurants and there are even some that have their own boats that provide fresh fish for the restaurant. Being in California, healthy food is certainly on most menus and there is definitely an emphasis on farm-to-table as well as ocean-to-table. Finally, with its close proximity to Mexico, there are definitely options for authentic Mexican fare as well. That doesn’t mean that you are limited to those choices as there are sushi restaurants, Italian choices, and certainly good old steak and potato places.
Lobster and Corn ChowderOpen Fire Cooking at the CampfireWe Always Love OystersFresh Seafood
Since we live in Colorado, seafood was high on our list of things to eat while we were there and we certainly had our fill. With plenty of places to choose from, one of our favorites was the Bluewater Grill, which sourced their fish from their own boat and also offered fresh fish to be purchased to take home. They claimed to have an award winning clam chowder, so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try it and truly was delicious. Clearly that wasn’t the only seafood that we had as we enjoyed mussels at Jay’s Gourmet Seafood and Pizza, shrimp tacos and lobster and corn chowder at the Coyote Bar and Grill, and calamari at 264 Fresco.
Seafood Skewers – Incredibly DeliciousLemon Pepper Mahi Mahi at the Bluewater GrillClam ChowderShrimp Taco
If you want Mexican food, Senior Chubby’s is certainly a favorite of the locals and features a salsa bar where you can get some really spicy salsa if you want. We also enjoyed the atmosphere and friendly staff at Las Olas where we enjoyed a couple of margaritas and a spicy cheese and bean dip. You don’t have to go to a Mexican restaurant to find Mexican choices as we even enjoyed delicious Huevos Rancheros at Dini’s Bistro, a place we went to a couple of times at sunset as they had great views of the ocean.
Huevos RancherosSpicy Cheese and Bean Dip with a MargaritaSalsa Bar at Senior Chubby’sCalamari
Clearly there are too many choices for the time that we had, but we did our best to visit as many places as possible. Sometimes it was for a quick snack and a drink, other times it was for a full meal (shared of course). There were other times when we just stopped in for a glass of wine or beer at places like the Village Pub, a fun little outdoor place called Crackhead Crafty’s, and a unique place called Campfire. Since Carlsbad Village is so walkable, it easy to wonder around and just explore and find places that sound interesting to you. In addition to food and drinks, there were several places that offered live entertainment, even on weeknights, providing a great atmosphere for people to gather and relax.
Craft CocktailsFirepits at the Coyote Bar and GrillJumbo MusselsMore Music
We certainly enjoyed the food that we ate while we were in Carlsbad and there didn’t seem to be any bad choices. Being on the ocean, most places provided casual dining, even if the food was upscale. Obviously you can find a formal restaurant if that is what you are looking for, but we enjoy casual, especially when visiting the beach. We will likely return to Carlsbad someday in the future and look forward to trying some new places as well as revisiting some of our favorites.
Garlic Bread and MarinaraSign for the Village Pub264 Fresco Italian StylingSome Street Art in Carlsbad
During our recent trip to Carlsbad, we took the opportunity to spend a day in Temecula touring four different vineyards and wineries. Making the trip from Carlsbad to Temecula provides evidence as to why this area has become an important region for growing successful wine varieties. As you leave the foggy coast, you pass through one of the only passes that allows the moisture to get from the ocean and takes it straight towards Temecula. There, the sun heats up and the temperatures rise about twenty degrees higher than on the coast allowing the air to remain low in humidity despite having received the moisture. The grapes are very happy there.
Although After Harvest, We Saw a Few Grapes Next to a WineryCasks of WineFountain at Robert Renzoni Vineyard and WineryGrape Vines Across the Valley
The first of the wineries that we visited was that Robert Renzoni Vineyards. There we went on a walking tour of vineyard and learned more about the process of wine making while sipping on wine straight from the barrel. With a family that immigrated from Italy in 1914, the vineyard maintains strong ties to their Italian heritage. After the walking tour, we continued to a wine tasting with the option of tasting up to six wines per person and of course we tried as many as we could. We enjoyed the wine so much that we decided to join their wine club, picking one white and one red to be delivered the following week. Since we travel light, taking wine home on the plane was not an option since we just had carry-on bags.
Tuscan Style Architecture at the Renzoni VineyardWine from the BarrelHigh Tech Wine MakingWalking Through the Renzoni Vineyard
From there we continued on to the Cougar Vineyard and Winery where we enjoyed a light lunch that was of course accompanied with your choice of white or red wine. Lunch was served in the barrel room, which was comfortable, although slightly cool. Afterwards, we went to the tasting room where we again had the opportunity to enjoy several samples of wine that vineyard offered. It was a beautiful day and we stepped outside to enjoy the beautiful views of the area. In addition to selling wines, all of the vineyards also specialized in hosting weddings, so that should be taken into account if you decide to visit on a Saturday. It wasn’t an issue for us as we did our tour on a weekday.
Entrance to the Cougar WineryLunch in the Barrel RoomThe Cougar VineyardsBeautiful Scenery
Third on the list to visit was a Lorimar Vineyards and Winery, which was founded by a brother and brother-in-law and the vineyards name is a combination of their first names. It is another Tuscan style winery, which seems to be the theme in Temecula, and it has a gorgeous building that houses its tasting room. Once again we were able to taste up to six wines, all of which were delicious. At most of the wineries, in addition to the tasting room, there is most likely going to be a gift store offering everything wine related, much of it fun and whimsical.
Another Beautiful Property at Lorimar Vineyard and WineryWalking the Grounds at LorimarGrape Vines at LorimarA Relaxing Time
Our final stop was at the Callaway Vineyard and Winery. If that name sounds familiar, it is because it was founded by the owner of the company of the same name that is famous for making golf equipment. From what our guide told us, we can probably thank Ely Callaway for bringing vineyards to the Temecula area in the late 1960’s. It was probably the largest and most industrial of the vineyards that we visited, but the views of the valley were amazing. As we continued to taste another half-dozen wines a piece, we decided to purchase a couple of bottles to take back to our resort to enjoy during the rest of our trip.
Fountain and Sign at Callaway’sIndustrial FeelVineyards are Beautiful Even in AutumnGrape Vines at Lorimar
For anyone visiting the Carlsbad or San Diego area, we would highly recommend going on a wine tasting tour. We prefer to let someone else do the driving for us when going on such a tour as visiting several wineries will result in having a few glasses of wine. With so many wineries to choose from, you could probably go back several times and visit different vineyards and wineries on each visit. Also, if you want to stay in Temecula, the town has a growing tourism scene with plenty of places to stay, many restaurants, and even a casino if that suits your interests.
