Tucked deep in the heart of San Francisco’s South of Market, Bossa Nova’s exterior is so unassuming you’ll probably walk straight past it if you don’t know where to look. Housed in an unremarkable cement building on the corner of 8th and Minna, the only indication of the restaurant’s existence is a small sign above its entrance. Walk inside, however, and you’re instantly transported to a vibrant Brazilian restaurant and bar that feels like it’s been plucked straight out of Rio de Janeiro. It’s exactly this underground feel that makes Bossa Nova the current darling of the cool agency set - a discerning breed of San Franciscans who are drawn here after work from their revamped warehouse offices nearby.

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It’s a bold move to open a new dining or drinking establishment in San Francisco’s Marina area. Home to a notoriously fickle crowd spoiled with trendy restaurants and bars at every turn, the Marina can mean stiff competition for a newcomer. Despite this, the desire among well-heeled Marinites for new places at which to see and be seen remains evergreen – so if you do it right, you can thrive here in no time at all. Bin 38 Wine Bar and Lounge does exactly that: only a few months old, the venue is already popular among both local residents and San Franciscans alike.

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With approximately 400 wineries in the Napa Valley area, choosing one to visit can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. Do you pick by its size, a catchy name, its history - or possibly just the fancy sign off the road? At times, I even found myself looking at a map, closing my eyes and pointing.

Over the years, I have sniffed, poured and swirled my way through the wine regions of Australia, traveled through the New Zealand Marlborough region, been on a Sideways movie tour in Santa Ynez Valley and attended a family wedding at the Willamette Valley Vineyards in Oregon. You won’t be the only one surprised to find out that I have never been to Napa Valley, partly because of the vast selections available. With a thirst for fermented grape juice, I finally found some time to jump in my car and head north. Anticipated confusion clouded over me as I drove the seven-hour journey. Where should I go? What should I drink? How much wine will fit in my trunk? Will I find a winery that has exceptional wines, great atmosphere and a wine server that yodels and raps?

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Ahoy! My San Francisco adventure set sail from the Argonaut Hotel located on the corner of Jefferson Street and Hyde Street in the heart of Fisherman’s Wharf at the water’s edge. The bay beckons the curious traveler to float the waves of the Pacific and seek a vacation treasure. The four-story brick hotel is positioned in the center of the wharf, walking distance from Ghirardelli Square and just steps away from the famous piers of San Francisco. The hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places because the refurbished building actually was the Haslett Warehouse which was built in the early 1900’s and was home to a fruit canning facility.

The doorman, dressed in a dark blue wool coat with gold buttons, greeted me at the hotel’s entrance. The very nature of his seafaring uniform reinforced the fine dedication to design element details to create a unique experience at this Kimpton property. Small gold metallic tiles engraved with swirls accented larger shiny blue tiles and set the back splash of the entrance. The main hallway is dimly lit with yellow light antique chandeliers in globe-like spheres made from metal while high lacquered wooden floors immediately make you feel as if you have stepped onto a historical ship’s deck. Before you even make it to the check-in desk, antique ship building tools are displayed as art work which would make any historian curious to visit The San Francisco Maritime National Park Visitor’s center located in the lobby.

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Just as Dorothy traveled through magical forests and yellow brick roads to reach sparkling Emerald City and ultimately, her home; I journeyed through Highway 101 and Highway 29 from San Francisco through the magical vineyards and yellow flower-flooded fields of Northern California to reach Villagio Inn & Spa located in the quaint city of Yountville. After only a short visit, I could see why the wonderful people who live in this region call it home.

As I approached the entrance of the Villagio, my mind wandered off to Tuscany, Italy. I walked around the artfully sculpted stone fountain of an angel frolicking in the water surrounded by flowerbeds filled with delicate blue and red field flowers. I then entered the arched double glass front entrance doors, architecturally dense with weight as a marble frame surrounds their exterior. I liked the oversized gas lamp fixtures - a warm touch at the entrance. The main lobby is an open space with a small check-in desk to the right, a welcoming cozy bar directly in front of you, a large concierge desk filled with enough fliers and magazines to fill a small library and the main living room and dining areas to the left. There is a square, white stucco and stone fireplace planked by fire wood lining each side reaching as far as the ceiling. The light cream marble, like the tile floor, was complimented by rich hued, intricately detailed area rugs that served as the base for rose velvet loveseats and comfy traditional armchairs. There are beautiful floral arrangements on every table. The windows bordered with dark wood have large shutters and overlook views of magnificent Californian nature. A baby grand piano sits tucked away behind a very large bank of window seats, which have throw pillows strewn throughout, making it quite comfy after the 45-mile drive from San Francisco.

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It all started with the red apple.Chicago’s sinfully attractive La Pomme Rouge operates in the name of mankind’s most pivotal moment:

“The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.”

The only reason to warn against beguilement at the threshold of this red apple is the danger of needing to return every night to experience perfection.

Whether it’s the hospitable welcome I receive every time I visit or the fantastical aestheticism of the marriage between Baroque and Victorian decor, La Pomme Rouge delivers unique and enchanting experiences to its diners, drinkers and loungers.

My visits to La Pomme Rouge always begin with a champagne cocktail and quickly progresses to the extensive wine and cocktail list. The barmen take pride in their cocktails, which I could taste with each sip of my Dirty Martini. Wine is served by the glass or bottle; I’m happy to say the restaurant has always kept the wine flowing at my table.

Allow me to describe my favorite part: Chef Brain Jupiter’s genius. While the 12-page menu boasts an eclectic wine, champagne and cocktail menu, two lovely pages detail some of the most creative combinations of savory and sweet ingredients I have ever read.

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My artist fiancé proposed to me using a clever ploy of watching Breakfast at Tiffany’s while he sketched me, taking liberties of adding a ring on my finger before he asked if I liked what he had drawn. The ring he presented was, of course, from Tiffany’s, and shortly after I accepted we began to plan a vacation to celebrate our engagement. We decided on a hotel in Portland that would continue to make me feel like a princess, or at the very least like Audrey Hepburn. That hotel was Hotel deLuxe. One of the chic hotels of the Provenance Hotel group, each of which has its own individual personality, Hotel deLuxe has all the class and exquisite taste of Hollywood in the 1920’s to 1940’s. Following both the architecture of the era and the art of film, the world of this hotel glimmers in gold and white. The main entrance holds a crystal chandelier and a wall-sized portrait of black-and-white scenes from the best films ever made. The main elevator, accessible only if you have a room key for added security, has walls inlaid in mother-of-pearl and marble. The walls of the hallways are a subtle white snakeskin print, with film stills of all our favorite scenes in burnished gold frames. Just outside of our room on the sixth floor, Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni cavorted in the Trevi Fountain.

With all the glamour of old Hollywood, anyone who goes to stay at Hotel deLuxe will find themselves lounging in comfort, feeling at the very least like a Hollywood starlet. Just a few short blocks from

Portland’s downtown district and on the Max light rail, Hotel deLuxe is in the thick of it all. Cordial valet attendants await to greet you upon your arrival, and with an unlimited in-and-out valet service, you can come and go as you wish all day. Because of the celebration of our engagement, we arrived to find that our room had been upgraded as well!

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Dinner at Seattle’s Barolo Ristorante is the kind of experience where you want to change your name to something sexy and flirt with the patrons at nearby tables. The chic atmosphere inside Barolo is a welcome departure from the many Northwest restaurants who try too hard and can’t seem to get it. As a relative newbie in Seattle, my first thought as I stepped inside from another cold, rainy night was “ahhhh. At last.” Barolo embodies authentic Seattle cool factor. In a town so musically inclined, the amount of tragically outdated European lounge music coursing through dining rooms is unforgivable. Here however, someone is on top of it, and the slick grooves that greet you set a nice precedence for the experience to follow. The restaurant’s design is clean, but not sterile. The décor is brilliantly layered, not cluttered. Chandeliers reminiscent of vintage Paris dangle throughout, lending an extra aesthetic if you tire of looking at the city lights that serve as a moving art piece down one side of the room.

Table settings were functional, not cluttered with sugar packets and flowers. One long candle burned at the corner of our two-top, displaying a bit of old world elegance from the months of melted wax built upon the candlestick.

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It’s safe to assume, at least in my case, that if the restaurant at a new luxury resort in the California Wine Country decides to balance its menu of healthy spa meals with a few greased-up options unbecoming of a wellness retreat we are going to get along fairly well.

Upon arrival at the new Solage resort in Calistoga — the younger sibling to Auberge du Soleil in the Napa Valley — I could not help but make a to-do list of the resort’s activities: pilates and yoga classes, bocce games and laps in the 130-foot palm-tree-line pool. In trying to mentally schedule them in between tastings at local wineries like Schramsberg and Clos Pegase, I began to feel a little overwhelmed. And in that case, there was only one thing to do: eat.

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When Jeff Hanak noticed an old vacant bank on the corner of Divisadero and Hayes Streets in San Francisco, he saw beyond the white brick walls and envisioned great possibilities for his new restaurant, Nopa. Set at the bottom of Hayes Street Hill, Nopa, which opened in April 2006, is named for its north of the Panhandle location. This Haight-Ashbury neighborhood spot is filled with people who come to appreciate Nopa’s contemporary yet inviting atmosphere after a day of work or a show at the nearby Independent concert hall.

Hanak, a San Francisco native, is no stranger to the restaurant business. His first establishment, Chow, grew from Church Street to Park Chow on Irving Street and another Chow in Lafayette before he sold the chain. While Chow features a mix of American, Asian and Italian dishes, Nopa’s ever-changing menu features inventive American-Mediterranean dishes created by co-owner Laurence Jossel.

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