Livin' La Vida Tricia: Sonoma, Je T'Aime

I spent the past weekend in and around the city by the Bay. Flew in to Oakland, met up with girlfriends who'd flown in separately, then we drove up to Sonoma County. The weather was gorgeous, sunny and warm.

We stopped in Healdsburg for lunch at Willi's Seafood & Raw Bar (yummy oysters and small plates), walked around the town square, then headed to the Toad Hollow Tasting Room. Dr. Toad himself was there to load up our rental SUV with Cacophony (Zinfandel) and Amplexus (sparkling), which the winery graciously donated to the Virgin's Guide/Dove Chocolate-sponsored wine and chocolate cocktail party I coordinated, which would take place at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco on Monday night.

As the sun began to set, the girls and I headed to Geyserville, where we were staying. (The Geyserville Inn is a wonderful little property, and very comfortable to boot.) Not too long after checking in, we freshened up and headed back to Healdsburg for some din-din.

The sky was an amazing shade of blue when we set out at around 8:45 p.m. -- reminiscent of a summer evening in the South of France. We ended up in the bar area at Barndiva, which is a wonderful space with unique bites and tasty cocktails. Although, the thing is, Healdsburg is a long way from L.A., so the town was just about shut down by the time we left, not even past 11.

Sunday was a blur of wine tastings (Locals, then the beautiful new Coppola winery in Geyserville and then a garden party at Passalacqua), shopping and driving. We got to our hotel in South San Francisco before 8, and raced to get a seating at Town Hall, one of the only restaurants that serves late on Sunday nights.

Monday was crazy. We had to get the two cases of wine from South San Francisco to the Clift Hotel; I had to cab down to the Indian embassy with paperwork and money to pay for a tourist Visa, then get myself back there to pick it up; there were pre-event preparations and stopping to get a bite to eat and freshening up and all that jazz.

But, by 6, the Spanish Suite at the Clift was all decked out and ready for our soiree, with delicious cocktails, Toad Hollow spirits, interesting canapes and, of course, all the Dove chocolate you could dream about. The event was a lot of fun and it seems as if everyone had a great time.

Afterwards, there was some dinner and convo down at Asia de Cuba, and a nice, long sleep. The trip back to L.A. on Tuesday was smooth and uneventful (considering it consisted of: a shuttle to SFO, BART to Oakland, BART shuttle to Oakland airport, and, back in L.A., the shuttle to the City Bus Center and the 3 Express to Lincoln and Brooks in Venice -- yes, I'm doing my part for the environment! -- then a 2 1/2 block walk home).

As I type this, the Virgin's Guide/Dove Chocolate event at the Glenn in Atlanta is winding down. We have another scheduled for May 31st at another swanky hotel in Chicago.

So, back to the old grind. I've already started scoping out Horizon Air's LAX-Sonoma fares, and the Hilton in Santa Rosa has some summer specials (gotta love getting Hilton HHonors points!). I'll be back!

Angela and Geraldine at Coppola: