Great Chitter Chatter - Stories from Loud Voices

It is believed that there are almost as many facets to California as there are people who live there. While this may be a bit of an embellishment, the fact is that California is a fantastically colorful place with something for everyone including wonderful wine tours of several of the world’s leading viticulture regions. The Napa Valley is as close to old Tuscany and Provence as you are apt to find in the United States.  North of this locale is the colorful northern coast of California, where lots of people say the Pacific Northwest truly starts out. This is home to the legendary Redwood forests, where the biggest trees on the planet still thrive.

Of course, this is merely a sample of the many areas that California romantic bed and breakfasts are obtainable, which vary from balmy, sandy beach vacation rentals on the state’s southern shore to pristine desert cabin rentals, snowy mountain cabin rental facilities in the High Sierra, and more.

One of the most romantic environments in California is Big Sur, near Monterey. With a speckled terrain that ranges from sea level to over a mile up (Cone Peak, the highest mountain on the Pacific Coast of North America outside Alaska and British Columbia), Big Sur has a few of the most amazing panoramas in the world. One of the most well-known beach vacation rental facilities in Big Sur is the Post Ranch Inn which has in fact won several awards over the past two years.

One of the best-kept secrets in what is known as California’s “Steinbeck Country” (so-named because it was the setting of novels such as Cannery Row and Of Mice and Men) is a charming little community known as Occidental. Established in 1876 when the Southern Pacific Railroad arrived, it is no “occident” that it grew to become a popular destination for romantic getaways early on. Two Italian dining establishments opened in the 1880s are even now conducting a thriving business, and the two-block long business district is dotted with a selection of unique retailers. The town features a weekly Farmer’s Market on Fridays from June until October as well as a distinctive Japanese-style spa in close by Freestone.

Located in Sonoma County, Occidental is not far off from California’s most romantic city, San Francisco. Drenched in history and culture, there is not room here to describe everything that the City by the Bay has to find (books have been written on the subject), but a good place to start is the city’s own certified tourist guide.

Across the sizzling, dry Central Valley that is nonetheless one of America’s core foodbaskets, there is a very diverse side to California to be discovered in the High Sierra. This is where the drama of the Gold Rush was played out in the 1850s, and contains many of the most dramatic alpine landscape in North America. From condo rentals, one can search out celebrated Yosemite National Park, one of the country’s most valuable natural treasures and home to tremendous backpacking trails with regular facilities along well-market routes.

When it comes to romantic California getaways, there is a never ending limit of experiences awaiting you.