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I thought I’d add a few more of my favorite stops during our vacation in Napa Valley—

While the wine country offers incredible wine tasting, and I do enjoy a glass of wine now and then {ahem, smile}…our band of merry-makers enjoyed a farmers market in Napa, a delicious visit to Dean & DeLuca (an incredible specialty market that could convert anyone who visits into a “foodie”) and some charming shops in St. Helena.

Saturday morning we decided that since we were renting this wonderful house with a well-equipped kitchen we should pick up some food items to nibble on as well as suitable food for a dinner we planned to host for the grooms parents.  We headed into Napa thinking we would try to find a Costco (can’t beat their meats, produce and even their selection of wines).  Unfortunately, the closest location, according to the Costco website, was in Santa Rosa and the traffic (due to the holiday) made us decide we could make-do with Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s—if you call that “making do”.

We enjoyed breakfast at a delicious little cafe called Graces Table Global Kitchen,  and then stumbled upon a farmers market on our way to the car.

The farmers market near our home in Southern California has always been a go-to place for freshly picked produce of all kinds and varieties, and other novelties...the bakery is great too and Napa's Oxbow Public Market was no exception.

What is it about home grown tomatoes? We all nearly fought over them---we purchased these and some heirlooms that were mouth-watering good!

On Sunday we headed into St. Helena and stopped along the way at Dean & DeLuca.  This is a specialty market that carries artisan cheeses, every imaginable kind of coffee, tea, candies, condiments, breads, desserts, wines, beers—well, you get the idea.

This is such a fun market---even if you don't buy any of their slightly pricey goods you will enjoy browsing the aisles of this well-equipped "gourmet" market.

As we drove into the little town of St. Helena we were charmed by the age and architecture of some of the buildings.

The ladies in my group ducked into Napa Valley Vintage Home gift store and we were so happy we did! I wanted 1 of everything!

There was definately an old world influence going on here and so many of the items were French or English in design---my favorite! {sigh}

Napa Valley Vintage Home

It was a very relaxing vacation and I can highly recommend the region whether you enjoy wine or not!  What are some of your favorite vacation spots?