New episode: Wandering in Napa Valley
And away we go to the next destinations!
The best thing you can do on your last day anywhere while traveling is to simply wander. You might find an incredible picnic spot to hang out. You might stumble across the English muffin Oprah has on her Favorites list. You might end up relaxed, reflective and laughing until your sides hurt. (Two words: Marie Callender’s. I’m chuckling just thinking about that story from Dawn’s first-ever trip to Napa Valley.)
According to the first-ever “What Women Really Want (When They Travel)” survey from The WTAF Show in early 2025 (results drop in March), wandering is the number-one experience women want for themselves—not for their families or partners or anyone else—when they travel. To touch the cultural foundation of the locale. To take in the sights, sounds and tastes of the destination.
Our final day in Napa Valley was just that: a bit cloudy, a bit rainy, and a day-long wander at our own pace. We spent time at Model Bakery, owned by the mother-daughter Mitchells team and provisioner of that most perfect English muffin. We then landed later that afternoon at Oakville Grocery, an oasis alongside Highway 29. Did we sit for two hours and put down two bottles of extraordinary women-created wines—Ashes & Diamonds cab Franc and Howl, a Lobo Wines red blend—with a pound of glorious cheese and decadent dark chocolate?
Yep. Zero guilt.
The day tripped so many great memories of great dinners, business trips, wine experiences and more for each of us. And it really cemented my resolve to return to Napa someday soon.
While this is the final episode from our Napa and San Francisco trip, the weekly stories have only just begun. Watch for fresh episodes and terrific stories up next from London; New Orleans; Jamaica; and NYC. What they have in common: exceptional women chefs, artists and entrepreneurs you should seek on your own trips there.
(You think you’ve seen our stories already from those cities? Hardly. Just wait.)
We have a fun little bit coming March 2, just in time for Fat Tuesday, that nods both to the Napa experience and the New Orleans episodes lining up for this spring. What do they have in common? (Hint: Krewe queen.) Stay tuned!
We also have fresh locations lining up for this summer, which will give us even more incredible stories to share with you.
Oh, and that top 10 list of What Women Really Want (When They Travel)—the experiences, the inspirations and more—drops March 6.
It’s a big world out there. Expand your world view and seek out women and chefs—while you wander.
KG