travel
01-06-2006, 01:27 PM
Have any of you been to Julian, California (Northern San Diego County)? If you love quaint little towns, but haven't been there, you should go. I just returned from spending New Year's there. Gold was discovered there, and I believe that's it's initial claim to fame, but there are wineries, apple orchards, old mines, museums, and lots of historical sites. Found my new favorite winery there...Witch Creek...went in the tasting room right in Julian because I fell in love with their logo, which is a black cat arching his back. Some of the best domestic reds I've tasted in a long time. Some of the wineries have apple wines because there are so many orchards in the area. All of the wineries have those disgustingly sweet dessert wines. I have never found an appreciation for sweet wines, but the people I know who like them say they are very good in this area.
There are no big hotels there--only B&Bs, and we stayed at the Eagle Nest. Proprietors are Jim & Julie--Jim is a Swiss-trained chef and Julie never met a stranger. Their B&B wasn't affected by the fires last year (two years ago?), and in fact, the entire main part of the town was just barely spared. Breakfasts at Eagle Nest were amazing--German puff pancakes with baked apples was my favorite, but the egg casserole and the wheat pancakes with fresh maple syrup were great, too. Made it very hard to come back to my morning popcorn yesterday.
I was amazed to discover that this little town also has some of the most amazing restaurants I've ever been to. Romano's had amazing Italian, and they make their mashed potatoes with blue cheese and mozzarella.....mouth watering just thinking about it. The Julian Grille was amazing, as was the 5-course meal at The Bailey House (she only cooks for reservations, so if you go, get your B&B proprietor to call her--she'll even cook for only 2 people, as long as she knows you're coming). We also found the best brats and sauerkraut I've had since I spent a week in Salzburg....Cuyamaca Restaurant on Cuyamaca Lake (about 15 minutes away from Julian) prepares some pretty amazing Austrian food.
I'm not sure if it's the place for a big family weekend, but if you're looking for the perfect place for a nice, long, romantic weekend, this is definitely the place!
There are no big hotels there--only B&Bs, and we stayed at the Eagle Nest. Proprietors are Jim & Julie--Jim is a Swiss-trained chef and Julie never met a stranger. Their B&B wasn't affected by the fires last year (two years ago?), and in fact, the entire main part of the town was just barely spared. Breakfasts at Eagle Nest were amazing--German puff pancakes with baked apples was my favorite, but the egg casserole and the wheat pancakes with fresh maple syrup were great, too. Made it very hard to come back to my morning popcorn yesterday.
I was amazed to discover that this little town also has some of the most amazing restaurants I've ever been to. Romano's had amazing Italian, and they make their mashed potatoes with blue cheese and mozzarella.....mouth watering just thinking about it. The Julian Grille was amazing, as was the 5-course meal at The Bailey House (she only cooks for reservations, so if you go, get your B&B proprietor to call her--she'll even cook for only 2 people, as long as she knows you're coming). We also found the best brats and sauerkraut I've had since I spent a week in Salzburg....Cuyamaca Restaurant on Cuyamaca Lake (about 15 minutes away from Julian) prepares some pretty amazing Austrian food.
I'm not sure if it's the place for a big family weekend, but if you're looking for the perfect place for a nice, long, romantic weekend, this is definitely the place!