Girls Trip Debrief: Sonoma Edition- The Itinerary, the Restaurants, the Biggest Takeaways
- Brooke Amidei
- Apr 12
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 23
The Girls Trip Debrief
Because the best recommendations don’t come from influencers- they’re what friends share on an uninterrupted weekend, once the wine is poured.
Every girls trip starts with an itinerary. It ends with a running list in someone’s Notes app. Between dinner reservations and late-night kitchen conversations, books get recommended, apps get downloaded, bras get debated, and future trips get planned. This is where we capture it. The real exchange that happens when smart women finally have time to talk.
We are starting a new series called the "Girls Trip Debrief" where we capture not only the itinerary of the girls trip but the juicy details of all of the topics covered and share them in one spot. Let me know if you have an upcoming girls' trip and would like to share the debrief with us!
✈️ The Trip Snapshot
Location, length of stay, who went, where we stayed and why this trip happened:
This trip was over a decade in the making. It was a re-do trip of sorts with three of my closest girlfriends. These are the types of friendships formed over raising babies together. So much so, that we lovingly refer to our friend group as the "Sister Wives" (we lived in Utah after all). Each of us met in different ways, but the true bond was born of having our total of eight kiddos (2 each) all within a five year period. Our families have had many a backyard BBQ or playdate, vacationed together and seen each other through the little things and all the big things- health issues, the loss of parents, an international move, career changes, and more. These aren't surface level friends, and this group of girls went on our first proper "leave the kids at home" girls trip to Napa fourteen years prior. We had a great time, but two of the women had just had babies and were struggling the way new moms do with their bodies not cooperating on a girls wine weekend, so we have always known we needed a re-do, and it was time.
Location: Sonoma, California
Who Went: 4 Mom Friends
Length of Stay: 4 Days/3 Nights
When: End of February
Where We Stayed: The perfect VRBO
📍 The Itinerary (What We Actually Did)
Day 1
Flew into San Francisco, rented car, drove to Sonoma
Dinner at El Dorado Kitchen
Sonoma closes down early, we drank wine & danced in the street
Day 2
Great breakfast at Sunflower
Wine Tasting with We Drive
Post wine tasting dance party at our place
Dinner at The Girl & The Fig
Dancing at Sonoma Speakeasy on the Square
Day 3
Hungover breakfast at Valley Bar + Bottle
Drove to Armstrong Redwoods Natural Reserve
Beer & dinner at Stumptown
Splash of champagne at Sigh Champagne Bar
Dinner at Tasca Tasca
The Beacon (at the Outpost) cool bar
More dancing at Steiner's Tavern
Day 4
Back to Sunflower for breakfast
Drove through/to San Francisco
What we’d skip / change / book earlier next time:
Even though it is always fun to go to San Francisco, battling the traffic to/from there would be something I would avoid on future trips to Sonoma (probably fly into Oakland instead).
I would book wine tastings in advance. We all kind of came into this trip with our hair on fire from our regular lives and didn't plan too much in advance. We also used We Drive for our wine tasting and didn't have the best experience (they drive your own car to the wineries), it was more our specific driver than the service, but I think if we would've gone with a regular wine tasting service they might've booked the tastings for us which we scrambled to do ourselves (although it totally worked out and we LOVED all of the wineries- our collective favorite being Ram's Gate).
Where We Stayed (And Would We Go Back?)
My girlfriend found THE PERFECT VRBO for our weekend. The location was ideal- right off the square and the two bedroom, two bathroom, chatty living room and morning sun deck were picture perfect for our trip. We never had to worry about driving or ubering so major bonus for this kind of trip.
Where We Ate (The Honest Version)
The Standouts:
Sunflower breakfasts
The Beacon at the Outpost (really vibey bar)
Solid but not life-altering:
🍷 The Real Debrief
(This is why you’re here.)
Somewhere between dinner and the second glass, the good stuff starts flying.
This is that list.
🎧 Podcasts / Shows We Told Each Other to Start Immediately
👗 The Outfit / Shoe / Jacket Everyone Asked About
Alo sweatshirt- Gretti
🧴 Beauty or Wellness Things Someone Swears By
White Korean Skincare Stick (color changing foundation- we all four brought it and love it!)
📱 Apps, Systems, or “Wait… Explain That Again”
Type "I'm at" in a text and then it pops up for you to share location
Type your airline code (ex. AA for American Airlines) and then your flight number and it will create a link for you to click to check the status of your flight.
When you go to edit a photo, click the magic wand and then the eraser that says "clean up" and you can magically take things, or even people, out of your photo.
🛍 Things Ordered Before We Even Got Home
The Conversation That Lingered
Just that we are in a really crazy phase of life, the sandwich generation where we are a full-court press on our teenagers and navigating college choices, car accidents, drivers ed, high school and college freshman life while also simultaneously navigating diagnoses and health issues with our aging parents and nursing homes. This all while careers are running at the highest level and fastest pace and our bodies are changing and it feels like life is coming at us out of a firehose! We just left feeling so grateful for these strong bonds and friends where we can show up as our full authentic selves and who bring their true authentic selves to navigate this time and this life together.
Rapid-Fire Round
Best meal: Sunflower
Most photogenic moment: Armstrong Natural Reserve
Smartest decision: Our VRBO
One thing we wouldn’t repeat: San Francisco airport
Would we recommend this trip? 100%!!! Sonoma is adorable and the perfect location for a girls trip!
Final Take
One of the wineries welcomed us as we arrived with a "welcome splash" of champagne. That's what they called it and now we all want to welcome any and all guests to our homes with a "welcome splash" of something fun!
Do you have an upcoming girls trip? Share your Girls Trip Debrief with us! Email brooke@babblewithbrooke.com and I'll send you the details.
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