Days 1 to 4
San Luis Obispo (SLO) , the Central Coast of California, in general, is beautiful. We have been visiting for the past few years and love it more and more each time we go. This time we took in a few of the attractions around the area, mainly in Paso Robles. We also ate at a few good restaurants in SLO.
We often stay at the Cerro - an Autograph Collection - Marriott. The location is in the heart of SLO and close to everything. Love that their attached restaurant/bar has wine on tap - there is a huge variety, the wine keeps longer, and is more environmentally friendly.
Great restaurants in SLO for dinner:
Lure Fish House - everything we ate was delish and the ambience was inviting
Giuseppe's Cucina Rustica - my daughter loves the fresh made pasta and we ate in their beautiful courtyard. All of our meals were fantastic.
Had lunch one day in Morro Bay. There are many restaurants to choose from...ours wasn't memorable but the view was fantastic and right on the water. After lunch we took a walk in Montaña de Oro State Park in Los Osos....right on the coast with beautiful views of the ocean and the cliffs.
On this trip, we finally made it to Sensorio in Paso Robles. This is a beautiful light exhibit intended to be viewed in the evening. There are walking paths through rolling hills filled with more than 100,000 glowing lights. There are additional exhibits that combine light and music. When we arrived, we had several options for food and drink. We settled on the taco truck and enjoyed eating our meal while listening to the live band. This exhibit is great for family, friends, corporate, and romantic dates.
Paso Robles is also home to many wineries. I do not think Paso Robles is known for any specific type of wine...it seemed there was a variety at the wineries that we visited. The first winery we went to was Cass. It was in a rural area. They have an outdoor pizza oven (brick oven) and while tasting our flight of wine, we ordered some lunch, including a tasty margarita pizza. The view from our table was beautiful - the many rows of grape vines.
The other winery we visited was Daou. This winery is more mainstream and currently under construction. Their winery was high in the hills (mountains) with gorgeous views. The garden area was so beautiful and a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. We had a a special treat while visiting. Their fleet of planes flying overhead - partnered with Tiger Squadron.
There are so many other wineries to try and this was actually our first time exploring any of them. We never run out of things to do/explore when in SLO.
Anything you would add or do differently?
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The two wineries were farther apart than I realized...probably needed to a bit more research, planning for the visits