Solvang

Here's another stop from my spring break road trip. We stopped in Solvang, which is mostly known for 2 things: 1) the entire town is built and decorated to look Danish and 2) it was featured prominently in Sideways. I thought it was going to be really touristy and cheesy, but my SoCal friends had always mentioned this place so it seemed a shame to never see it. Well I was only half right. Solvang is touristy and cheesy but it is also endearingly adorable and really fun! We were only there for a few hours, but I can't wait to come back after graduation. See what we did below:

We stopped for lunch at Succulent Cafe and Trading Company. Sooo good! You might miss this place since it is a little tucked away in comparison the giant traditional Danish eateries (i.e. pancake houses), but it is worth finding. The food choices are decidedly not Danish. It's more California fresh fare with an emphasis on pork products (though there is a lot of non pork too).

After lunch, it was straight to the wine tasting, of course! We stumbled into Sevtap's tasting room. It was cute, and there was lots to look at on the walls as you can tell. Also, if you're traveling with pets, Sevtap is doggie friendly so you don't have to leave Fido behind when you go tasting. As for the quality of wine? It was decent, but we ended up not leaving with a bottle.

So we followed wine up with more food. Solvang is known for its traditional Danish baked goods, so we popped into a few bakeries. To be honest, I think all the baked good looked better than they tasted. There was just a bit too much sugar and icing and not enough chocolate, in my opinion. The only exception was Russian tea cookie for Olsen's. That cookie was the perfect combination of sweet and savory! Half cookie/half bread. The experience was kind of like eating good shortbread, where the sweetness does not overwhelm you so you feel like you could just eat a million. I could definitely have eaten a million of those tea cookies (which, by the way, are not pictured because I ate mine too fast. Those cookies below are meringues shaped like duckies.)

And we finished out the afternoon at Solvang with what else but more wine! This is the Wandering Dog tasting room. The nice thing about this tasting room is that they also sell beer in case you are tired of wine, and they have really yummy truffles. The downside is that its pretty kitschy. Lots of goofy fake plant decorations and pictures of dogs you can buy. I got the Wandering Dog pinot noir, which was ok, but again I didn't leave with a bottle. I would definitely come back and by those truffles by the pound though! They were really delicious.