Dear Polite Travelers, We had limited time during our last outing, so we chose to stay close to home and focused on the Santa Rosa area. Lucky for us, Sebastopol is a close neighbor, and we were thrilled to visit, if only for a few hours. Tucked away in an interesting set of what had been apple warehouses, is the Barlow, right off Highway 12. We stopped in at the co-op style market, which sells only the freshest organic foods and natural products. Besides the market, there are various other shops, breweries, and restaurants sprinkled around the property. One exceptional example is Sarmentine , and just as its name implies, it’s all about French pastries and bread. Yum. Our choices were so scrumptious , that I scarfed up most of it before realizing I needed a picture. They also serve excellent espresso beverages. This is our new must-stop when traveling south. I hope you do too! Happy Travels, my Polite Travelers More by The Polite Traveler Stunning, Quirky
My Dear Polite Travelers, Our first stay in a Hyatt was less than stellar. In fact, it’s more of a mixed bag of frustration and comfort. The hotel was beautiful, don’t get me wrong. It was just … incomplete. Really? Room #281 is considered accessible ? We booked an accessible room due to my hubby’s back issue—a typical old-person problem. Typically, an accessible room would naturally have a shower with ease of entry. In room #281? Nope. Getting into a tub requires some dexterity that a mobility-challenged person may not have. This is a major problem that should be addressed. I hope Hyatt is listening. Other than that oversight, there were no towel bars in the bathroom — strange. Plus, it would have been logical if there was at least one hook for clothing/robe in the bathroom as well. And, speaking of robes, robes are an accessory in these rooms. There were none. In fact, I had to call down for robes, the heater register that couldn’t be set, and the lighted-magnif