Occidental

Occidental is an amazingly cute small town! Situated in a thick forest, it consists of two small, wooden churches (one white and one maroon), the Union Hotel (now an Italian restaurant) from 1879, and some darling little storefronts. You have to come here! Behind the pretty buildings are high hills covered in forest. At Christmastime it is especially nice to visit at night and see the little lights outline the buildings. It feels like you're in a small, East-coast town.

When you're here, you must eat at Negri's Original. The cooks at Negri's are so amazing! The food is really delicious- the Minestrone soup is thick and unforgettable, and the homemade raviolis have the yummiest herbs. Their Thanksgiving dinner is really special and very reasonable. Food this good is hard to find these days! Inside, it's nice to sit at the big windows and look out on the hills, the white church, the shops, and the historical hotel.
This town can be a little tricky to find. There are many possible ways to get here, and the drive past vineyards and through forest is part of the fun! Getting lost is not all that bad (we did)!
A nice town along Highway 12 is Sebastopol, which has a main strip lined with health food stores and cafes and a good bookstore. Everyone there beams with health.

Directions

It'a quite tricky to find this little town.
From Santa Rosa or Sebastopol, take the 12 Hwy, Bodega Hwy, west. Turn right on Bohemian Hwy and go about 4 miles. Bohemian Hwy will become Main St in Occidental.
Negri's Original Restaurant, 3700 Bohemian Hwy, Occidental CA 95465, call (707) 823-5301.

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