Gilroy: The Garlic Capital of The World
Delicious food, fine wine and, of course, garlic are all excellent reasons for a Gilroy vacation, so you'll want to plan a getaway to the Santa Clara Valley.
Gilroy is known for it's garlic production and the annual Garlic Festival that is held each Summer. The Santa Clara Wine Trail includes Gilroy and neighboring towns. You'll want to come hungry and thirsty, so you can enjoy all the area has to offer. We visited in the Fall, when the crowds were light. I'm sure it's fun to visit during the Summer, but we found plenty to do on our non-peak season vacation.
Our plan for this vacation was to schedule some activities, but also have flexible blocks of time to relax and follow our whims. This was a great way to do Gilroy!
We stayed in a cozy cabin at Morgan Hill RV Resort, so we had a full kitchen to prepare some of our meals. For other meals, we headed to downtown Gilroy where there are many restaurants to choose from. Favorites were the Old City Hall Restaurant for roasted garlic and Sweet Sicily for authentic Italian pasta and pastries. I'm pretty sure you'll find garlic on the menu at just about every restaurant in town.
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Santa Clara Valley Getaway
The Santa Clara Wine Trail is home to a good variety of wineries and tasting rooms, and the prices for tastings and bottles of wine were very reasonable. Fortino had unique fruit wines and am almond sparkling wine. Guglielmo is a great place to spend an afternoon, so you can linger over the tastings and enjoy the atmosphere.
There are plenty of farm stands and shops where you can purchase fresh garlic and packaged garlic products. There is also a huge selection of other local produce, so you'll find fresh food anytime of the year. LJB Farms was our favorite stop, but I also stopped at a half dozen farm stands on Pacheco Pass (Highway 152). Somehow, I managed to find different things that I needed to buy at each one.
The historic downtown area is a great place to walk and shop. You'll want to see the city's large murals, and you can pop in at the Gilroy Museum for some local history. Gilroy Gardens is a family amusement park where you can see world famous circus trees and enjoy food themed carnival rides.
Of course, Gilroy is also known for it's Premium Outlets where you can get great deals on name brand products. The Gilroy Welcome Center is conveniently located at The Outlets, and I'd recommend popping in to pick up information on area attractions and souvenirs.
We had a fantastic time in Gilroy, and we're looking forward to going back again. A five day vacation was wonderful, but it wasn't enough time to try all of the restaurants and wineries that caught my eye.
Gilroy Vacation
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