24 Hours in Newport Beach, CA

This past Saturday, we celebrated Drew’s birthday by spending 24 hours in Newport Beach, California. Drew and I love going on adventures and experiencing new things together. So it’s become sort of a tradition to take each other on adventures for our birthdays. This year I planned a romantic 24-hour adventure in the beautiful city of Newport Beach, California.
If you’re looking for a date filled with romance, fun, and wine, you don’t want to miss this 24 Hours in Newport Beach, CA Itinerary.

Orange Coast Winery

Newport Beach is 57 miles south of where we live in Los Angeles, so it took us about an hour and a half to get into town. We arrived at Orange Coast Winery around 2:30 p.m. for some wine tasting. Drew and I have never been wine tasting before, so this place was perfect for first-timers.

The tasting room looks like a simple warehouse from the outside, but it’s an ample open space with charming wine barrels for tables once it’s inside. 

Once we got situated, Robert, the Sommelier (Wine Expert), handed us a list of wines we could choose from. We were allowed six wines each for our tasting.

Robert was really knowledgeable. Every time we picked a new wine to taste, he would explain its type and what would make a good food pairing. 

We also enjoyed a delicious cheese platter that included nuts and crackers. The whole wine tasting experience lasted for about an hour and a half. And at the end, we got to take our wine glasses home and a bottle of our favorite wine.

Gondola Company of Newport

Our Gondola ride reservation was at 4:30 p.m., so we promptly left Orange Coast Winery after four o’clock. The two locations are not too far from each other, so we arrived with enough time to look for street parking and check-in with the Gondola Company of Newport. 

The gentleman that met us in the front asked if there was anything that we needed, so I told him that we had a bottle of wine. He opened the bottle for us, stuck it in a bucket of ice, placed it in a basket with a blanket, and handed it over to our Gondolier, Parker.

Our Gondolier then walked us over to the cute Venitian-style gondola to start our hour-long gondola ride along the Newport beach canals.

We set sail as the sun was beginning to set. The temperature was getting chilly, so we wrapped ourselves in a blanket. Overcome with a sense of peace. We sipped on some wine as we relaxed into each other’s arms and took in the scenery. 

Mama D’s Italian Kitchen

After our gondola ride, we were pretty hungry, so we went straight to our dinner location. Conveniently enough, Mama D’s Italian Kitchen is literally down the street from the gondola company. We’ve never been there before, but they have excellent Yelp reviews, and we love Italian food, so why not.

I’m glad I picked this place for his Bday dinner because it was perfect. They don’t take reservations, so there was a little bit of a wait, which wasn’t a problem. While you wait, they serve you complimentary bread, and you can order drinks while you wait outside for a table.

Once inside, we felt like we were in someone’s home. The staff is exceptionally nice, and the service was quick and easy. The place is loud but not noisy, if that makes any sense. I call it organized chaos, with many moving pieces, but they all know where they are going. 

At the end of our meal, Jared, our server, brought over a chocolate cake with a candle and sang Happy Birthday to Drew. He also gave him a birthday card signed by all the servers. Talk about going above and beyond!

Sherman Library & Gardens

We booked a hotel room at the Ramada, also nearby, because we wanted to have brunch at the Sherman Library and Gardens the next day. 

The Sherman Library & Garden was the perfect end to our 24 hours in Newport Beach Itinerary. 

Their Tea Garden Creperie is a beautiful serene garden where you can order delicious handmade crepes. Drew and I both had the chicken, mushroom, and cheese crepe, and I don’t usually eat mushrooms, but this crepe was super yummy, and I ate the whole thing, mushrooms and all. Afterward, we shared a chocolate hazelnut crepe that left my taste buds jumping for joy.

After brunch, we toured the beautiful garden, and we both felt incredibly grateful for the present moment. We always feel blessed to have each other and thankful for the memories we are creating together.

Thank you for reading! I hope I have given you some inspiration to go on a 24-hour adventure to a nearby city.

Also, the Wine tasting and Gondola ride were deals I saw and purchased from Groupon.com, so make sure you check them out for more inspiration and deals.

Have a lovely week,

Yaritza