historic core of Petaluma

That day, which happened to be our anniversary, we took our exploration of downtown Petaluma to a deeper level and discovered something very old, solid, and historic. Above, the 1885 Mutual Relief building, designed by Bay Area architect John M. Curtis. Below, the street known as Kentucky Street.

steel the one

Wickersham Park

Right behind the Metro Hotel was this delightful park, and along with that a delightful neighborhood that strongly reminded us of Portland, OR. These made for some positively pleasant strolls.

petit dejeuner

In addition to boules, The Metro Hotel offered a French-style breakfast consisting of coffee and crêpes with strawberry, banana and Nutella. Plus a side of French pop music.

boules

Boules in French, bocce in Italian. I guess we play it in American English.

the footbridge

After dinner we took the footbridge across the Petaluma River, a focal point of this revitalized section of the city. There's still work to be done but on the whole this is a pretty pleasant community space with shops, restaurants and strolling opportunities.

Wild Goat Bistro

Where we had dinner in the Great Petaluma Mill.

Metro Hotel

If ever a person were looking for a French-themed hotel in Petaluma, this would be it!

Avid Coffee

The coffee house that we stumbled upon on downtown Petaluma's 4th Street, which turned out to be a very good place to sit, read, and pass time until our next hotel was ready for us.

the 4th Street experience

Going a little deeper into the town after lunch, we stumbled upon this beautiful building - an old Carnegie Library turned museum and historical society - and an equally peaceful street - 4th Street - with interesting shops and a very good coffee shop called Avid. The impulsively taken photo above is one of my favorite of the whole trip.

Great Petaluma Mill

The Great Petaluma Mill, where the River Front Cafe was located, turned out to be a significant downtown landmark. The repurposed old grain mill had another decent restaurant we would later visit - Wild Goat Bistro. I liked the big  cobblestone circle, great for turning around the car.

River Front Cafe

I guess you could say this was our third impression of Petaluma. The idea of crêpes by the river appealed to me, and the River Front Cafe delivered exactly that. Mrs. had something more Mediterranean. 

Petaluma second impressions

We next stumbled upon this area, which was already better as it featured multiple businesses on the Petaluma River, a pedestrian bridge, and an old train trestle slated to become a promenade. I thought maybe that this was the "downtown" but in fact we had just barely scratched the surface.

Petaluma first impressions

Petaluma was an unknown and we approached it from an unflattering angle. Then I had to pee. In my feverish search for a restroom in the unknown city, I stumbled upon this first glimpse of the Petaluma River. Eventually I found a restroom and things got better after that.

Ohm Coffee Roasters

This interesting space not far from the Plaza is evidently one of downtown Sonoma's more popular coffee houses. As I recall it rained a little on the way there.

rainbow weather

This trip featured its share of April Showers. If you look closely you can see the very short-lived rainbow visible from our room at the Inn at Sonoma.

Breakfast Day 2026

A nice wholesome breakfast was had, courtesy the Inn at Sonoma, featuring vegetarian quiche, watermelon, yogurt and coffee. 

the cloud that resembled Oregon

Of course the previous year we were in Oregon.

another Sonoma stroll

Delhi Belly

Couldn't resist the clever name. I think I overate.

Pascal's

Where a person grabs a coffee in Glen Ellen post Jack London State Historic Park. One has the option of speaking French here, s'il vous plaît...

Beauty Ranch stroll

It was a also bit of a hike getting back to the parking lot.