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gals who travel is a community that provides a safe space for young female travellers to explore the world together. We teamed up with TruTravels back in 2022 to create the perfect trips in dreamy locations. We now have trips in Bali, Thailand, Costa Rica, Skiing in Andorra and our brand new trip which launched in September 2023, the Philippines!

These trips are the perfect opportunity to travel safely with like-minded people of a similar age. The majority of the group are usually solo travellers but of course you can grab a friend to join you! After the unforgettable experiences you have as a group the bond you leave with is a friendship for life!

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Women's Group Getaways For The Adventurous Female Traveller

Welcome to travel girls getaways, by we are travel girls.

Brought to you by the founders of We Are Travel Girls , Travel Girls Getaways brings women together from all over the globe to explore incredible destinations. We offer educational retreats, active trips and tours hosted by our founder Vanessa Rivers for women looking to travel with other like minded female travellers. Our girls getaways take you on an adventure to a new destination, give you an opportunity to learn new skills, immerse yourself in local culture and most importantly make lifelong friends!

“My favorite part of the Bali Retreat was the AMAZINGLY DEEP friendships I made in such a short amount of time!”

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Malawi Safari & Charity

Join us in Malawi to take part in inspiring community mentoring work, visit beautiful rolling tea estates, 2 nights on safari and ending on the idyllic Mumbo Island.

Morocco Tour

Join us on a tour of Morocco, including staying in luxurious riads, exploring the best of Marrakech, and a once in a lifetime luxury glamping experience in the Sahara Desert!

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Have interest in other destinations or long weekend trips? We are constantly looking to add new getaway locations and trip types, so stay up to date on the latest trips or suggest a new one!

I Loved Every Single Moment Of This Trip!

I loved every single moment of this trip, all the girls immediately bonded and we spent wonderful days together exploring an exotic country and eating delicious food! This is a fantastic platform to meet new ladies with similar interests from all over the world. It is also a great way to explore places in a group setting that you wouldn't necessarily try on your own!

Deidre Reinhart - Morocco Trip 2019

Connecting with Like Minded Women!

The founders of WATG, Becky Van Dijk and Vanessa Rivers, were outstanding and full of knowledge. They have connected us with like minded women's from all over the world that I am so grateful for turning into long lasting friendships. I feel that this retreat really nailed down the specifics and details I was looking for in order to successfully launch a brand, providing methods and insight into the how-to's of successful brand marketing, blogging and social media.

Nicole L. Bali Blogging Retreats

Learning in a Beautiful Place with Amazing Women!

Hands down my favorite part of the retreat was meeting 12 other AMAZING women! I loved that from day 1, it felt like we had all known each other for years already. It was super helpful to be able to learn from WATG as well as the other women in the workshops. Everyone is doing something different, so it was really interesting to learn about how others are building their brands and what is working for them!

Shireen G. Bali Blogging Retreats

Love The Experiences & Special Surprises Along The Way

I had an absolutely wonderful experience on my very first Travel girls Getaway to Morocco. The experiences and special surprises along the way were all made that much more memorable by the great group of ladies from all over the world. This trip gave me the chance to experience a country and culture that I otherwise might not have felt comfortable to travel to alone. I have high hopes that I will get to join another Travel Girls Getaway in the future!

Jackie Tamburo - Morocco 2019

Can’t Wait for the Next Retreat!

My favorite part about the retreat was getting to discover Bali with such a cool, ambitious, driven group of women. I met some amazing women who I hope to stay connected with, I conquered fears and had adventures I will cherish forever! I also learned a lot about what I want to do with my blog and how to build my brand. I hope to stay an active member of the WATG community and can't wait for more getaways and meet-ups!

Nicole H. Bali Blogging Retreats

Everything Was Planned To Perfection!

This trip to Malawi was everything I imagined and so much more! Everything was planned to perfection! My favorite part of traveling is the chance to connect with new people and this trip provided that in a much grander way than I’ve ever experienced. From connecting with the amazing women on the trip to connecting with those in the communities of Malawi this is a trip I will never forget!!

Whitney N, Malawi Safari & Charity Trip

The Trip Surpassed My Expectations!

The trip surpassed my expectations, opened my eyes to new experiences I never would've found or done on my own - and deepened my respect for the Moroccan handiwork, artisanry and culture. I've fallen in love with this country even more than I expected to, and I highly recommend Travel Girls Getaways to anyone looking to meet wonderful women or explore new places with an intentional itinerary.

Megan O'Brien - Morocco Trip 2018

Becky & Anna Were Amazing Hosts & Made The Trip So Memorable

My trip to Morocco with WATG was one of the best trips I have ever taken and I travel A LOT. I have made lifelong friends from around the world and these amazing women have inspired me. Becky and Anna were amazing hosts and made the trip so memorable! I can't wait for my next trip with them to Malawi and to sign up for so many more!

Rachael Paskvan - Morocco 2019

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We Are Travel Girls is a global travel community created to inspire, connect, educate and empower female travellers around the world. Founded in 2016, we have gone on to launch Travel Girls Getaways to bring their community together on epic trips around the globe.

Travel Girls Getaways

Travel Girls Getaways are trips for the adventurous female traveller looking to connect and travel with like minded women. We offer a variety of trip styles, so whether you are looking for an educational retreat, an active escape, a photography tour, a cultural experience or a charitable expedition, we have a trip for you!

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The women who join our trips are from all over the world, from different backgrounds and with a variety of goals and reasons for wanting to come on a Travel Girls Getaway. The one constant we have found is their desire to create lasting friendships and connections with a group of other travel loving women!

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Woman's Day

25 Affordable Girls' Trip Ideas That Will Convince You to Finally Plan That Getaway

Posted: April 28, 2024 | Last updated: April 28, 2024

Remember the old days, when getting the girls together for a getaway was as easy as piling in the car with a few bathing suits, some snacks, and a sense of adventure? These days, it's not so easy: Often, female friendships require intricate coordination with spouses, kids, jobs — and all the trappings of serious adulting. (Womp, womp.)

But travel is the ultimate bonding experience for best friends and an amazing way to recharge and refocus. So it's a goal well worth prioritizing, despite the challenges involved with logistics and coordination. These girls' trip ideas include something for every group — whether you're all about adventure, relaxation, city sightseeing, or wandering off the grid. Our picks include both far-flung destinations, and plenty of domestic travel options that require no passport (or jet lag) at all. And these girls trip ideas include options for every group's budget , from wallet-friendly road trips to bucket-list international travels.

No matter where you go, you're sure to have a life-affirming, laughter-inspiring, friendship-rejuvenating good time. So get to booking and make it happen — no excuses!

Ready to get packing? Don't forget to check out our picks for the best luggage on Amazon , and best travel dresses to pack for every destination.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas has long been a hot spot for bachelorette parties and wild girls' nights out on the town and for good reason. The Strip is only a few minutes from the airport and home to upscale hotels, the must-see dancing Fountains of Bellagio , mainstream restaurants, and no shortage of shows. Get the girls together for a baller group stay at Sky Suites at Aria , with its own food and drinks lounge and airport transportation included.

Rome, Italy

Focus on the “eat” of an eat, pray, love-style getaway with a girls trip to the Eternal City. Visit the Colosseum, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Sistine Chapel, and more — all with ample stops for pizza, pasta, gelato, and vino, of course. Stay at the Sofitel Roma Villa Borghese with its Settimo restaurant and lounge bar on the roof terrace, overlooking all the splendor of the city.

Maui, Hawaii

The beaches and turquoise waters make for a dreamy and relaxing getaway, and the lively dining, pool, and shopping scenes combine for the ultimate girls trip. Stay at the Four Seasons Maui at Wailea to live out The White Lotus experience IRL. And make a plan for the new experience, A Wayfinder's Journey , led by the distinguished female Hawaiian navigator Kala Baybayan Tanaka aboard a private catamaran.

RELATED: Best Women's Wellness Retreats to Nurture Your Mind and Body

Palm Springs, California

Palm Springs and its environs all around the Southern California desert region make for a girls trip packed with fun under the sun and swaying palms. (Definitely pack that SPF!) The Thompson Palm Springs hotel is readying for a chic opening. Or in Indian Wells, get your splash on in the lazy river with two enormous water slides at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells . (Don’t forget to snap your social media selfies in front of the “Desert Vibes Only” neon wall!)

RELATED: Best Travel Instagram Captions

New York City, New York

There's a lot to see in NYC. Luckily, you can see almost all of it from the observation deck at The Edge . And if you and your girls are looking for a real thrill, you can even sign up to scale the building . It's the perfect bonding moment for any group dedicated to new challenges and conquering fears. Then, spend the rest of the trip exploring the various shows, restaurants, and boat tours available.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The iconic Rocky Steps , photos at the Liberty Bell , and drinks at the bar in the Four Seasons Hotel are all great stops for a girls' trip in Philly.

For a bucket list trip, Fiji is more accessible than you think: It’s the same distance from the U.S. West Coast as London via nonstop flight. Stay at Vomo Island Fiji for spa, scuba, snorkeling, and incredible South Pacific cuisine.

RELATED: Best Beach Captions to Post While You're Chillin' in the Sand

Baltimore, Maryland

When it comes to sightseeing, you can't go wrong with a stop at the Baltimore Inner Harbor , home to the Maryland Science Center , the National Aquarium , Top of the World Observation Level , and amazing seafood dining.

Downtown Dubai isn't just home to the world's tallest man-made structure, the Burj Khalifa. It's home to a guaranteed glamorous girls' trip experience, with modern architecture, luxury shopping, and pristine beaches. It's also home to plenty of Real Housewives lore, if your group loves Bravo. And it's where Beyoncé famously performed at the opening of the new Atlantis The Royal .

Ocean City, Maryland

If your friend circle consists of mom friends who are sick of cleaning up after other people, they'll enjoy the beaches of Ocean City. The locale is ranked amongst the cleanest in America. For oceanfront and in- ocean dining, Seacrets is a local favorite.

Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

Lighthouses, The African American Heritage Trail , and access to seafood make this charming location a top pick for a trip with the girls.

Newport, Rhode Island

Those who dream about living the mansion life will love a trip to Newport to expand on that fantasy. The town is famous for the mansions along Bellevue Avenue . Book a stay at Gurney's Resort for some R&R and Instagram-worthy photos lounging by the pool.

Savannah, Georgia

Friend groups dreaming of living like a Southern belle won't be disappointed with a trip to Savannah. People come for the Southern charm and stay for the horse-drawn carriages, bed and breakfasts, and river boat cruises.

Charleston, South Carolina

Cobblestone streets, boardwalks, and The Pineapple Fountain are amongst the landmarks great for tourists and girlfriends looking for some fun photo spots.

New Orleans, Louisiana

When a hit movie called Girls Trip takes place in this travel hot spot, it only makes sense you follow suit with a girls' trip of your own. Besides being home to the Essence Festival , New Orleans is known for the sounds of soul and the infusion of French cuisine. In short, there will never be a dull moment on a trip here.

Catalina Island, California

Just off the coast of California, this getaway is well known by natives of the state and the perfect place to head to for anyone who prefers to escape the crowds of Los Angeles (...for island crowds, when summertime demand swells the lively beaches and restaurants here). The 22-mile island is easily traveled by foot or golf cart. It's home to diving, paddling, a casino, several spas, and plenty of reasons to relax and disconnect.

Houston, Texas

Houston may be well known for its space center and museums, but it's also the perfect spot for hitting the trails. The Buffalo Bayou has several hundred acres of park land. Rent a canoe, see the hidden art, and paddle through downtown Houston as you admire the natural beauty. If you and your girls are kids at heart, take the hour and a half drive down to adults-only waterpark The Cove at BearX . Or, enjoy a wine tasting at Pur Noire Urban Wineries or Sable Gate Winery .

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago is home to rooftop bars, rich history, and a captivating architecture boat tour that's sure to impress. The best part is, its central location makes finding direct flights a breeze for the most part. For friends looking for a high-class experience, a stay at the Sofitel Chicago and shopping along the Magnificent Mile can provide a healthy dose of luxury.

Pigeon Point, Tobago

For the crew who's had enough of the typical Caribbean tourist attractions, Tobago is a hidden gem not to be missed. It's located north of the main island of Trinidad and home to Buccoo Reef and lush rainforests perfect for bird watching. Not to be missed is the Nylon Pool — a naturally made pool surrounded by white sand in the middle of the ocean safe enough for visitors to swim in and enjoy. Spend the night at the secluded Bacolet Beach Club after indulging in some curry chicken and roti.

Nassau, Bahamas

The Bahamas is a no-brainer decision for friends living on the East Coast. The ease in finding short direct flights makes planning a stress-free experience — something all busy friends can appreciate. Once there, head to the Junkanoo Museum to learn more about Bahamian culture.

Barcelona, Spain

A girls' night in your hometown at a favorite restaurant surrounded by tapas and drinks isn't an uncommon experience, so why not experience them where it all started? Book the Original Tapas Crawl Adventure to find out more about (and taste!) the local food and drinks.

Tamarindo, Costa Rica

Dining at juice bars, surf lessons, and experiencing the butterfly conservatory are among the popular activities for girlfriends to engage during a getaway to magical Costa Rica.

Niagara Falls, Canada

Niagara Falls has no shortage of splash zones and adventures. Zip lining, Maid of the Mist boat tours, and a trip to the observation deck leave little room for boredom. Raise a glass to the memories made over a glass of the popular Canadian varietal, ice wine.

Charlestown, Nevis

Anyone who is addicted to the soundtrack from the Broadway musical Hamilton (and who isn't?) is in for a surprise during a girls' trip to the island of Nevis. Lovers of the show will appreciate the opportunity to visit the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton, known as The Hamilton House . Then, relish in the rich history that led to the captivating story during an amazing West Indian dinner at Bananas restaurant .

Riviera Maya, Mexico

If staying at an all-inclusive resort is a must for your girlfriend getaway, look no further than Mexico. Dreams Resort , Excellence , and Grand Palladium are some of the top choices for all-inclusive stays in the area.

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Watch CBS News

California Governor Newsom launches abortion travel ban ad campaign in Alabama

By Dave Pehling

Updated on: April 22, 2024 / 1:41 PM PDT / CBS San Francisco

California Governor Gavin Newsom is taking aim at states considering abortion travel bans with the launch of a new ad campaign.

Newsom's Campaign for Democracy ad is set to air in Alabama starting Monday. The governor tweeted out the ad in a social media post Sunday morning.

Alabama’s abortion ban has no exceptions for rape or incest. Now, Republicans are trying to criminalize young women’s travel to receive abortion care. We cannot let them get away with this. pic.twitter.com/gHbYJYlEXk — Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) April 21, 2024

The text with the video post reads, "Alabama's abortion ban has no exceptions for rape or incest. Now, Republicans are trying to criminalize young women's travel to receive abortion care. We cannot let them get away with this."

The 30-second commercial shows two nervous young women driving in a car passing a sign that reads "State Line 1 Mile." 

"We're almost there. You're gonna make it," the passenger tells the woman behind the wheel just before they hear a siren and are pulled over by a state trooper.

"Trump Republicans want to criminalize young Alabama women who travel for reproductive care," a voiceover says as the state trooper walks up to the car.

"Miss, I'm going to need you to step out of the vehicle and take a pregnancy test," the trooper says, waving a test stick in one hand. The next shot shows the driver leaning on the hood of her car as the trooper puts her in handcuffs.

"Stop them by taking action at RightToTravel.org ," the voiceover intones as the ad ends.

Alabama is currently weighing a bill that would make it a crime to help women travel outside the state in order to receive an abortion. The ad is part of a larger effort to combat travel bans across the United States. Newsom was behind a similar ad that ran in Tennessee.

The RightToTravel.org website says that those two states and Oklahoma are considering bills that ban minors from traveling out of state to get an abortion without parental consent, even if it's a case of incest or if there is abuse in the family.

It isn't the first action the governor has taken in the political battle over abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June of 2022. Two days after the ruling, Newsom partnered with the governors of Oregon and Washington to issue a multi-state commitment promising to defend access to reproductive health care, including abortion and contraceptives.

In September of that year, he launched a billboard campaign in seven of the most restrictive anti-abortion states urging women seeking the procedure to come to California for treatment. He also signed more than a dozen new abortion laws  protecting women's reproductive rights and ordered the state to end its contract with Walgreens after the pharmacy giant  indicated it would not sell an abortion pill by mail in some conservative-led states . 

• Gavin Newsom
• Roe v. Wade

Dave Pehling started his journalism career doing freelance writing about music in the late 1990s, eventually working as a web writer, editor and producer for KTVU.com in 2003. He moved to CBS to work as the station website's managing editor in 2015.

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Sign up for essence newsletters the keep the black women at the forefront of conversation., a black girl’s guide to napa valley.

Napa Valley has been an opulent bucket-list destination for many years. Also known as Wine Country, the valley is roughly an hour outside of San Francisco and Sacramento, and is a popular destination for unlimited wine tasting from some of the best vineyards and vintners across the globe. It’s the prime destination for girls trips, engagements, as well as quick weekend getaways. 

As wine tourism is a large economic driver for the area, in recent years, the wine country is attempting a demographic shift, wanting to skew much younger, expand their nationwide reach, and diversify their offerings to bring more people to the valley. “Many people make Napa Valley a bucket-list destination, and we really want to change that,” says Jenny Toomer, the General Manager of River Terrace Inn. 

Some may find the price point of a trip to Napa to be a deterrent, but it’s more affordable than many would presume. However, the rather glaring reality is that more than anything, Black women should experience the luxe Cali destination.  A visitor report on Napa found that Black people make up only 2.7 percent of the annual visitors to the wine country – and the presence of that statistic was felt. However, Napa Valley is both attainable and approachable for Black women in particular. 

Today, Napa Valley embraces the opportunity to welcome fresh visitors, inviting them to immerse themselves in the myriad delights the wine country has. To close the widened gap of Black people visiting Napa, we’ve compiled a Black girl’s guide to the region, to help navigate where to eat, play, and stay. 

Napa Valley Wine Train

One of the premiere offerings in Napa is the Napa Valley Wine Train, which provides both a picturesque view of the wine country, while also helping break down the stigma and pretentiousness that wine varietals are associated with. 

Nestled in the vibrant heart of downtown Napa, the Wine Train stands as the epitome of wine country’s most unforgettable culinary journey, invoking the timeless allure of luxury rail travel through its newly restored rail cars. The inaugural clean energy locomotive of the Napa Valley Wine Train, affectionately named the “1864” in homage to the rail line’s inception year, heralds a new era of sustainable travel. Boasting a cutting-edge, American-made EPA Tier-4-compliant engine crafted by Rolls-Royce and orchestrated by the esteemed Knoxville Locomotive Works, the “1864” symbolizes the train’s commitment to the environment and innovation.

Experiences

On the Wine Train, there’s a multitude of experiences to choose from. I took both the Legacy Experience and the Vista Dome experience. The best part of the wine train is that you’re joined by seasoned sommeliers who can recommend the best wine pairings for your meal, as well as suggestions on wine flights including selections from Far Niente, Opus One, and Beaulieu Vineyard’s Georges de Latour Private Reserve. 

Legacy Experience

Sign up for the Legacy experience if you’re more adventurous – starting in the morning, the train makes stops in St. Helena for two seated tastings at some of the most popular wineries in the area, including seated tastings at the iconic Charles Krug and V. Sattui , as well as a stop at the popular ‘Welcome to Napa Valley’ sign. At Charles Krug you’ll be whisked away into a winery that was modeled after Tuscan architecture with tastes of great California wines and scenic views of the countryside that make you question if you’re actually in Napa Valley. Here you’ll get tastes of their 2023 limited release rosé, 2019 family reserve generations as well as their 2019 limited release malbec. With fruits strong in the region, each wine has notes of different berries such as strawberries, blueberries, and even boysenberries.

At V. Sattui, you also get some of those same gorgeous views, however here, you’re met with even more approachability – you’ll see fellow Napa Valley visitors casually sitting outside enjoying a glass of wine and the beautiful weather. The seated tasting includes three of their best wines, a 2022 Los Carneros Chardonnay, 2021 School House Zinfandel, and a 2019 Vittorio’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. As an added bonus, Sattui saves the best for last, and allows guests to get a taste of their Madeira, a Solera-made, wood-aged wine, fortified with brandy. Strong yet sweet, the dessert-wine has flavors of caramel, toffee, and orange zest. Outside of just purchasing one of your favorite wines at Sattui, the winery is complete with its own market filled with artisan cheeses, meats, breads, and chocolates (just in case you are looking to take some back home). 

Pro-tip: Come hydrated and prepared to drink. The Legacy experience offers a three course meal and dessert, but to make it throughout the day, you’ll need a healthy balance of food and water to conquer the day.

Vista Dome Experience

Take the Vista Dome lunch experience if you’re looking to have the awe-inspiring views of the wine country without ever leaving the rail car. Here is where you can indulge a little bit more and really get into the wine. Add the Vista Dome experience to your itinerary if you’re not looking to pack your day, but still get to enjoy some of the wine country’s best. The experience begins a little later in the day, so you have ample time to embrace slowness before tackling another boozy afternoon. 

The plus to this experience is that the newly renovated rail car makes for the best photo shoot with your girlfriends. There’s multiple photo-worthy areas that best capture the beauty of Napa Valley on this train. 

Similar to the Legacy experience, Vista Dome also includes a three course meal with dessert, and you have downtime to socialize with friends before you disembark at the train station. If you’re lucky enough, you’ll be celebrating alongside other guests who are celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, or even engagements–even more reason to say cheers.

Pro-tip: Vista Dome is where you should dress to impress. More laid back than the legacy experience, you’ll get to eat, drink and be merry, and also pose for the camera.

If you’re a morning person, a hot air balloon ride through Napa Valley is an absolute must to add to your itinerary. You’ll be up as early as 5 AM in the morning, but the lack of sleep will be well worth it when you take in a breathtaking view of the rolling hills wine country. You’ll pass over the coastline fields of crops, see animals grazing plus the gorgeous mountains that overlook the valley. You’ll spend roughly an hour in the air, and get in-depth insights from your tour guide who will give you the inside scoop on all the crops being grown in the area, plus the experiments and happenings on different fields that look over the Napa. 

Pro-tip: Dress warmly, as all hot air balloons take flight early in the morning.

Where To Stay

If you want to stay close to the different experiences Napa has to offer, the River Terrace Inn is your best bet. A Noble House property, the hotel is a sister estate to the Wine Train, so it makes sense that the two are across the street from one another. The quaint property has stunning views of the valley from anywhere in the hotel, so even when you’re not out and about exploring, you still get to take in the beauty of the valley. If you’re looking to take part in some of the activities Napa has to offer, the inn is at the nexus of tourism. It’s at the train station where you can sign up for train experiences, hot air balloon rides and more.

Inside the hotel are gorgeous hotel suites that just feel like they were intentionally curated for and by women. Spacious rooms include vanity mirrors, televisions where you can use Chromecast to watch your favorite shows, bathroom mirrors that connect to bluetooth and a separate vanity mirror to prep for a day full of wine tasting. 

Eat & Drink

You would think that after dining on the wine train, you would be all wined out–but there’s still so much more to the wine country. Vineyards are just one facet to Napa. There are also collectives that provide tastings for wines that you won’t get on the wine train, like the wines at the Vintner’s Collective, which is a quaint tasting room that maintains the integrity of the original building–a converted brothel. Inside, you find a select group of small, family-owned Napa wineries. While many other tasting rooms will offer some of their most popular wines to offer, Vintner’s is a great boutique place to zero in one of your favorite varieties. It’s great for a crash course in wine, and you can take your skills back to your hometown, when it comes to tasting, analyzing, and pairing wines. 

For a casual dinner, Kitchen Door is just a stones throw away from Vintners Collective, and a certainly walkable dining spot. If you’re planning out your girls trip, Kitchen Door is a must stop after a day of wine tasting. It’s great to soak up all the delicious wine, and the tasty shareable apps such as the garlic cheesy bread, teriyaki wings, and deviled eggs. The menu is mixed with a variety of cuisine, where you can find delicious Italian offerings as well as pad Thai and Korean barbecue. You’ll certainly leave happily stuffed.

As a Black girl in Napa, you can’t visit Napa without paying a visit to some of the Black-owned stalwarts that are making waves in the vino industry. We recommend Vin En Noir, which features minority owned, and women owned winemakers. Expect snacks to pair with your wine like charcuterie and popcorn. Moreover, their selection of rosé is unparalleled. 

If you’re looking to break away from the wine a bit and opt for cocktails instead, Wine Girl Napa Valley is where you’ll get the girly Instagram aesthetic you’re looking for, plus the boozy Sunday Funday brunch vibe all under one roof.

Wander Like A Local

The heart of Napa’s infrastructure is built like an old town, with family run restaurants and buildings that have stood the test of time, which adds to the character of the wine destination. When you’re not tasting the country’s best wines, you can peruse through the town, it’s where I stumbled upon Oxbow Public Market , a food hall that has a variety of goods from Jewish cuisine to fresh preserve and honey for your next charcuterie board, a bookstore (and so many more treasures). A lover of books, I stumbled on a small haven with everything from science fiction, to encyclopedias of Banksy, and even autobiographical works on artists like Tupac. 

At Oxbow, I also found Model Bakery, a local spot beloved by locals and visitors alike. Based on the number of people devouring their baked goods from outside the shop, it’s a safe bet for breakfast. I tried the chocolate croissant, and the bakery truly lives up to the hype.

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Kathleen Hanna’s Music Says a Lot. There’s More in the Book.

In “Rebel Girl,” the punk frontwoman reveals the story of her life — the men who tried to stop her, the women who kept her going and the boy who made her a mother.

Supported by

By Amanda Hess

Photographs and Video by OK McCausland

Reporting from Pasadena, Calif.

• April 23, 2024

The first draft of Kathleen Hanna’s memoir, “Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk,” was 600 pages long. As she worked to cut the manuscript, Hanna found herself excising page after page of male violence. “It’s pretty sad, if you read the book, because there’s still a lot in there,” she told me. “I had a joke with my editor about it.” Like, she’d already removed a rape and a kidnapping and a guy who threw a wine glass at her head! “What more do you want from me? ”

Hanna is super funny. When she takes the stage as the frontwoman of Bikini Kill , Le Tigre or the Julie Ruin , she plays a kind of punk trickster, shifting her voice to resemble a bratty Valley Girl, a demonic cheerleader, an obnoxious male fan. She is always subverting femininity and disarming bad guys with her spiky and irreverent lyrics. But when it came time to write her life story, she realized that she could not playfully twist away from her past.

“I keep trying to make my rapes funny, but I have to stop doing that because they aren’t,” she writes in the book, which comes out on May 14.

“Rebel Girl” documents Hanna’s long career as an underground artist and musician, and its striking intersections with the mainstream. In the 1990s, she helped instigate the riot grrrl movement, calling girls to the front of punk venues and setting off a D.I.Y. feminist ethos that was later assimilated into a girl-power marketing trend. She was a friend of Kurt Cobain’s who scrawled the phrase “Kurt smells like Teen Spirit” on his bedroom wall, inspiring the anthem that exploded into a global phenomenon.

Nineties nostalgia applies an appealingly gritty filter to that era’s underground rock scene, but it could be punishing for those who stood in opposition to its white male standard. Hanna has sometimes worried that if she put it all out there, she would be disbelieved. “I’ve been told by men: Oh, you’re just the kind of woman these things happen to , as if I have some sort of smell I’m emanating,” she said. “But I knew that other women would understand.”

When Joan Jett first discovered Hanna after finding a Bikini Kill demo tape at a Fugazi show in 1992, “It felt like she was my little sister,” said Jett, 65. “Rock music didn’t have room for women with strong opinions,” she added. “Kathleen locked in and spoke to her generation.” In 2019, after the preteen rock band the Linda Lindas covered “Rebel Girl” at a local benefit show, Hanna invited them to open for Bikini Kill at the Hollywood Palladium. “It’s phenomenal how many barriers she broke down,” said the guitarist Lucia de la Garza, now 17. “It was refreshing to hear someone be that loud, especially when I was little.”

Hanna, 55, typically wears a platinum streak down the front of her black hair, a ramshackle bun atop her head and a coat of bubble gum lipstick. This gives her a somewhat superheroic look, even when she is folded into her living room couch with a damp-looking terrier in her lap. She shares her midcentury Pasadena, Calif., home with her husband, Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock of Beastie Boys), their 10-year-old son, Julius, and Terry (the dog). Hanna still can’t quite believe that she gets to live there.

Or that she is alive. Sometimes she will be sitting by the pool and get a swimsuit wedgie that transports her back to a strip club where she used to work, dancing in a thong to fund a semester at Evergreen State College or pay to repair Bikini Kill’s broken-down tour van.

As Hanna wrote the book, she was pulled into the dark recesses of her memory. “I was always walking around the house with this weird-ass look on my face,” she said. She was experiencing “what I guess in the ’50s you’d call a ‘nervous breakdown,’” she explained. For a time, she stopped writing and reported to a therapist’s office, where she was diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

The diagnosis forced her to realize that “I was living my life in a constant state of agitation and fear,” she said. And it has given her permission to ask her family for certain things to help her feel safe in their home. The place is covered in what she calls “’80s carpet,” and now Horovitz drags his feet on it whenever he approaches, so she is never startled by his sudden appearance. “It’s kind of like making him wear a cowbell, but it’s really helpful,” she said.

The detail reminded me of a story from her book. It was 1997. The Spice Girls were dominating MTV with girl-power cosplay, Bikini Kill was in a rut and Hanna could barely pay rent. But she got her hands on an eight-track recorder, and for the first time, she could make music alone, laying down vocals and samples and hand claps whenever she felt like it — except not quite, because she had acquired a stalker who kept raging around town, telling people she was a “prostitute” who “needed to be punished."

As Hanna worked through the night (on the songs that would birth her solo project, the Julie Ruin), she was constantly forced to pull off her headphones and spin toward the door to make sure the stalker wasn’t breaking in. When I mentioned the incident to Hanna, she couldn’t resist making a joke: “That’s why the songs were so short.”

THERE IS A MYTHOLOGY of the male artist that normalizes his aggression. For a long time his violence only contributed to his mystique, or else it was excused as a side effect of his creative drive. The recent challenges to this figure have not diminished his dominance as an archetype. He’s easy to imagine.

But the artist who is also a victim does not enjoy roomy cultural space. She must claw her way to subjectivity and defend her work against things that she did not even do. Hanna, who has been making music for more than 30 years, has watched her art get dismissed as a paroxysm or a therapy session. Her victimhood has been used to define her work and to erase it.

In the book, she compares herself to Rapunzel choking on her own hair. In our conversation, she joked that she had written “the feminist ‘Hobbit.’” She was reaching, a little cheekily, for her own mythology, a narrative expansive enough to accommodate a story like hers. And her tale does have an epic quality.

Hanna describes her father in the book as an alcoholic who kept a loaded gun, punched a hole in her bedroom wall and called her “slutty” when she was 5. Her mother, a nurse who struggled beneath her husband’s thumb, gave Hanna a window of escape by encouraging her onto school stages and into singing lessons. As she grappled her way to cult fame as a punk singer in her early 20s, the angry men who came to her shows to throw stuff at her head or grope her backstage multiplied. A friend raped her next to his bookshelf stuffed with feminist theory after she embarrassed him in front of Cobain. At Lollapalooza in 1995, she writes, Courtney Love punched her in the face.

But Hanna kept climbing onstage and singing the story of her life. “I’m so lucky I had songwriting as a practice to talk about this stuff,” she said. She articulated her approach in Bookforum in 2016: “There’s an art to turning personal tragedies and brushes with oppression into your own, sometimes funny narratives. It’s like pulling a sliver out of your foot and fashioning it into a tiny little sword.”

In “Rebel Girl,” Hanna amasses an impressive arsenal. Every time another man diminishes her and her work, she sharpens a sword, carves out another space for herself and her friends and starts filling it with interesting material.

At Evergreen State, after her roommate Allee was attacked in their apartment, Hanna started volunteering at a rape crisis center, where she realized that her father’s abuse had placed her “on the incest spectrum — not a good place to be,” she recounts in “Rebel Girl.” Later, she spent months making a collage project called “Pretend You Like It” that recontextualized her own childhood photographs, only to find her work torn down from Evergreen’s walls at the behest of a passing Boy Scout troop leader. So she and her friends started their own gallery, Reko Muse — a name that evoked the project of “wrecking our status as muses and claiming our place as artists,” she writes.

As she wrote the book, Hanna realized, “I had suppressed the happy things as much as I suppressed the bad things,” she said. Other women were always reaching their hands out to yank her into new creative worlds: the writer Kathy Acker , who told her to start a band; the punk musician Tobi Vail, who joined that band; and her idol Jett, who became their producer.

With Bikini Kill, Hanna made “dank rock-bro clubs” transform as if by magic. In her zines and spoken-word pieces, preserved in a riot grrrl collection at New York University, she sketched out a theory of the artist forged not in defiance to the male standard but in cool dismissal of it. If men get to be “the producers and the makers, positing myself in opposition to them resigns me to mere waiting,” she writes in one zine. In another, her call for girls to join her is charmingly misspelled: “We are not specail; anyone can do it.”

All of this makes the book’s twist all the more devastating. Bikini Kill’s scene was swiftly and alarmingly publicized. Journalists descended to dissect it, condescending to Hanna’s art while exaggerating her role. A fan sold a picture of Bikini Kill in their swimsuits to Newsweek. Riot Grrrl Press, the zine distributor Hanna helped found, resolved to boycott Bikini Kill, citing class issues. Hanna was broke and still working as a stripper to pay her bills, but now she was accused of betraying punk by selling out and betraying feminism by stripping.

The punk scene was flowing with secret trust funds, and “because of what I looked like, I was always treated like I was Nancy Kerrigan,” she said. Some fans seemed to expect her to be a charity act, a rape-crisis counselor and a photo opp — what she calls “Feminist Barney” — all wrapped into one. For a time, she could at least maintain a barrier between the strip-club stage and the punk one, but soon the media attention demolished it.

A regular at the D.C. strip club The Royal Palace showed up at a Bikini Kill show, and a couple of local scenesters turned up at the club. They walked in while Hanna was working, put Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on the jukebox and laughed. Hanna was forced to dance to the famous song with the title she wrote “with a fake smile plastered on my face, hiding a sense of humiliation too deep to describe,” she writes.

Therapy and writing allowed Hanna to process these moments, see beyond her own bad situation and acknowledge the privileges she did have as the white woman anointed the “queen of riot grrrl.” As she squirmed under media scrutiny and fan pressure, “I had the privilege to put my middle finger up at that stuff” while other women musicians were made to feel invisible, she said. These days, Hanna is relieved that “selling out” is no longer a weapon wielded against struggling artists. Also, she finally knows what it feels like to enjoy economic stability: “because I married the Beastie Boys guy,” she said. “Which is just, to me, very, very funny.”

In 1995, the rap trio invited Bikini Kill on a festival tour of Australia, where Hanna met “the sexiest boy I’d ever seen in my life,” she writes. Afterward, she bought a Beastie Boys poster and kissed Horovitz’s face with such dedication that it became wavy and discolored. When he finally came to visit, he discovered the poster rolled in a closet and said: “What’s wrong with my mouth?” They married in 2006, when Hanna’s health insurance coverage ran out, and adopted Julius in 2013. Hanna wears a gold nameplate ring that reads “ADAM,” and he wears one that says “KATHLEEN.”

None of the book’s contents surprised Horovitz, he told me. But when it’s published, “I think she will have said some things that she’s wanted to say out loud — outside of the apartment — for some time,” he said. “It’s scary to put things out there, but after you do, the world is still spinning. People move on with their lives. And you’re OK.”

THERE IS PLENTY that Hanna did not want to recount in the book. She was not eager to relitigate the Courtney Love incident, but “if Santa came up and hit you with a baseball bat, you’d have to put it in your autobiography,” she said. She titled her memoir “Rebel Girl” with reluctance; it feels so close to “riot grrrl,” and she remains conflicted about being overemphasized in that vast and leaderless movement.

Also, she had never before spoken publicly about being a mother. “I didn’t want to get asked work-life balance questions at every single interview,” she said. Motherhood, like victimhood, was another artistic pigeonhole she hoped to avoid. But “Rebel Girl” is a book about her life, and Julius is a big part of it. “I asked him if he wanted to be in it. And he was like, I’m going to be mad if I’m not, ” she said.

Hanna was speaking in front of a coffee table piled with books, but the memoir is not one of them. She does not want Julius to pick one up and start reading. “He understands that some things happened to mom that, you know, made her jumpy,” she said. He, too, has learned to drag his feet on the carpet before he enters a room.

On the issue of work-life balance, “I’m the asshole dude who’s like, My art comes first ,” she said. She credits Horovitz with shouldering caretaking responsibilities — for their son, but also for Hanna, while she battled Lyme disease (which she documents in the book), and as she dealt with the fallout of excavating her life.

In her 50s, music has opened up new opportunities for Hanna. “It’s really great right now to be a musician because I’m getting the kind of respect I never got in my 20s and 30s,” she said. She has set boundaries for herself, too: “I’m not constantly being burdened by, like, trauma-bonding with people who I don’t even know.” And the book, perhaps, will help to relieve some of the pressure on her body. She doesn’t need to always be showing up and explaining herself.

“Now I can be like: It’s in the book, it’s in the book, it’s in the book. ”

An earlier version of this article misstated the name of Kathleen Hanna’s roommate who was attacked in their apartment. It was Allee, not Aileen. It also misstated the location of an eight-track recorder in another apartment. It was on a table, not mounted to a wall. And it misstated who came to a strip club where Hanna worked and played a Nirvana song. It was a group of local scenesters, not Hanna’s friends.

How we handle corrections

Amanda Hess is a critic at large for the Culture section of The Times, covering the intersection of internet and pop culture. More about Amanda Hess

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Who Is J.J. McCarthy's Fiancée? All About Katya Kuropas

University of Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy proposed to Katya Kuropas after more than five years of dating

Rebecca Aizin is an Editorial Assistant at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023. Her work has previously appeared on Elle, HGTV and Backstage. 

J.J. McCarthy/Instagram

J.J. McCarthy might have been the star of the University of Michigan football team, but he’s had an important M.V.P. by his side off the field: his fiancée, Katya Kuropas.

The quarterback, who was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 2024, began dating Kuropas while both were still in high school at Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park, Illinois. In January 2024, he popped the question and the two announced their engagement with a sweet photoshoot .

On their second anniversary in October 2020, McCarthy posted a tribute to his girlfriend on his Instagram.

“They say, once a man finds the right woman for him, he can accomplish anything,” he wrote in the caption. “I am blessed and thankful for finding the right one for me at such a young age. Honored to have spent 2 years of my life with the woman of my dreams, and excited for the years to come.”

After committing to Michigan, McCarthy continued to date Kuropas, who has supported her fiancé in the bleachers throughout his career — including at the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship where Michigan defeated the Washington Huskies.

So, who is J.J. McCarthy’s fiancée? Here’s everything to know about Katya Kuropas and her relationship with the athlete.

They met in high school

McCarthy and Kuropas began dating on Oct. 8, 2018, when he was a sophomore in high school. Though he transferred from Nazareth Academy to IMG Academy due to the cancellation of the football season at Nazareth during the COVID-19 pandemic, the pair stayed together.

On their third anniversary in 2021, McCarthy expressed his gratitude for Kuropas’ unwavering support in an Instagram post .

“3 trips around the sun with the love of my life,” he wrote in the caption. “I honestly do not even know where I would be without this girl in my life. I simply do not deserve her because of the kind of woman she is. The pureness in her heart and soul is just one the many qualities that make this girl so incredible.”

They’ve been dating for over five years

After McCarthy graduated from high school in 2021, he began his college career at Michigan that fall. He officially became the team’s starting quarterback in 2022, and Kuropas has been by his side through it all.

The pair celebrated their fifth anniversary in October 2023 while McCarthy was in his junior year of college. The Michigan star posted a tribute to Kuropas in honor of the day, calling her his “queen,” alongside photos of the two embracing on a boat and some throwback shots of Kuropas when she was younger.

“1,825 days with the love of my life but a million moments that will be remembered and cherished for the rest of my life,” he wrote. “I couldn’t be more grateful for who you are and everything you do! You make me the best version of myself and it has been a complete blessing to continually watch you grow into the amazing woman you are.”

She’s supportive at his games

Kuropas has been a mainstay in the stadiums at McCarthy’s games, often showing up in blue and yellow to cheer on the Wolverines. She documents her festive outfits on her VSCO .

In January 2024, Michigan beat the Washington Huskies to secure their first national championship win since 1997. McCarthy celebrated by kissing his then-girlfriend after the big game.

"I'm so proud of you my love. Words can't describe. You did it!" Kuropas wrote on Instagram. To which McCarthy replied, "Wouldn't be here without you."

On the day before the 2024 NFL Draft, Kuropas shared a carousel of photos on Instagram of her time cheering her fiancé on while he played for Michigan.

"Extremely delayed but… Reminiscing on how amazing this past season was . An abundance of blessings and the best memories. Feeling so grateful for everything that unfolded & for everyone that was part of it!! Sad to see this chapter go, but excited for the next one🫶🏽," she wrote in her caption.

They love to travel together

In July 2023, Kuropas posted a picture of her and McCarthy on a boat on her VSCO — which he later also shared in his fifth-anniversary post for her. The previous year, the two traveled to the mountaintops together, where they posed for a sweet photo in front of a scenic view.

She has met his family

Kuropas has met McCarthy’s family and even joined them on the sidelines. During a New Year’s Eve game in 2022, Kuropas was cheering McCarthy on alongside his parents.

Though the Wolverines lost the game, ESPN panned to McCarthy’s family multiple times during the broadcast as they rooted for the quarterback.

They got engaged in January 2024

Annie Denten/anniedenten.com@anniedenten_

McCarthy proposed to Kuropas on a beach on Jan. 20, 2024. The two announced their engagement — and their new pup Marley! — on Instagram in a joint post.

"Me, You & Marley Forever & Ever✨🤍," they wrote in the caption.

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Flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom

FILE — This undated inmate photo provided by the Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority shows Estes Carter Thompson III. Police arrested Thompson, an American Airlines flight attendant, Thursday, Jan 18, 2024, on suspicion of trying to secretly record a 14-year-old female passenger using a bathroom aboard an airplane he was working on last September. Thompson was indicted Thursday, April 25, 2024, by a federal grand jury. (Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority via AP, File)

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BOSTON (AP) — An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.

Police have also alleged that Estes Carter Thompson III , 36, of Charlotte, North Carolina, had recordings of four other girls using lavatories on an aircraft where he worked.

Thompson was indicted on one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of images of child sexual abuse depicting a prepubescent minor.

Thompson was charged and arrested in January 2024 in Lynchburg, Virginia. He has been in federal custody since . A lawyer for Thompson said after the indictment by a federal grand jury that he was unable to comment.

AP AUDIO: Flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom.

AP correspondent Jackie Quinn reports an indictment has been handed up against a former flight attendant, accused of using a cellphone to record images of youngsters in airplane lavatories.

Investigators said that about midway through a Sept. 2, 2023, flight from Charlotte to Boston, the 14-year-old got up to use the main cabin lavatory nearest to her seat but found it was occupied.

Thompson then told her the first-class lavatory was unoccupied and escorted her there, investigators said. Before she entered the bathroom, Thompson allegedly told her he needed to wash his hands and that the toilet seat was broken, they said.

After he left, the teen entered the bathroom and she saw red stickers on the underside of the toilet seat lid, which was in the open position, officials said.

Beneath the stickers, Thompson had concealed his iPhone to record a video, investigators said. The girl used her phone to take a picture of the stickers and concealed iPhone before leaving.

Prosecutors also allege hundreds of images of child sexual abuse generated through artificial intelligence were found stored on Thompson’s iCloud account.

Attempted sexual exploitation of children carries a sentence of 15-30 years in prison, while possessing images of sexual abuse of a prepubescent minor can mean up to 20 years in prison.

Both charges also provide for at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution.

American Airlines previously issued a statement saying the flight attendant was “immediately withheld from service” and hasn’t worked since the phone was discovered.

A search of Thompson’s iCloud account revealed four additional instances between January and August 2023 in which Thompson recorded a minor using the lavatory on an aircraft, according to investigators.

Those depicted in the recordings were 7, 9, 11 and 14 years old at the time, they said. Their families have been contacted by police, investigators said.