Life has been pretty busy here lately; apart from the regular day-to-day and city life, we've also had some exciting things happening that kept us going - I'll be opening about that at the right time.

To say that all these things have overwhelmed us is a bit of an understatement. We were in desperate need of a getaway. Partly because we needed some time away from the hustle and bustle of the city and daily life, and also, because of the fact that we love to travel, even if we don’t get to do it much these days.

While we had many places in mind, I think we ended up in the perfect place - the charming city of Santa Barbara, which doesn't really feel like a city.

We haven’t had a chance, prior to this, to visit this beautiful place, and we were pleasantly surprised to find a quiet town, “shoved” between mountains on one side, and the ocean on the other. I have said several times in my Instagram profile that I fell in love with it, and, well, if it wasn’t this expensive, we’d move there in a heartbeat.

We went out of our comfort zone and for the first time, we decided on a place to stay via HomeAway (same concept as Airbnb), versus going for a hotel. We’re extremely happy to report that our stay there was very comfortable and even fun. Our host was very friendly and helpful, and she had a husky dog that I got to play around with, whenever we were "home".

​But back to the town of Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara is a very quaint town, with beautiful architecture and gorgeous views. We ended up spending a lot of time downtown, exploring the surrounding streets and enjoying the yummy food it has to offer. We managed to visit places located in all corners of the city.
So what did we see?

• Santa Barbara County Courthouse. Our host suggested we visit this place. The courthouse is open to the public and it has an accessible clock tower with 360-degree views of Santa Barbara - it’s beautiful. Unfortunately, the clock tower closes at 4:45pm, so you won’t experience any sunsets there (imagine how gorgeous that would be). The building itself is worth a tour, it's old Spanish colonial architecture, with beautiful tiling and details. The Sunken gardens outside are just as impressive. Definitely put it on your list.

• The Old Mission. Santa Barbara has a pretty old mission (founded in 1786), that was renovated several times due to damages by fires and earthquakes. It’s beautiful inside and out. However, I got creepy vibes when we were inside after I read that there are people buried underneath the Chapel floors. The very old cemetery just outside of it didn't help either - does anyone get these sort of feelings in very old places, especially cemeteries? Still worth a visit though, if you like history and old architecture.

• Botanic Garden. I will be sharing a separate post on this, because it deserves it, and I have more than just a few photos to share from there.

• Downtown Santa Barbara. We spent a lot of time downtown. Made of a lot of charming old buildings, brick sidewalks, lots of shops and yummy food places - you'll want to come back here over and over.

• Cat Therapy Cafe. Sadly, we didn't make it inside. We found it by chance, and since we had other plans that day, we said we were going to come back the next day. The next day was Monday, and they are closed Mon-Tue (I haven't checked the schedule the day before, obviously). However, I got to stare at the well-behaved cats through the windows (along with lots of other people). During the week, you pay $10 to pet and play with those beautiful creatures or $12 on weekends. Oh, and the cats are adoptable.

• Paseo Nuevo shopping center. Not your average mall; this place perfectly compliments Santa Barbara's architecture and charm. We didn't go to SB to shop, so we only walked through to admire its uniqueness and moved on.

• The funk zone. Our host referred to this place as "the place for young people" - visit for street art, contemporary bars, and restaurants and bursting with life. However, we didn't spend much time here - I either preferred the beach or the old buildings - and yes, I prefer quieter places too #oldsoul.

• The waterfront and Stearns Wharf - we stepped out of the Funk zone and ended up at the beach. We walked the oldest working pier in California and admired the beautiful views of Santa Barbara and its mountains (see this post also for the views). We didn't get to visit the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center or to enjoy some seafood there though - next time.

• Santa Barbara City College beach. Built near the beach, we found nothing special about it other than the aforementioned beach. However, the day we went there, the June-gloom was in full force - cold, windy and cloudy - so we didn't stick around much since we were wearing summer clothes. It's the perfect place for a picnic, with the ocean views in front of you and the waves in the background as music - grab a warm sweater, or even blanket, just in case.

• Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum. Dinosaur eggs, the Jurassic Park’s velociraptor (yes, the one from the movie), mosquito trapped in amber, Gandhi's Declaration of Rebellion, accompanied by his signature, and so many other interesting things we got to see at this hidden museum downtown. Worth visiting at least once - and it's free.

Now, something that I've been dying to share are the food places that we were impressed with. Please note that many cafes close early (that was something very surprising to us), and many places have a break for the time between lunch and dinner, so be mindful and plan accordingly.

First and foremost, make your way to Olio Pizzeria, for some great pizza, meats, cheeses, and the list goes on - all delicious - we kept going back.

Another restaurant I wish we tried sooner and went more often is Lure Fish House - delicious food, pleasant ambiance, and beautiful interior - definitely a must-try.

We try to eat clean and Mexican food doesn't necessarily fall into that category, but we tried and were impressed with the vegetarian options at Viva.

We also tried the fresh juices at Natural Cafe and they were yum, so try them if you're looking for something refreshing.

Speaking of refreshments - you must try the smoothies at Blenders In The Grass, apparently, it's a local favorite. We had the Acai Energy and Blue Pomegranate and they were pretty great.

That's what I have for you from Santa Barbara. I most certainly recommend visiting this city, for a short (or longer) getaway and I hope you're as impressed with it as we were.

I hope you enjoyed this post.

Until next time.
XOXO,
​Em

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