SANTA BARBARA TRAVEL GUIDE: A GIRL’S WEEKEND
Last weekend the girls, Danny Fung and I took a little getaway to Santa Barbara to celebrate Elizabeth’s birthday. As soon as we arrived in SB and checked into our hotel we dropped our luggage off at a Radical Storage place and headed straight for State Street. It’s the main street in town with a ton of restaurants, shopping, and fun things to do.
Kier and I ready to Explore SB. This is probably my favorite photo of us…ever.
We ate lunch at the most precious Parisian cafe Relais de Paris. The food was delicious and the decor simply stunning. The chef prepared a special coffee-flavored dessert for our table and it was seriously gone in 2 minutes.
My touring outfit for day one wearing my favorite sunglasses, boots, jeans and a cool button-down shirt with my go-to mini bag.
We did a bit of exploring. All of the bougainvillea is in bloom and it is just breathtaking!
Obviously we did not get enough sugar at lunch because we also got these (gigantic) ice cream cones at McConnell’s. It is located right next to Relais de Paris. They make the waffle cones right on the spot. I cannot remember the name of the specific flavor in the photo- all I remember is that it is delicious! Just FYI their ice cream is a bit pricey (this cone was about $11 with tax) but it’s definitely worth it for a sugar rush and a great photo prop.
After dessert we headed to a palm reader. Most of us had never been to one and decided it would be a fun thing to try. Kier found Gina, our palm & card reader, via yelp. I honestly thought it would just be a fun thing to try. Gina was $40 for a palm reading which lasted 10-15 minutes. They you got to ask her any questions you wanted afterwards. I requested for her to not share any negative things with me. Who wants to know bad things that are going to happen in the future? I certainly do not.
She was great and never fished for answers to questions. She only asked my first name and within a minute of reading my palms she seemed to know things about me that only those closet to me know. It was quite an experience and everything she told me seemed to make sense. If I have twins in five years and find my soulmate while traveling abroad next year I just might go see her again. You can find all her info here.
We caught the sunset right outside the hotel just before heading to dinner at the The Black Sheep. We were greeted by the owner himself, Ruben Perez. He was so pationate about the food and the restaurant. Every dish he described made our mouths water. We ended up going tapas style and sharing everything. I would highly recommend the lamb shanks and the bone marrow. Not something I would normally eat, but it was worth trying.
After dinner we went to a karaoke bar (Liz’s favorite.) I can’t remember the name. It was a total hole-in-the-wall. Everyone was over 40, and it was waaayyy too cold in there. But we still had fun singing our hearts out to Carrie Underwood, Adele, Sia, and the classics.
photo via the Four Seasons
The next morning we managed to roll out of bed and make our way down to the hotel restaurant for brunch. We sat right out here on the patio with an ocean view. Despite the cooler weather, the heat lamps kept us plenty warm.
French toast with powdered sugar and berries- my go-to brunch favorite.
After brunch we walked around the grounds of the hotel. We stayed at the Four Seasons Biltmore. This hotel was definitely a highlight of our trip. The grounds are simply stunning and the entire experience here was relaxing.
Caught little Melanee taking a photo.
We spent Sunday driving around the city looking for beautiful places to snap more photos. We caught the very first photo of this blog post by this amazing cliff overlooking the water. Danny was nice enough to snap a photo of us girls. (Right after we had to climb a swinging fence in sandals and dresses and then avoid the cactus needles poking every which direction.) But it was worth the shot wouldn’t you say?
This mini bag came every where with me. It’s my new favorite bag every time I travel because it fits everything I need without getting too heavy.
We also stopped at the mission which was absolutely gorgeous and worth a trip to see. There were a ton of families having picnics out by the rose gardens.
All in all my favorite thing from the trip was getting to spend it with some of my closest friends and get out of town for a few days. I have always loved Santa Barbra and there is always something new to explore when I am there. Cannot wait to go back! Know of any places I should try next time I go so I can include them in this Santa Barbara travel guide? Let me know in the comments below!
xoxo
Laura
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