The DrsC had business in Santa Barbara today so we drove our full size+ pickup into its narrow, charmingly named streets. Mid afternoon traffic wasn’t terrible and I wasn’t rushed so it was no great trauma, in spite of the network of one-way streets.
If you love the Mediterranean/Spanish Colonial look - white or ivory stucco walls, reddish-brown thigh tile roofs, wrought iron window bars and gates, arches everywhere, shaded courtyards, palm trees, flowers and the occasional turret - you will love Santa Barbara. I believe it to be the most beautiful city in California, hands down. Sadly, it is also a magnet for the homeless.
The County Courthouse is spectacular, it could pass for a palace in Seville. And the colonial era Mission Santa Barbara is known as the Queen of the California Missions. If Santa Barbara isn’t on your bucket list, it should be.
The coastal setting is wonderful, too. I love the many charming street names - Chapala and Canyon Perdito, Carrillo and Cabrillo, Arrellaga and La Cumbre.
I don’t like living in cities but could make an exception for SB, if it weren’t so impossibly expensive. It is that special.
