Santa Barbara, California itinerary
 

Just a quick in fill… Mom (turns 73 on this trip) and me the daughter (49)
Typical vacation day:

Up 7 or 8 AM, fix a light breakfast check the weather report.
Leave the hotel 9 or 10 AM and tour what ever.
Break for a nice leisurely lunch.
Finish up touring around 3 or 4 PM and head back to where we are staying.
Kick back and recap the day on audiotape.
Light dinner in our room with an adult beverage. (wine, cheese & deli meat)

This is the schedule so far.

Saturday:
Fly into SB 11:00 AM
Pick up car and head for hotel.
Walk to: Visitor Bureau
Italian Greek Market/Deli for supplies
(I’ve read that this is a market in one book and a deli in another, can we get deli meat, cheese and nibbles here?)
Our Daily Bread for supplies
Back to motel and kick back
Dinner at Roy’s

Sunday:
Brunch at Four Seasons Biltmore
Arts and Crafts show at Stearns Warf and Cabrillo Blvd.

Monday:
Drive the back county
(no set plans, just want to see the interior – any suggestions that would end us up in Los Olives? How about lunch?)
Maybe Mission La Purisma
Los Olives wine tasting

Tuesday:
Red Brick walk
Starting with the 10:00AM guided tour of the Court House
Lunch will be trying a couple of places that we have seen for appetizers
Walk the wharf/beach

Wednesday:
Solvang
Antique Center on First Street
Lunch?
Mission Santa Ine’s

Thursday:
Not sure

Friday: Not sure
Plane leaves at 5:00PM

Extra ideas:
Harbor Tour
Andree Clark Bird Refuge
Botanical Garden
Mission Santa Barbara
The Land Shark
Lake Cachuma boat ride
Cloud Climbers Jeep Tour
Painted Cave
Sam Marc’s Pass & Cold Spring’s Tavern
City Bus ride around parts of town

What ya think?

Thank

Amy

What I think is that you should take me with you.

(and no merlot, please.)

I just read about this tour in yesterday's paper. It hits all the spots featured in the movie "Sideways":

http://www.santabarbara.com/winecoun...s-tour-map.pdf

Looks kind of fun.

The art museum is right off State Street and is a nice size to wander through, especially if they have an exhibit that interests you; nice space too.

Tracys2cents …LOL the more that merrier. The comment about Merlot must be from Sideways. Believe it or not we'd decided to visit SB last September. That was before I'd known about the movie. Still haven’t seen it. Maybe we’ll go when we’re there.

lvk …thanks for the info. I do have that map.

LPC48… Thanks for the hint. I hadn’t’ thought about looking to see what they have showing there. I’ll be adding that to my list!

For a deli, I would suggest that you take a look at Pierre Lafond's on State St, somewhere opposite the Hotel Santa Barbara. Gorgeous croissants etc.

On your way to the "back country" that's to lead you to Los Olivos, you might want to consider stopping at Cold Springs Tavern, a former stage coach stop log cabin just behind San Marcos Pass that serves a hearty lunch in a rustic ambiance. It is about 15 miles NorthWest of Santa Barbara. Once having passed the peak of San Marcos Pass on SR 154 turn into Stage Coach Road. After a few hundred yards you'll find the eatery in a tree shaded and very secluded environment.

In Los Olivos, I am an absolute fan of Arthur Earl's wines available in their tasting room on the main street of Los Olivos, facing Fess Parker's Wine Country Inn.

Enjoy your trip!

hsv

Thanks a bunch for your hints hvt. This is what I was looking for. Ya know what the people who have been there liked/disliked. Pierre Lafond’s is now a must do on our list. And Arthur Earl's!

AJA55,

for what it's worth, I posted a trip report here covering (among others) the Santa Barbara area. I tried to format it so readers would not have to go through everything in order to find relevant information, so you might want to take a look for further ideas at:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...amp;searchText

Again: Have lots of fun in that great region!

hsv

The Arthur Earl Syrah is very nice. We did a tasting there in December. Gainey was also very good. I would recommend a meal at the Los Olivos Cafe, excellent! ***kim*** ((f))

Santa Barbara has some beautiful classic movie palaces. Even if they're not showing "Sideways", you might wanna check out the Riviera or the Arlington.

hsv….thanks again I cut and pasted some of your info. By the way great trip report. I love reading TR’s!

kinamom …we have the Los Olives Café on our list of places to eat on the Los Olives day. Is Gainey a winery label? Can it be found in one of the tasting places in Los Olives?

Clarkgriswold… I’m sorry to be ignorant here but what is the Riviera or the Arlington? I’ve read up a bit on Santa Barbara but…...maybe hotels?

They are gorgeous, historic theaters in Santa Barbara. We saw Sideways at the Riviera, it's beautiful inside! Up the hill by the El Encanto Hotel. :)

Gainey is a winery in Los Olivos. www.gaineyvineyard.com Very nice Triada there. Cheers! ***kim*** ((f))

At the Los Olivos Cafe, try the braised lamb shank accompanied with a glass of the Bernat (owner of the cafe) Syrah. ***kim*** ((f))

Hi AJA55:
Gainey Vineyard and Winery is in Santa Ynez, not in Los Olivos. As you come over the hill from Santa Barbara on Highway #154, take a left on Highway #246. It is just ahead on the left about 1/2 mile. You can sample their wine at their tasting room. I will refrain from commenting on their wine since my brother owns the place.
minnie.

OMG minnie you are much too humble! The wines are excellent and I know they have won many, many awards. The tasting room here is also gorgeous and there are all kinds of recipes set out for the tourists and suggestions on which wine to pair with it. I took one of each! minnie, you must be very knowledgeable in the area of wine with a brother that owns Gainey Vineyards. How fun! ***kim*** ((#)) We did not have enough time in this area for wine tasting, btw. I would love to come back to this area and stay at the Fess Parker Inn & Spa.

minnie & kim (and any others) -
Have you been to both the Napa/Sonoma Valleys and the Santa Ynez? I am just starting to plan a CA wine trip with some friends, and we talked about Napa originally. But now that I've seen Sideways (and have also tasted wines from the Santa Barbara Winery), I am interested in seeing that area! I've heard that the SB/SY area is less touristy and crowded than the Northern areas, but if we've never been to any "wine country" (and live on the east coast), should we make a point to go to Napa/Sonoma?
Can either of you compare the two areas for me? We are thinking of a September trip - 3 girls (as of now). I will also read the Napa threads, just saw this post first and parts are "on topic" for us!
Thanks!

In Santa Barbara, we like to eat at this truly great little place called simply "William."
Well, I think that's it. It's the owner/chef's first name. He does French food very, very well....

To my regret I have not yet eaten at "Tacos Super Rica" which is always on lists of top tacos in California...

Have fun!

Kim …thanks again for your help. My mother’s more that just fond of lamb. She’ll be in heaven. I think the only reason she wants to go back to the UK is because of the lamb! LOL

Minnie…Way Kewl! So do I have permission to drop your name when we visit Gainey? (Just kidding!) I have copied your directions and put them in a file for future use. Quite frankly we hadn’t put any wineries on our list as we thought that we would just visit Los Olives tasting rooms. But I haven’t planed a thing for our wine day. So Gainey it is….

Bugocity…I looked up William on the net and found a bit on the restaurant. Looks like a good one to peek at. We are aware of “Tacos super Rica” but have decided not to visit this trip. Too much to do so little time! ! !