The Jewel of the Pacific Coast ….. Santa Barbara

I’m not sure why I didn’t know more about this place , maybe it’s a given amongst Californians . This is the place you’d live if you could plant yourself in California . Once you round the early and grubby coast of Malibu , things gradually improve . The mountain range that falls into the coast of Malibu is much bigger and more rugged than I’d ever pictured. After rounding some captivating coastal rock we head inland through a mountain pass before we descend into Ventura .Ventura sits on a coastal valley between mountain ranges . It has a lot of agriculture , and is real food bowl that sits just an hour out the back of the LA sprawl . It still has the coastal , palm treed Californian trade mark on the Ocean front , whilst inland fields of green stretch into the foot of the surrounding mountain side . 15 minutes on the Northbound freeway , we bypass the green leafy hills of Montecito . You may have heard Montecito on the news for the deadly mudslides that took many lives in January . This town is also famous for its residents , Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey . We head on the coastal road of Cabrillo Way and enter Santa Barbara . This whole area reminds of Noosa Heads and Byron Bay . Trees , palms , flame trees , gum trees and semi tropical foliage interrupted by Tuscan and Spanish architecture . Santa Barbara is big , it spreads upwards for miles into the surrounding hills . Luxury shopping , top end art , surf shops , wine bars , seafood and heaps of dining options . From either the large pier or the marina you get amazing views looking back inland . You could easily picture this place as a tropical island with its mountainous interior . There are still little things that niggle you about California on how they treat there Coast . Oil rigs strut the coast like distant monsters , and there’s the pipes that still run along the beaches , crossing over small ponds collecting plastic bags , obstructing what is nearly a perfect view . …. Even a good 2 hours from LA traffic and people , so many people still clog the space . with surf 10 minutes either side of town , this is the place I’d choose to live if I had a choice . Santa Barbara is a must tourist destination for any Aussie , even an alternative to stopping off in Hawaii on the way back .You would save money and get that seaside fix without the flights . Santa Barbara ……….. you gotta see it .