Santa Barbara Museum of Art

Santa Barbara Museum of Art
1130 State Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

I was impressed that SBMA had paintings by such famous artists as: Chagall, Dali, Matisse, Monet, Renoir, Warhol.

But I was most fascinated with the museum's Asian collection. Here are a couple pieces below.

A Japanese Samurai. Intimidating but very small in stature.
Kalachakra (Wheel of Time) Sand Mandala constructed by Tibetan artist Lobsang Samten, 1996 using colored sand. Amazing.

Santa Barbara Courthouse

Santa Barbara Courthouse
1100 Block of Anacapa Street
Santa Barbara, CA

While we were having brunch at Elements, we could see Spanish dancers performing across the street.

Santa Barbara is having their "Old Spanish Days Fiesta" from 8/1 to 8/5. It's a Santa Barbara tradition that has continued for over 75 years to celebrate the history, customs, and traditions of the American Indian, Spanish, Mexican, and early American settlers that comprise the rich cultural heritage of Santa Barbara.

We discovered that the Spanish building (which has an outdoor stage where the dancers were practicing) was actually a palace built in 1929, and today is a fully functional courthouse.

We went up to the top of the clock tower and got a 360° view of the city. There's also an aerial map up at the top that pinpoints buildings and points of interest.

We saw that the Santa Barbara Museum of Art was just on other side of the street, so we decided to head over there to check it out before heading back to the train station, and back to LA.

I Survived the Wine Tasting in Santa Barbara

Here I am at Elements for Sunday brunch. After a day of wine tasting, before dinner cocktails, and wine with dinner, I slept like a baby. Brunch consisted of duck confit and waffles, with a bottomless mimosa.

Old Mission Revival Movie Theatre in Santa Barbara

An old mission revival movie theatre located on State Street in Santa Barbara.

We walked by it between cocktails at Epiphany and dinner at Opal, but didn't have time to catch a movie there. Maybe next time.

Before Sunset in Santa Barbara

Us on the pier in Santa Barbara

Huge Out of Control Fire in Santa Barbara

When we arrived in Santa Barbara we noticed the ash, both on the ground and still falling. The result of a fire they're calling the "Zaca Fire" that started on the 4th of July, and is still not contained. It's already burned over 70,000 acres and they expect the fire to be fully contained by September 7, 2007.

On our wine tasting tour, our driver wasn't able to take Santa Ynez Road, since it was closed due to the fire. So instead of taking the mountain pass, we went an alternate route to get to the wineries.

Here's a pic U. took of the smoke we could see while standing on the pier.

And we thought gas prices were ridiculous in LA

Photo taken in Santa Barbara.

Quote of the day

"The best thing to do when you've been drinking all day...is to continue drinking." - wise wisdom imparted by my husband.

Wine Tasting in Santa Barbara

U. and I went on a group wine tour with Wine Edventures. They picked us up in their signature purple air-conditioned van, (supposedly it was in the movie "Sideways"), drove us around to 3 wineries and a tasting room, and had a picnic lunch for us. Oh and we also got souvenir wine glasses. (Only one made it home in one piece - the wine glass that is.)

Stop #1 - Koehler Winery in the heart of Santa Barbara wine county.

Koehler Winery
5360 Foxen Canyon Road
Los Olivos, California 93441 Above is a photo of their tasting room.

We also got a tour of how their wines are made.

We purchased 1 bottle of Pinot & 2 bottles of their Rose. (One as a gift for Jill, our daughter's Godmother who is babysitting the little one so we could enjoy this weekend getaway together.)

Notable sites we passed while driving along the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail in Santa Ynez Valley:

• Firestone Ranch/Winery - Brooks Firestone, the grandson of Harvey Firestone (the tire entrepreneur) started a winery and brewing enterprise (infamous for the 3rd installment of the "The Bachelor" reality TV show when the bachelor Andrew Firestone takes the finalists back to his family's winery).
  
• Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch - We just had a view of the back, but the property is huge!

Stop #2 - Buttonwood Winery

Buttonwood Winery
1500 Alamo Pintado Road
Solvang, California 93463

They bottle just 5,000 cases each year in a mixture of varietals - sauvignon blanc, semillon, marsanne, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and syrah.Buttonwood was the most picturesque of all the wineries we visited today with its orchards, and beautiful gardens. It was picture perfect for sitting on a bench in the garden with your loved one, sipping wine.

In addition to a winery, they're also farm with a peach orchard. You can see the peach orchard behind us in the photo above.

They also have picnic benches on the grounds, and that's just the spot our tour guide had picked out for our picnic.

We purchased 2 bottles of Rose, 1 Merlot, and a jar of their homemade peach/ginger jam.

Keeping in mind that we would have to carry all of the wine we purchased back with us on the train, we tried to pace of ourselves.

(We discovered that one of the bottles we purchased was corked "went bad" and when U. called the winery, they offered to send us 2 bottles of wine on the house. Nice!) Stop #3 - Lucas and Lewellen Tasting Room

Lucas and Lewellen
1645 Copenhagen Drive
Solvang, CA 93463

Their tasting room was crammed full of kitschy items for sale.
This winery has vineyards in the Santa Ynez, Santa Maria, and Los Alamos Valleys, but has their tasting room offsite in Solvang.

This was the only stop where we didn't buy any wine. We didn't care for any of the wines they had on their "traditional" tasting menu. We did however get some sparkling wine at this stop. U. sporting "wine wear" just for demonstration purposes. (We didn't buy one.)

At first glance it's the dorkiest contraption, but when talking to another couple about it, they mentioned that they went to a large outdoor event with wine tasting and food and lots of people were wearing them and how nifty they are, because they free up your hands.

Stop #4 - Shoestring Winery

Shoestring Winery
800 East Hwy. 246
Solvang, CA 93463

I guess they saved the best for last because this was our favorite winery on this tour.The vineyard and winery are owned by Roswitha & Bill Craig, wife & husband. They came out from the East Coast and started the winery in 1997 on a shoestring budget, hence where the name comes from. They purchased this farm and converted it to a vineyard. (See photo of the old barn above that's now used to house their wine and as a tasting room.) They're a very small winery but are winning awards left and right. Since they're the "little guys" in the world of winemaking, you can only get their wine here (or via their website). We sat on benches, in the shade, under an olive tree (lovely and hit the spot!) and the owner Roswitha (she explained it's an old German name) talked to us about each an every wine that we tasted. You could tell she loves wine and loves what she does, and it was contagious. All of us were holding our wines up to the sunlight swirling the wine in our glasses to appreciate the color.

She also offered us chocolates with our red wine - oh so yummy!This is a photo of the inside of the barn that's used as a tasting room.Their wine is hand-farmed and hand-crafted, and aged in French oak barrels.

We loved ALL of the wines on their tasting menu. (Happy...happy...joy...joy). We joined the Shoestring wine club and ordered every single bottle on their tasting menu (see below) and had a case shipped to us.

2006 Pinot Grigio
This crisp white wine is simply luscious, light & refreshing.Our Pinot Grigio is not dry but "fruit forward" with a clean finish. It is low inalcohol & best served chilled, $22 a bottle (members $17.60)

2006 Syrah Rose
Only 200 cases made. Our Rose is a Syrah base with alittle Grenache & a splash of Sangiovese for color. Very similar to our Pinot Grigio, it is low in alcohol, fruit forward & best served chilled, $22 a bottle (members $17.60)

2003 Sangiovese
BRONZE medal winner 2007 Los Angeles International Wine Competition & SILVER medal winner 2006 Orange County Commercial WineCompetition. Blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in oak barrels 17 months,$26 a bottle (members $20.80)

2003 Cabernet Sauvignon
SILVER medal winner 2007 Los Angeles InternationalWine Competition & BRONZE medal winner 2006 San Diego International WineCompetition. Blended with 12% Cab Franc, aged in French oak barrels for 2 years, $28 a bottle (members $22.40)

2003 Syrah
GOLD medal winner 2007 San Diego International Wine Competition& BRONZE medal winner 2006 San Diego International Wine Competition. Blended with 3% Malbec, aged in French oak barrels for 2 years, $28 a bottle (members $22.40)

(When we got back home, we opened a chilled bottle of Rose from Shoestring and we were in heaven. It's so refreshing and just perfect for the summer.)

Useful Tips

• You can call the winery (see contact info on the wine bottle) and ask what the peak year is for the bottle of wine you have.
• If you open a bad bottle of wine, you can call the winery and let them know and they'll send you a replacement.
• It takes 3 sips to get the real taste of the wine.

Wine Tasting in Wine Country
The tour was great for getting a flavor of Santa Barbara county wineries and was convenient and hassle free. We also met a nice couple from Florida and another couple from San Jose. If you have a nice group of people with you it can make the experience more enjoyable.

If we go back, I think we'd research some wineries we'd like to visit beforehand and get a limo to drive us around. Then spend one day in Solvang where they have tasting rooms up and down the streets, perfect for walking and grabbing a bite to eat afterwards. Or do the organic wine tour next time.

Bouchon

Bouchon
9 W. Victoria Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Touted as the best restaurant in Santa Barbara - reviewers were falling over themselves with praise for this French restaurant.

The restaurant has quaint indoor and outdoor seating. (We sat indoors.)Drinks
Belgian Peach Lambic beer (to compliment the fois gras & peaches)
Wine - Qupe - Syrah

Appetizers
Fois gras with peaches

Roasted Wild Mushrooms
on cauliflower puree with teardrop tomato confit,
crispy thyme & Clos Pepe Estate olive oil
$14.

Main Course
Bourbon & Maple-Glazed California Duck Breast
duck confit, thyme-infused jus, succotash of corn, fava beans, applewood-smoked bacon and Windrose Farms butternut squash
$28.

Dessert
Vanilla Crème Brulée
$8.

Review
Based on the reviews we expected the food to be great, but it was just "okay". The mushrooms were burnt, the tiny serving of fois gras was laughable, and everything was too salty. Disappointing. The place itself was nice, prettier from the outside. The inside was very simple and small. In terms of service, our waiter was constantly coming over to ask us if we were enjoying our dinner, (expecting us to rave about the food), which got to be annoying and they couldn't clear everything away fast enough (including our lambic beer which we weren't finished with), although they overlooked our empty water glasses and we had to ask a couple times for more water.

My husband and I looked at each other and asked, "Have we become foodies?" Maybe we've been watching too many food network cooking shows and going to too many nice restaurants - but Bouchon didn't meet the definition of a great restaurant. Sadly, it was just okay. Food was okay, ambiance was okay, and service was okay.

Later when we got into a cab, our cab driver was surprised we weren't thrilled with Bouchon. "It's the best restaurant in Santa Barbara!" So we heard.

Traveling by train to Santa Barbara

A smooch from my husband and we're off!

We took Amtrak's double-decker Pacific Surfliner train to Santa Barbara with the special $40 round trip offer.

On the way to Santa Barbara we sat downstairs (and on the way back to Los Angeles we sat upstairs. In SB they announced over the loudspeaker that the downstairs area was reserved for the elderly and wheelchair bound, and that all able bodied persons needed to be seated upstairs.)

This was our first time traveling by train on the west coast. (We've traveled by train on the east coast and in Europe, but somehow never in our own state before.)

Traveling by train is the way to go. Large windows, foot rests, tray tables, and reclining chairs. No traffic and stress free.

There's a lounge car with a snack bar/cafe as well. We had red wine with chocolate as we sat back and relaxed and enjoyed the ride/view. We departed from beautiful Union Station in downtown, Los Angeles.

It was neat to travel under the LA bridge, along the LA River, and even zoom by our own neighborhood in LA and see landmarks from the train window.

The train stops several times along the way including Glendale, Burbank (Airport), Ventura (Ventura County Fair), but still only takes 2.5 hours to get to Santa Barbara. The train travels along the coast.
It's a scenic ride, with a view of the ocean and shoreline. And here we are in Santa Barbara.

We're staying at a bed and breakfast that's within walking distance (2 blocks) of the train station.

Tonight we're going to Bouchon (a French restaurant touted as the best restaurant in Santa Barbara) for dinner, and then in the morning we're off on a wine tasting tour. This is our first weekend getaway together without the baby in 2.3 years. It feels a bit strange to be traveling without our daughter, yet it's like a second honeymoon as well.

Take Advantage of the "Santa Barbara Car Free" Discounts

While researching logistics for a wine tasting trip to Santa Barbara, I came across the "Santa Barbara Car Free" program which offers discounts on train tickets to SB as well as many other discounts.

The SB Car Free Project's Mission
"To encourage car free, carefree transportation to and around Santa Barbara for cleaner air."

I signed up online and the packet with the promotional code came in the mail. The packet also included a couple maps of SB. So if you don't need a map, but just want to get the discount asap - Merry Christmas!

Use the promotional code H636 and save 20% on Amtrak Pacific Surfliner to and from all Santa Barbara train stations. (Three day advance purchase is required, and the offer is valid through December 13, 2007.) Participating SB hotels, restaurants, and tour companies also offer discounts and incentives (i.e., discounts of 10% to 25%, free dessert).

See official terms and conditions at http://www.santabarbaracarfree.org/

Note: Amtrak's online ticketing system wasn't registering the promotional code - I kept getting an error message - so I called their toll free number - 1-800-USA-RAIL and the friendly agent had no problems finding it their system. I purchased the tickets over the phone and she sent me an e-mail confirmation.

A round trip ticket from LA to Santa Barbara is just $40 (with the discount). It's a great deal. A full tank of gas costs more than that; plus you can enjoy a relaxing 2.5 hour train ride to Santa Barbara with no hassles or traffic, with one less polluting car on the road. Take advantage!