Santa Barbara, Ca

After the honky-tonk of Sin City, we were in need of some rest and relaxation. Santa Barbara, one of the most beautiful beach towns I've seen, was the correct remedy to the dust and neon overload of Las Vegas. The main drag of the town is State St, running at 90 degrees from the front into town, offering several miles of excellent shops, restaurants, bars and cafes south of Ortega St nearer the beach, with sophisticated museums and galleries further up and into town. We arrived on the most perfect blue sky day.

For all the retail therapy and nightlife options on offer on State St (and it really is buzzing of an evening, even during midweek) the main draw of Santa Barbara is the beach, 3 or so miles of superfine white sand, encircled by beautiful soaring palm trees, all of which is set against the stunning, perennially mist-shrouded Coast Range mountains, looming almost watchfully in the background.

Santa Barbara pier juts some few hundred metres out inside the ocean, affording another perspective on the landscape, including the multi-million dollar residences perched up and down the slopes behind the town proper, home to any number of stars and millionaires for whom Los Angeles is perhaps a little clichéd and over-busy. If I popped to the shops in a Ferrari or had more bank accounts than shoes then I would certainly opt for a home here than in the smog and the superficiality of LA (but more of than in my next post).

A great way to get along Santa Barbara substantial ocean-front is to cycle. I'm not that at home on the two-wheeled variety, but the prospect of hiring a four-wheeled, two-seated Surrey was too good to pass up. The outing opened up some lovely little pockets of greenery away from the busy front. In explanation, the look on my face in the fourth picture is a mixture of cockiness that I'm doing something so unfamiliar as pedalling a bike mixed with disbelief that I'm pedalling a bike without taking myself, or anyone else, out.A real highlight was the 'Wheels and Waves' festivals one afternoon, a showcase of automobile classics dating from the 1920s to the present day along State St. Below are a few favourites, including an extremely pimping, felt-lined Cadillac and a gorgeous Ford Mustang.

A classy, quietly affluent seaside town, Santa Barbara's architecture hints at times past but the town is undeniably modern and young in character. Its picturesque State St has everything you could want by day as well as by night, and the overt yelp of wealth and glamour (which is Las Vegas' trademark) is conspicuously absent - in this sense it was our perfect antidote. Without question an excellent holiday destination: charming, fun, relaxing and invigorating all at once, Santa Barbara is undoubtedly an absolute gem on this most beautiful stretch of the Californian coastline.