After seeing the movie Julie and Julia last night, I was reminded of an article Julia Child wrote for Traveler several years ago about Santa Barbara, where she lived the last few years of her life. Reading it again, I can almost hear Meryl Streep's voice as Julia, describing her favorite places to visit and of course, eat. Here's how it appeared originally in the April 2002 issue of Traveler: I remember well my very first impression of Santa Barbara. I was awfully young--maybe three or four years old. My family would vacation in Santa Barbara in the summer from my hometown of Pasadena, about two hours away. I remember we were at the old Miramar Hotel, which is right on the beach, looking down at the water. I'd never seen the ocean before, and I was sure the sea would come up and engulf us, and I screamed and screamed. My family finally had to take me home, which must have been enraging for them, and confusing: Why is she screaming?
The city sits right on the coast, a narrow strip of land backed by beautiful mountains, about 2,000 feet high. Lots of eucalyptus and oak and flowers make the place verdant and lush. In addition to all the green, I love the warm, cream color of the Spanish-style houses and the red of their tile roofs, and the brightness of round oranges set against the dark-green, shiny leaves of citrus trees.
The climate and the atmosphere recall the French Riviera between Marseille and Nice, except that area of France has now become terribly touristy. Very often, being there on the Riviera, where we used to have a little house, I'd look at all the tourists and say, "Well, I'd just as soon be in Santa Barbara."
When my husband and I were in the diplomatic service, we'd come to Santa Barbara during home leaves. So it was natural to end up here. I now live in a little pad in a lovely retirement community, having recently moved out of an enormous house in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which I'd lived in for 40 years. Even though I resided near Boston all that time, I never became a New Englander, though I loved being there. I'm a true Californian: I don't miss the change in seasons.
I always get up early, at six, and do all my exercises. Then I walk over to the dining room, where a group of friends and I have what we call "the octogenarian breakfast"--lots of bacon, every kind of egg you can think of, pancakes, waffles, you name it.
On Saturday mornings, I go to a marvelous farmers market downtown (pictured right). All kinds of people gather there, but the market can only sell things that are grown in California, and most items are from Santa Barbara County. Smaller versions of the market take place on different days and in different locales.
When I have visitors, I take them on my personal, quirky tour. We might start with breakfast on the pier, right out on the water. Or we'll have lunch on the pier, because there's a wonderful restaurant there where you can get fresh steamed crab or local lobster, and you can eat them outdoors with the pelicans and seagulls.
Or I might take them to lunch up in the hills at the El Encanto Hotel, which has been operating since the early 1900s. The hotel has an outdoor dining terrace overlooking the bay--one of the best vistas of the city I know.
Then we'll go and view the "Big Tree": the astounding and famous Moreton Bay fig, planted at the junction of Highway 101 and Chapala Street in 1877. It's claimed to be the largest tree of its kind in the country.
Later, we'll head up to the Old Mission Santa Barbara. In season, a splendid array of roses greets visitors. Then we might take a driving tour along the hills.
Dinner? Santa Barbara's not a renowned restaurant town, but we have some perfectly nice ones. The Wine Cask is downtown. San Ysidro Ranch has a good, if rather noisy, dining room. Lucky's, founded by the fellow behind Lucky Jeans, is very jolly. There's Downey's, where the atmosphere is somewhat subdued, but the food is delicious. And La Super-Rica Taqueria (pictured left) on North Milpas Street is one of the most authentic Mexican home-cooking restaurants around.
People just seem friendly and happy here. Who wouldn't be, when it's so beautiful and the climate is so nice? Just this morning I looked out on another sparkling day, and I said to my breakfast group, "Why live anywhere else?"For more about Santa Barbara check out our walking tour and photo gallery.
Photos via Flickr: Extra Medium (beach), zrim (Santa Barbara Mission), lamusa (farmers market), larryleenyc (La Super-Rica Taqueria)
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wonder to remembering the old memories. Thanks to share stuff.
very beautiful picture
This was a very interesting movie that kept me interested from the very beginning..
Santa Barbara is a great place so peaceful and calm
It has a great fun and joy to see places like this.
Santa Barbara is one of the best places in the world to visit. Start your trip at Stearns Wharf. Visit the wine tasting room. It costs around $5 for 5 tastes of local wines. Then, walk to the end of the pier to look in the hole in the middle of the pier. There are beautiful starfish there. If you spend a few dollars, you can get your parking ticket validated.
Next, drive up State Street and visit Historic El Paseo. There is a free museum there. There is also an awesome Sunday Brunch (and great Friday night happy hour) at the restaurant there.
Paseo Nuevo Mall has a good Nordstrom and Macys in an outdoor mall setting. A few blocks up State Street will take you to the Museum of Art. Being originally from a big city, I was pleasantly surprised by the incredible collection here.
Great restaurants include Montecito Cafe, Taj cafe, Pierre La Fond, Aldos, and Restaurant Kai.
Next, drive up State Street and take a right on Mission Drive. Then, take a left at the dead end and you will end up at the Mission. It offers a great self-guided tour and includes many indigenous artifacts and history of how life was 200 years ago. As the previous poster recommended, visit the natural history museum. It is small but nice.Have a nice trip!California USA