Hometown Photos

Photos of my Hometown Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara Sunset

Restaurant by the Beach

The Mesa A Beautiful Door

So far, only two of my students have spent any time in Santa Barbara. Many have never heard of it. If you go all the way to Los Angeles, I really think it is worth making the trip to Santa Barbara, which is 90 miles north of LA. Locals call it Paradise and you can see why from the photos above.

Here are a few facts about Santa Barbara:

1) It is home to UC Santa Barbara, one of the 11 UC campuses. UCSB has 5 nobel prize winners to its credit.

2) The population of Santa Barbara is about 92,000 according to the 2000 census. If the surrounding communities are included, the population is about 2000.

3) It is one of only 5 areas in the world that has the wonderful Mediterranean climate.

4) Santa Barbara is sometimes also called Paradise or the American Riviera, after the famous French Riviera

5) The best way to get from the Los Angeles Airport to Santa Barbara is to take

the Santa Barbara Airbus.

Some things to do in Santa Barbara:

1) Go to the top of the Courthouse tower. It is free and you will have a great view of the city from up there.

2 ) Have coffee or lunch at Cafe Nordstrom, located on the top floor of the wonderful Nordstrom department store. If the weather is good, you can sit on the balcony, which offers a great view. I recommend their Santa Fe chicken sandwich.

3) You might also enjoy eating at IN-N-OUT. Not as famous as some other chains, but they have terrific hamburgers.

4) Santa Barbara has many wonderful bed-and-breakfasts. These are great places to stay if you want to stay in a quiet part of town or just don't want to stay in a big hotel.

The most important street in SB is State Street. You can walk up and down this street or take the State Street Shuttle. For more photos of this truly beautiful street go to Virtual Tourist.