Santa Barbara

I was in Del Mar last night to have dinner with my newlywed friends Phoebe & John. We were meeting at one of my favorite Persian restaurants Alborz , and since I had a few minutes before we were to meet, I popped into Longs to pick up a few things. I used to frequent this drug store often when I used to work in the neighborhood, partially because it was convenient, and mostly because they have the best wine selection! As I was browsing the shelves for something special, I could not believe my eyes when I saw a bottle of Rancho Sisquoc 2004 Merlot, my all time favorite winery in Santa Barbara. Not only was it there in front of me, but it was on sale!

As I was telling John and Phoebe last night, if you have not been to to Santa Barbara and the surrounding areas, I highly recommend it. Not only if you love wine, but it is a beautiful and charming place to visit for their fantastic restaurants, shopping, and if you can catch the Summer Solstice Parade in June, you won't regret it. I am so very fortunate to have a cousin who lives there (see Krista's blog here) and she and her husband Steve have graciously introduced to me to many of Santa Barbara's finest destinations, several times.

Here's a great idea, catch the Amtrak on a Friday afternoon, from San Diego it takes about 5 hours, not only is the ride stress free, but there is a lot of beautiful scenery and, if you are like me, you can have cocktails all the way there! Spend the weekend, maybe do one of the tours, or at least have a designated driver, and check out the incredibly tranquil countryside and of course, the wineries.

My favorite "tasting stops" so far, Rancho Sisquoc, Zacca Mesa and Buttonwood. Foxen is cool, if you can catch it in-between bus tours, they had a cameo in the movie "Sideways" and since then, it went commercial and kind of lost it's rustic charm - if you ask me. You should also check out the town of Solvang, what a trip. It's just like being in a Scandinavian town, so I'm told.

So, now that I got off on so many different topics, starting with dinner with friends, the wine, then Santa Barbara, what do I title this blog?