Visit to Los Angeles and a short vacation in Santa Barbara

Last week we took some time off for a short trip to Southern California. All three of us visited Hoon's mom and brother in Los Angeles and drove up to Santa Barbara for a weekend get away.

Kiki was very good during our two hour flight in each direction and was very excited to see grandma! :-) She was a little confused with all the running around in the new places. It was funny to see her "drop dead" with exhaustion every evening and sleep like a log.

Santa Barbara is gorgeous! It's not known as the "American Riviera" for nothing. The city is beautiful and the beaches are amazing! We stayed in a small oceanfront town called Carpinteria and loved the gentle sloping beaches and enjoyable small town atmosphere. We had a great time walking around Santa Barbara and enjoying the city, in particular the Court House, the Summer Solstice Parade and the old Mission. We were lucky to catch a phenomenal street performance of Roni Benise and walked away with a copy of his Mediterranea CD. I've been listening to it over and over and absolutely love it - Santa Barbara being my favorite song (you can hear and see a short video of it from the street performance at Hoon's picasa webpage).

In addition to swimming and having fun in Carpinteria and Santa Barbara, we took a little excursion to Santa Ynes valley and did some wine tasting in Los Olivos, but thanks to the movie Sideways and the town's rise in popularity it was impossible to sit down anywhere for lunch. We also had a fun one day visit in Solvang, CA.

In Los Angeles we had some amazing Korean food - ahh... the yummy naeng myun! We had a great time visiting the J. Paul Getty Museum and truly enjoyed their amazing collection, the spectacular location and the beautiful architecture. The museum buildings are as beautiful and fascinating as the impressive collection of art they hold. I was ecstatic to have a chance to see Manet's A Bar at the Folies-Bergère currently on loan from from the Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery in London.

For pictures visit Hoon's picasa webpage.