Day 5: Paso Robles to Ventura and everything inbetween

On day 5 we got up and off course, the husband had to do work for about 3 hours (on MY holiday!!!!!). We just made it downstairs to breakfast in time and afterwards we headed south, in the direction of Santa Barbara.

En route, we did a bit of a detour to see San Luis Obispo. It is such a cute town - next time we'll stay here for the night - in the Madonna Inn. Each room in the Madonna Inn has a different over-the-top theme and people rave about it. The hotel has appeared on several tv shows including The Bachelor and Girls Next Door.

Pismo Beach - as seen from the Pier

We drove past Pismo Beach and just had to stop. It is a great coastal town with an awesome beach and a huge pier.

Santa Barbara is just FAB! Its easy to see why they made a show about it and also why many of the extremely rich own property there. We visited State Street and really enjoyed it. Great shopping and a fabulous farmers market. The market is open on Tuesdays and Saturdays and I must admit, it warmed my food-loving heart to see some chefs (in their chefs' coats) buying fresh farm produce for their restaurants - those are the type of places I'd like to eat at. I also enjoyed the World Market that boasted some great South African wines and a few products like Nando's cooking sauce and Mrs Balls Chutney. I definitely recommend going to Santa Barbara.

The View from our hotel

We stayed in Ventura, about 25 minutes from Santa Barbara - also a coastal town, but smaller and less expensive. The hotel we picked is situated by the harbour, which turned out to be a great location, because you could walk from the hotel to the little shopping/restaurant area in about 15 minutes. Our pick for dinner on the first night in Ventura was Brophy Bros - a great no-nonsense casual seafood restaurant with a huge bar inside and a fabulous patio outside. You can get a table right by the patio wall and look right onto the harbour. Off course we had to try the clam chowder (included with the main course) and I had Seabass with Grand Marnier & lobster sauce while the husband enjoyed his blackened halibut. Yum-yum! Great view, great food, great service...what more could we ask for.

Ventura Harbour