I've been to a lot of places, but my favorite one is always Santa Barbara, California. I lived there for 1 and a half months last year and I enjoyed it so much. I love the weather, the views, the people and EVERYTHING there.
Santa Barbara is located about 90 miles (145 km) WNW of Los Angeles, along the Pacific coast, between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the sea. The Santa Ynez Mountains rise behind the city. Our guide said that it snows once every three years, but I was kind of sad because I didn't get to see it.
The weather here is wonderful. Because of the city's proximity to the ocean, it is cool and sometimes a bit too cold. When I went there, my host family said that the climate changed a bit that year, so instead of the sun shining all the time, it was raining quite often.
Alameda Padre Serra is a hill right next to the Mission Santa Barbara, and it's a spot where we can see the views of the Pacific, the Channel Islands and the sunset/sunrise views. Unfortunately, I couldn't go there so watch those beautiful views, but if I have a chance to come back to Santa Barbara, I would definitely come there.
One thing that I like the most here is a huge beach to relax and swim on the sunny days. Because of the weather so the sea was pretty cold. That's why it's the best to tan, rather than to swim.
At the beach :)
There are quite a lot of fun activities in Santa Barbara, and most of them are on the beach. For example, there are people surfing, or playing volleyball or just simply swimming or tanning. I think that people live there really love and connect to the environment, because they did a lot of good things for it. They grew A LOT of trees everywhere: along the streets, in the park, at the beach,... It's really great seeing that, because it made me think about Ho Chi Minh city: what would it be like if it can be "GREEN" like Santa Barbara.
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| Our group at the park |
SB people are beyond AWESOME ♥ They are the nicest people I've ever seen. Even when they're complete strangers, they still try their best to help me when I was in a bad situation. For example, I was lost on the way to come back to school, and I asked people every 5 minutes, and ALL of them helped me with concern.
Going to Santa Barbara is an experience that I can never forget. I have so many great and awesome memories with my friends and teachers. I'm looking forward to visiting it again in the future. ♥
