Day 3 – Santa Barbara: Birthday Blog!

Happy Birthday to me! While I knew we had an awesome day ahead of us I was feeling a bit leftover from all of the wine we drank yesterday. I was debating whether or not to workout but since the sky was grey and cloudy again it felt like the universe was telling me to hit the gym. I’m glad we did because I felt SO much better after working out. Sometimes you just have to sweat it out.

We showered, got ready and walked up State Street for a quick bite to eat. We stumbled into a Turkish cafe called Lokum that was really cool – it was unlike any other shop nearby filled with Turkish pastries and souvenirs, very cultural. The guy behind the counter offered us a sample of a honey pistachio Lokum – it was delicious and we bought three small slices to share. Then we walked next door to Dune coffee roasters – Stelios got a matcha latte (personally not a fan of matcha it’s just green juice to me and he felt the same way after trying it). And I ordered a homemade almond butter banana toast that was delicious.

Stelios had booked a couples massage for us at 12pm as part of my birthday gift so off to the spa we went! The massage was incredible and I felt so Zen afterwards. We were craving something sweet so we popped into Tondi Gelato, a gelateria with vegan flavors that used Rice Milk which I thought was interesting. I had a mix of the vegan dark chocolate, pistachio, and strawberry while Stelios ordered a mix of non-vegan salted caramel, stracciatella, and the vegan pistachio. All of the flavors were so smooth and creamy – Stelios said he couldn’t tell the difference in consistency between the vegan and non vegan flavors which is always a plus. My favorite was the vegan dark chocolate and Stelios agreed wishing he had got that one too.

We were feeling a bit chilly after the gelato so we walked back to our hotel to change into jeans and grab our jackets. Feeling refreshed and our sweet tooth cravings satisfied it was time for wine again! We stopped at Melville winery in the Funk Zone and sat at the bar. Melville had a cool vibe, playing R&B music, and the bartender was very smiley and energetic. We ordered 2 flights & an olive tapenade appetizer that tasted much better than it looked. It came with 3 different dips – olive & fig, olive & mushroom, and Kalamata olive – the olive & mushroom was my favorite but all 3 were delicious!

By the time we wrapped up at Melville it was 6:45pm so we started walking back up state Street in the direction of Bouchon, a French restaurant where our dinner reservations were. It was about a 25 min walk and we had some time to spare so we stopped in the wine tasting courtyard for some outdoor birthday pics 🙂

After a quick photo shoot we arrived at Bouchon right on time and were pleasantly surprised being seated at an outdoor table surrounded by heaters & scattered Rose petals – something special that they do for their guests who are celebrating a special occasion. For dinner we ordered a bottle of Paul Lato GSM (Grenache-Syrah-Mouvedre) we are really starting to pick up all the wine acronyms after all these wine tastings. For appetizer we ordered the scallop special which was prepared 3 different ways and for dinner Stelios ordered the duck (their signature dish that has never been taken off the menu) and I ordered the Sea Bass special. We were both WOWed at our meals and cleaned our plates. For dessert they brought out a chocolate lava cake with a candle and I made my birthday wish.

After dinner we walked down State Street and stopped into the Red Piano – the bar that we wanted to go to yesterday but never made it to. They have live music playing 7 nights a week so even on a Sunday evening, when most places are closing, they have entertainment. There was a girl playing the piano and singing classic hits, and there was a rowdy wedding party inside. It kind of smelled like sweat & beer inside the bar so we didn’t stay long. After leaving Red Piano we strolled back down State Street to our hotel.

I had worn my brand new Dolce Vita sandals out tonight and while they are super cute and felt comfortable to walk the whole night I didn’t account for the strap rubbing against my pinky toe so much. My toe started to hurt and I looked down and my pinky toe was BLOWN up and red. I toughed it out for most of the walk back until we got to the bridge to our hotel that we had to cross to get over the canal. After several attempts I successfully hopped on Stelios’s back and he carried me home over the bridge. A funny ending to a lovely evening.

It was a low key birthday for me compared to past years but it was honestly perfect. A workout, couples massage, wine, vegan gelato, delicious French food for dinner & I got to spend it with the love of my life in my favorite place, Southern California ❤️ Excited for the year ahead & what else my 28th year brings.