We recently took a trip to Santa Barbara for our anniversary.  Since both of our cars are aging BMW's we decided to rent an auto to drive up there, and why not a convertible, just for the hell of it?  So we went to Avis and rented a silver Chrysler convertible.  Never having driven one I had no idea of what to expect.  We left around noon on Monday and took the coast route, (no freeways for us).  What a blast!.  We were living the California life, driving on PCH in our convertible, with the top down and the sun warming our skin.  The only problem with the convertible is that you get a lot of glare from the sun even with sunglasses.  A baseball cap is definitely necessary, so we stopped and bought one at Nordstrom Rack in Oxnard, along with a few other goodies which I couldn't pass up.  Highway 1 turns into the Freeway for awhile there, but they are widening it, and the detour signs are designed to confuse you, so it took us an extra long time to get back on the road.  Finally, we reached Montecito, where we stopped at Starbucks for a pitstop.  Then, on to our hotel, the Inn of The Spanish Garden.   Although we have been to Santa Barbara many times, (my husband actually grew up there, the lucky bloke!, I was tired of our old favorites and wanted to find someplace special to stay for this trip.  I found out about this "boutique hotel" on the internet, through the "Trip Advisor" website.   It is the top ranked hotel in Santa Barbara, but not the highest priced, and I was very impressed by the many stellar reviews from guests who had stayed there.  So I decided to see if I could reserve a room on our chosen dates.  We were out of luck for that date, but were able to get resevations the following week which enabled us to combine the anniversary with a birthday celebration, thus saving some money in the long run.  The Inn is a new property, only two or three years old, but it is designed to look like a vintage Santa Barbara hotel.  With only 23 rooms it is larger than a Bed and Breakfast, but intimate enough to not be touristy.  Our room, the Executive King was really smashing!  Simple, but elegant, with tall ceilings, a sitting area, comfy King bed, gas fireplace in front of the comfy bed, and an enormous bathroom, with see through shower stall and bathtub built for two.  No detail had been ignored.  The toiletries were not too perfumy.  The linens (Frette) were smooth and cool, and we had a lovely little balcony which overlooked the courtyard and was made quite private by some huge Banana trees whose leaves shielded us from the view of others but still allowed us to look out.  The only thing I felt could have been included for the price of $285/night was a welcome bottle of wine  This would have been a nice touch and would have made the arrival just a bit more memorable, but I really could not complain about anything else. 

So we set out to find a good first night restaurant.  The weather was glorious and after perusing the several dining and wining magazines and area restaurant guides, we walked up to State Street to check out a few choices.  The Inn is within walking distance of the entire downtown area, but a bit distant from the beach.  We settled on The Cafe Buenos Aires, an Argentinian/Brazilian restaurant with a gorgeous patio,  candlelight, soft music, and heaters as it does get a bit chilly there at night.  This will definitely be one of our regular stops in SB, as it was quite exceptional.  They bring a little bowl of Chimichurri (an Argentinian sort of dipping sauce made with garlic, parsley, vinegar, olive oil, and some other spices) and excellent bread to get you started while deciding on drinks or wine.  This was already addictive.  We proceeded to several appetizers, all excellent, and Charles ordered the Mohecheta, a Brazailian seafood dish with coconut milk sauce which was to die for.  My seafood salad on a roasted artichoke was quite beautiful, and the piece de resistance was the flourless chocolate cake which was rich without overwhelmingness.  We returned to our room, in excellent spirits, looking forward to the continental breakfast served on the patio which is rumored to include several kinds of quiche and espresso drinks if desired.  Stay tuned for day two of our Santa Barbara adventure.