My fiancé and I traveled to Santa Barbara recently for a wedding dance lesson and made a day of it. Now you are probably wondering why Santa Barbara for a dance lesson, well it started from my bachelorette when we took a burlesque dance class. It was so much fun and I loved the dance instructor so much that I asked if he would help choreograph a first dance for my fiancé and me, which he happily agreed to do so.
Now here we are, taking a few dance lessons and making a fun day trip here and there to Santa Barbara. Here are a few things we did after our dance lesson.
Also, if you need a dance instructor for a fun bachelorette burlesque class or for a choreographed first wedding dance, I cannot highly recommend Kyle enough! You can find him at The Dance Network.
Santa Barbara Courthouse
First stop, we visited Santa Barbara courthouse, which is gorgeous as you can see in the photos. It has been around since 1929 and has a Spanish-Colonial style design.
There is a four-faced clock tower you can go up to and get a beautiful view of the mountains on one side and the ocean on another.
Picture 1: Gardens and the clock tower
Picture 2&3: views from the clock tower
The Funk Zone
The Funk Zone
And then, we went to the well known area called The Funk Zone. We grabbed lunch at Metropulos for sandwiches and I highly recommend this place. I got their pesto chicken sandwich and my fiancé got their turkey jack avocado sandwich, and both hit the spot for us.
After lunch, we stopped at Dart Coffee Co. I got the Pink Sky, which is a lavender lemonade with kombucha. It’s a perfectly refreshing drink on a warm day like this one.
Pink Sky
Also, we checked out some shops in The Funk Zone. Below is the few we checked out.
- The Blue Door (vintage and modern collections)
- The Shopkeepers (very cute clothing boutique)
- sbmidmod (mid-century modern antiques)
The Blue Door
If shops are not your thing, don’t worry, you can always go check out one of the many breweries or wineries in The Funk Zone or maybe one of the other eateries.
Outside The Funk Zone
Outside The Funk Zone, you can find restaurants and shops too. A couple restaurants that I have been to and would recommend are below.
- Santo Mezcal (great cocktails and good food, highly recommend the ahi ceviche!)
- Loquita (cute Spanish style restaurant with delicious tapas and paella, just note that this is a dinner only place)
Since we already ate lunch in The Funk Zone, we continued to walk down State Street and to get some gelato. Tondi Gelato makes it on-sight and it is delicious.
Tondi Gelato, flavors are strawberry and coconut pictured here
Finally, we ended our day back in The Funk Zone at one of the breweries. It was a wonderful day in Santa Barbara and I can’t wait to go back and try some new spots!