Around the World: Mission Santa Barbara

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Santa Barbara is a strange seatown village; it's almost divided in two, the Mission and the Town. The Mission overlook the town and the sea from a slightly high hill and inside it the atmosphere is peaceful and serene, almost poor; even the graveyard is old and abandoned. But as soon as you exit the little compoud of the old Mission, barely a cloister with a church and a graveyard, the color and sun and wealthiness of modern California punch you full front. Even the new lodgings for the monks are new and tiled in color. And just in front of the Mission there is a neighborhood of expensive mansion and a deep green park where people jogging, take the sun (quite naked) and do a full of other things.

 
by Elisa, Mission Santa Barbara, California, 2008

Around the Wor...

 

By Elisa Rolle

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But, truth be told, it was a nice experience. Santa Barbara was a little town full of life, obviously upper class, but nevertheless nice. I think it should be nice to live there.

Mission Santa Barbara, also known as Santa Barbara Mission, is a Spanish Franciscan mission near present day Santa Barbara, California. It was founded December 4, 1786, the feast day of Saint Barbara, to evangelize the local Chumash (Canaliño) tribe. The Mission grounds occupy a rise between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains, and were consecrated by Father Fermín Lasuén, who had taken over the presidency of the California mission chain upon the death of Father Presidente Junípero Serra. Mission Santa Barbara is the only mission to remain under the leadership of the Franciscan Friars since the day of its founding. (From Wikipedia)

Comments

[rowenasudbury.livejournal.com]

It might have been the one at Santa Ynez. It is right near a Danish community called Solvang.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's that one, I remember Solvang like a tourist trap (sorry I know it's loved in USA...), but the mission was very nice (and very empty of tourist!) Elisa

[rowenasudbury.livejournal.com]

We avoid Solvang as much as we can, but there is a tremendous wine growing region there, so we are forced to stay there (but not be sucked in by the tourist trap) when we take our annual wine tasting trip.

The mission there is beautiful though, one of my favorites!

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

I will go visit some historical village in the East Coast, I hope they will be more original than Solvang. There were wonderful flowers field all around though, I like that part of the country.