Santa Barbara

[felice]

We have experienced a wonderful few days in the great city of Santa Barbara. So much to see, including the famous courthouse, the front / promenade area, State St, it is all amazing. Such a lovely city to visit. Hope some of you can visit there soon, as a bit of a change. Do please hit us up if you need advice. Contactless payment was a bit of an issue at some locations though, so do ensure you have a backup plan for payments. Santa Barbara is such a beautiful city.

 

[bcla]

Santa Barbara is a convenient day or overnight trip from LA or OC via the Pacific Surfliner and/or Coast Starlight. There are a ton of bars, brewpubs, and wineries right there near the Amtrak station, and taking the train is safer for those looking to consume alcohol. I do remember seeing the party continuing when I was on my way south to LA. Mostly being really loud, but the conductor said that a few people left at the next stop before they would have had police eject them.

I've yet to have an issue spending cash in Santa Barbara. I've been through several times in the past half year and I don't recall any place that didn't accept cash. I used cash at McConnell's, Lilly's Taqueria, Helena Ave Bakery, The Habit, Lucky Penny, and Figueroa Mountain Brewing. What places were contactless payment only?

 

[felice]

Santa Barbara is a convenient day or overnight trip from LA or OC via the Pacific Surfliner and/or Coast Starlight. There are a ton of bars, brewpubs, and wineries right there near the Amtrak station, and taking the train is safer for those looking to consume alcohol. I do remember seeing the party continuing when I was on my way south to LA. Mostly being really loud, but the conductor said that a few people left at the next stop before they would have had police eject them.

I've yet to have an issue spending cash in Santa Barbara. I've been through several times in the past half year and I don't recall any place that didn't accept cash. I used cash at McConnell's, Lilly's Taqueria, Helena Ave Bakery, The Habit, Lucky Penny, and Figueroa Mountain Brewing. What places were contactless payment only?

The issue was actually with using contactless payment via Google Pay - some stores didn't take it at all, others appeared to have problems with their reader systems.

 

[bcla]

The issue was actually with using contactless payment via Google Pay - some stores didn't take it at all, others appeared to have problems with their reader systems.

OK. I would never rely on any one form of payment. I've seen cash only as well as some places that didn't take cash at all.