Experiencing Europe Without Leaving the United States
Along the Central Coast of California
California is a big state. According to National Geographic’s 50 States 5000 Ideas book, it is America’s most populous state with an estimate of 38 million people.
When people think about California, they think of the major cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. There is more to California than just the Golden Gate Bridge, Hollywood, Disneyland, and SeaWorld.
There are a lot of hidden gems in the Santa Ynez Valley, which is located about 130 miles away from Los Angeles, CA.
If you want to see and feed ostriches and emus, there is a tourist attraction called Ostrichland USA near Solvang, CA where you can do that.
Solvang is “The Danish Capital of America” where you can see the European-style architecture with the windmills and Danish flags.
There, you can enjoy local wine and Danish treats and check out more than 200 independent and family-owned boutiques.
When I went to Solvang in December 2017, the Christmas decorations were up. I loved how festive it was around Christmas time and took a lot of pictures.
If you’re craving Vietnamese food like pho or spring rolls, there is a restaurant in this small Danish town called Pho 805.
Next to this Danish town is the Santa Inez Mission. It was founded in 1804 and is one of 21 missions built in California by Spanish Franciscan priests. This historic Spanish mission still holds weekly masses.
If you read this far, thanks for reading! Have you been to the Santa Ynez Valley?
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