Santa Barbara Vacation Rental house

This elegant apartment with high ceilings and plenty of windows seemed even more spacious than the pictures suggest. The king bed is comfortable with plenty of pillows and blankets for the occasionally chilly December nights. The new Ikea kitchen was very well equipped with a gas stove, all manner of cooking utensils, condiments and basic cooking ingredients (coffee, sugar, ground pepper, ketchup, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a full spice rack with fresh spices, salt, etc.). It was easy to whip up meals without needing to buy every little thing. The owner provides three reasonably comfortable cruiser bikes and one big tricycle for shopping (note: it would have been very helpful to have a tire pump and flat tire repair supplies available on the premises, but there's a bike repair shop just up Anacapa and free air nearby at State & Ortega). Santa Barbara is mostly flat, so cruiser bikes were great for riding around most of the city and along the beach. There's a full-size washer and dryer, a new big LCD TV, iPod dock, and good sound system. The shower was very small (about 30" square?), a tight fit even for a slim person. There was some noise from the upstairs neighbors (shoes on the wooden floor, muffled voices, washing machine & dryer). The shops and restaurants of State street start just two blocks away and the beach is an easy five-minute stroll. The Walkscore site gives it a well-deserved score of a 97 out of 100: "Walker's Paradise". There may be parking for one car in the yard depending on how the other residents park, but if you'd like to take car-free vacation, this house's location and Santa Barbara's bike-friendliness make it really easy. The area also seemed very safe and the street was not noisy, except for the weekly street cleaning trucks around 4am. The yard has pretty fruit trees (persimmon, citrus) that attract (quiet) birds to provide a quiet oasis for relaxing after a day of biking and strolling around. This was a terrific base to get to know Santa Barbara and all that it offers: beautiful tree-lined streets, East and West beach within 5 minutes walking, the Douglas Preserve and Arroyo Burro beach (just over 4 miles by bike, mostly flat), cute cafes (e.g., Crush Cafe 1 mile up Anacapa, South Coast Deli, Daily Bread Bakery), great people watching on State Street, and the train station. And check out the majestic, huge, beautiful 130-year-old tree just behind the station, to the NW. Awe inspiring!!