One of the best things about LA is that there’s SO many things to do and see here. We’ve almost lived here for a year already and we still haven’t done all the things I’ve wanted to do, and we’re ALWAYS exploring. It’s seriously the best. Most things are within a few hours at most, and I was itching for a road trip, so after going through my list of things to do we decided that Solvang would be a fun day trip! What’s Solvang you ask? It’s a little village built in 1911 by Danish immigrants and it features tons of old-world Danish architecture in wine country! It’s just north of Santa Barbara, and only about 2 hours away from where we are in LA. So the morning of Wednesday April 24th we embarked on our road trip to Solvang!
Our drive up the PCH was beautiful and ominous with the fog rolling over the highway and covering the tops of the hills. It was creepy and beautiful. I loved it.
When we were almost at Solvang we drove up through the mountains and the views were amazing. There was also a giant lake! It’s called Cachuma Lake. Definitely something to add onto the list of places to explore!
My first impression of Solvang? It’s super cute. It’s like a little storybook town! It seriously looks like it’s straight out of a Disney movie to me.
It was super hot when we were in Solvang, like surprisingly hot. It was about 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 35+ degrees Celsius! I was sweatin’ and I was snacky but I felt like I just wanted something light and cold to cool me down so I decided to get some vegan strawberry gelato from the Solvang Flavors Ice Cream Shop. It’s in the bottom of the windmill on Alisal Road and Mariposa Drive. Right beside the Solvang Bakery. You can’t miss it! It was pretty expensive at $5 for a small but honestly totally worth it. I should have gotten a bigger size!
There are loads of wineries and vineyards around Solvang so it’s definitely the place to go if you’re a wine drinker. Also, Matt mentioned that the movie “Sideways” took place in Solvang so that’s pretty cool too.
There was a restaurant in here called the Fresco Valley Cafe that had a bunch of salads that sounded pretty amazing. It seemed to have the most appetizing vegan/vegetarian options around, but I was so freakin’ hot that I wasn’t even that hungry, I just felt super thirsty, so we didn’t end up eating there. If we visit Solvang again though I’d totally check it out! The only thing to keep in mind is that its only open from 8:30am-3pm every day!
This totally made me laugh. Even the subway looked fancy. Lol. It looks like it should be called Ye Olde Subway Sandwiches or something.
There was even a gazebo in the park like every little storybook town has because of course there was. Amazing.
A farmers market started setting up on 1st street when we reached the cute little park, they had loads of things like fruits and pies and plants. It was super cute! Apparently it happens only on Wednesdays from 2:30pm-6pm! Perfect timing.
After walking around the village a few times we decided were way too hot and we’d seen enough so we decided to head home. The views on the drive home seemed like they were even more amazing than on the way up. It’s amazing how much the scenery changes.
I’ll never get over the beauty of the mountains here.
All in all a solid day trip that I’d totally recommend if you’re in LA! The only thing I’d suggest is that you go on a weekend. I know, normally I would suggest a weekday because it’s less busy, but it seems like a lot of the shops were closed during the week and only open on weekends. Probably because it’s just a tiny tourist town. Unless you want to visit the Farmers Market. Then go on Wednesday like we did. Just keep that in mind if you’re planning a visit!
Until our next adventure,