Easter Time

The Easter weekend, a time for sharing food, stories and joy with family and friends. 

This weekend I was lucky enough to have my Dad and Alice come and stay in Santa Barbara and visit with me for the holiday (although it sadly isn't a public holiday here). In the lead up to Easter IV has been lovely, in a quiet lull with most of the student population either at Coachella, recovering from the festival or heading home to see family. Although I probably should have been studying it was perfect for catching up with friends including a delicious potluck dinner on Thursday night. Whilst I didn't stretch my culinary abilities too far, I did whip up some chocolate chip cookies to make cookie/icecream sandwiches for everyone. My sweets were rivalled though by Lisa and Cassie's raw, vegan pecan pie which stole the show.

Friday, although overcast, was a great day to reconnect and wander around downtown. The three of us braved a new coffee place off Camino Presidio and I had one of the best Chai lattes in quite a while. We also strolled past the museum and had a delicious dinner at a restaurant called Jane (pictured above). 

Whilst an apprehensive plan was made on Friday to do some exploring, Saturday was glorious and perfect for an adventure. We journeyed out early to Solvang, a Danish town north of Santa Barbara that is fitted with quant buildings and kitschy stores. The town was first settled in the early 1900s with a school and agricultural centre. Since then it has blossomed into a tourist area and culinary hub. 

First step on the adventure was to grab some lunch at Succulent Deli and Charcuterie on the main street. Although our meal wasn't typically Danish the food was awesome and the homemade lemonade especially refreshing. If we weren't full enough already we then took a tour of the town and settled for dessert. The trip wouldn't be complete without some delectable Danish pastries and Ableskivers. The whole experience was delectable. 

The architecture of the town replicates a quintessentially Danish style although much of it is fabricated to look like the original. As Thomas mentioned prior to my visit, "it looks exactly like Denmark and then you realise the bricks are all a little too straight and the roofs too aligned to truly be in Europe."I would definitely recommend a trip there all the same.

After a day of exploring we reached Sunday, the day of rest. To celebrate the Easter holiday Cara, Dennis, Alice, Dad and myself indulged in a brunch at San Ysidro Ranch in the Montecito foothills. The ranch itself is gorgeous with ancient stonework and thatched rooves which are meticulously maintained. The ranch has hosted a range of celebrities, politicians and influential figures such as the Kennedy's in the 1950s. The interior of the ranch is decked out in a gorgeous wood-panelled dining room, fit with fireplace and bay windows. However instead of staying indoors we brunched in the garden in the Spring sunlight.

Glorious dessert banquet 

Hand coloured marble eggs

Cara and Dennis

In a theme of indulgence we each enjoyed a Lobster Eggs Benedict for our main and finished with a selection of amazing easter desserts. We also explored the San Ysidro wine cellar which houses over 13,000 bottles of wine from all over the world. Needless to say we were slightly overwhelmed by the scale of the place. 

Lake Cachuma Lookout

After brunch Dad and Alice departed to head back to the bay area and I joined some fellow exchange students for an Easter afternoon tea. Alex, one of the Bulgarian/Czech exchange students stayed up the night before dying eggs for a traditional easter game of egg cracking. I was so delighted to be able to play the games and help explain the tradition to some of the other internationals as I thought I wouldn't be able to keep up my yearly easter tradition. 

To round out an awesome weekend Manny, Thomas and I took Bart's Buss down to SBCC (Santa Barbara Community College) to watch Flume serve up a great dj set. The night was fantastic and I am really glad I've been able to keep up seeing some live music whilst abroad. Not having a car had inhibited the process but it is all part of the exchange life. 

It will probably take me the whole week to recover but until next time. 

Nina

Welcome to Spring Quarter

When people warned me that Spring Quarter would be action packed I didn't really believe them. Needless to say the UCSB lifestyle only gets better with the endless sunny days, spring elections, beach trips, drinking occasions and adventurous escapades.

Getting back into the IV groove took no time. First week was busily spent getting ready for classes, buying books, crashing courses and taking stock of everyone returning from their spring break shenanigans. All of the exchangers who jetted off to Mexico for spring break were delayed and finally made it back in the midst of an unlikely rainfall on Monday night. It was great to catch up among the first few classes together and see how the adventure panned out. Many who visited more historic areas of Mexico such as Teotihuacan, Puebla and Yucatan loved the crazy Mexican way of life and the local people they met. Some of the Scandinavian students also were confronted with a role-reversal of colour and racial profiling as they found their fair appearance stood out like a sore thumb. The girls who headed to Cancun for a more typical spring break trip also enjoyed their trip but had many more incidents of sickness and touristy incidents.

After getting settled back into the swing of things it was time for Deltopia weekend. As you can see from the photo of Wyatt above, we started the day the best way we knew how, getting a hearty breakfast at Carillo. The day followed with some relaxed and fast-paced drinking and hanging out. Starting the day on Del Playa at Tim's we could get a taste of what was to come, crazy crowds of people making the most of the beautiful Santa Barbara weather. 

 

Taking a break after a big day of migrating through the Isla Vista crowds Joel and I went back to Manzanita for a pitstop and some dinner. Luckily for us the craziness really began as the sun set and we were able to avoid the brunt of the insanity to follow. Needless to say the the next day was a great opportunity to check up on the fellow exchange people who were caught in the middle of the chaos.

Achieving a surprisingly good night's sleep in the dorms Joel and I were then up early on Sunday to go shooting with the Excursion club. I was stoked to be able to get involved in a quintessentially American bonding past-time, venturing to a new part of the mountains for some target practice. The whole day was really fun and a great opportunity to get some sun and meet new people. I unfortunately wasn't quick enough to hit some clay pigeons but didn't fair too badly at the stable targets.

Platform Holly's first gig of the Quarter 

Some other activities for the first two weeks back include seeing 'Her' at IV theatre, getting back to regular Trivia Tuesdays at Woodstocks, many coffee catch-ups, a surprising amount of reading and discovering some new places on campus. I also managed to catch Wyatt's band play a set on DP during last week and they were supported by quite a crowd!

To celebrate second week back Kaitlyn also asked me to be on her team for the Great American Challenge game with her rugby team. It was such a fun afternoon and it was great to see the rugby people again. Spring Insight was also taking place on Saturday where prospective freshman come to UCSB to gain information about college life and to sign up for clubs and societies. Whilst I didn't get involved with EAP it was great to see what UCSB has on offer.

To shake off the hangovers and enjoy the beach weather Kaitlyn, Caitlin, Karen and myself went down to Anacapa beach for the UCSB INDUS Holi Festival. The Indian festival is an awesome festival that celebrates unity and diversity and entails throwing multicoloured powder at your friends! Starting out with white shirts you enter the dancing crowd to immerse yourself in the colour bomb. It was such a cool experience and even though it took hours to get the colour out of my hair, was well worth it. 

Caitlin, Kaitlyn, Me and Joel 

Cassie, Me and Richard

I can't wait to see what the next few weeks of this quarter will bring. 

Nina

Spring Break!

Hey guys,

Apologies for the very belated Spring Break blog. It has been a fun-filled, busy and action packed few weeks.

To begin, my single exam went really well and although I stressed out a little too much I was happy with my final grades for the quarter. To send off winter quarter with a bang I joined Manny, Wyatt and a small group of friends for some celebratory beverages, bbqing and games. Unfortunately due to the large number of celebratory beverages consumed Wyatt has had his hand bandaged for the last two weeks, yet he is on the mend!

After some fun and games to celebrate I was off super early on Saturday morning to bus, train, fly and drive up to Sacramento. It was a huge day and I was very happy to see Dad and Alice on the other side. As well as the delicious home cooked meal!

The Surfliner that I took down to Burbank Airport was really great and reminded me of being on the Eurostar travelling through Italy. The views were also pretty glorious as the amtrak line follows the coast down to North LA. 

As soon as I got to Davis my excitement about meeting Charlotte hit high speed and I was in no way disappointed. She is so beautiful and a very happy baby, making faces and being very cuddly. Unfortunately we just missed seeing her smile as she got there this week. I can't wait to visit again later this year and will undoubtedly be shocked at how much she has grown.

Nugget Market Grocery Shopping

After getting some well earned r and r with Dad and Alice at their place in Davis I was excited to head back down to Northern Southern California for the rest of the Spring Break adventures. Dad's rental place was an adorable cottage pictures above fit with a community of neighbourhood turkeys and squirrels. 

LA, Malibu and Santa Barbara is a glamorous way to finish off Spring Break festivities. Upon arrival at LAX I was bombarded with my first ever airport celebrity sighting and paparazzi encounter. We then spent the afternoon hanging around Santa Monica and grabbing an early dinner at Nikita's and Nobu in Malibu. The dinner was incredibly delicious, Japanese fusion. The food was amazing but the company was even better and it was so nice to catch up with Cara and Dennis. 

Due to a mix up with dorm times I stayed with them one more night in Santa Barbara up in the foothills. The views from the hotel were spectacular and it was fantastic to have some great meals with Dennis' family. 

It's crazy to think that I'm half way through exchange and it was so nice to come back to UCSB. The place really feels like home after these past few months and I am energised and ready to get into Spring Quarter shenanigans. 

Nina