Santa Monica to Paso Robles, CA

We checked out of our hotel and headed to the J. Paul Getty Museum in West Los Angeles.

It is situated high in the hills overlooking the city and a computer-operated tram took us from the street-level entrance to the top of the hill.

View from tram.

A unique destination, the Getty Centre combines the modern design of architect Richard Meier, with beautiful gardens, open spaces, and spectacular views of Los Angeles. The art collection is on view in four pavilions and some wonderful late 19th and 20th paintings are on display.

The Getty Centre features several beautifully landscaped gardens including the Central Garden designed by Robert Irwin.

We left the Getty Centre and headed to the Pacific Coast Highway and made our way up to Malibu. The views along the way were wonderful.

Paradise Cove, Malibu

We had lunch here - beach side restaurant and our feet in the sand. Then half an hour later and unbelievably, we found ourselves driving through very heavy rain replete with thunder and lightning This quickly passed as seems to be the norm these days in this part of California.

On our way to Santa Barbara we passed acres and acres of strawberry fields filled with workers harvesting the crop by hand.

Santa Barbara proved to be a picturesque town with some quaint features!

We left Santa Barbara and headed inland to the Santa Ynez Valley - a wine region featured in the movie "Sideways". We stopped in Solvang, a town founded in 1911 by a group of Danes who were tired of the cold Midwestern winters and decided to recreate a piece of their homeland in

California. This can be seen in the architecture and ambience of the town.

We then headed back to the coast, drove through Pismo Beach and reached our destination of Paso Robles around 6pm.

Pismo Beach.

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On the Road with T and S

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