We broke-up our 4+ hour drive from Palm Springs to Solvang with an hour at Travel Town in Glendale. It was such a cute little park, filled with all sorts of retired train cars and engines.
Few things in the world are cuter than a two-year-old's anticipation of a train ride. "Choo-choo, Mama, choo-choo!"
Now then, our next stop was a really fun surprise - Solvang, a little Danish Village about an hour north of Santa Barbara. The drive up HWY 154, through the Santa Ynez Valley was absolutely beautiful. The road was quiet and lined with bucolic farms and wineries. I never expected it to deliver all the cuteness that it did. We stayed in a newly converted/remodeled hotel called The Hamlet Inn. The decor was simple, lots of IKEA and knock-off mid-century Scandinavian designs, with a little touch of Danish tradition, like the lace curtains.
Check out the windmill in the background of both pictures, top and bottom.
Our room came with complimentary coupons for pastries and coffee at The Danish Village bakery across the street. I'm not a huge fan of these things - cheese danishes and eclairs - but even I have to admit - they were incredible!
The highlight of our visit to Solvang was spotting a surrey-with-the-fringe-on-top rental shop. Everyone was beyond excited.
11,270 KM to Copenhagen, my little mermaid!
(They begged for one. I denied.)
Peddling around Solvang it cannot go unnoticed that this little European gem has an abnormally large amount of sweet shops and bakeries. It made waking up Sunday morning that much more fun because the entire town smelled like a plate of warm pancakes!
Meet three of my all-time favorite people: Mr. Noodle, Miss Frijoles and The 8 year old.
