by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist (read the original in Noozhawk by clicking here)
Living with Santa Barbara’s Moorish architecture, I thought I’d be right at home exchanging houses with a Spanish family this summer. In fact, it was the welcoming Spaniards who made me feel at home, and their relaxed lifestyle that I wanted to bring home.
Our home exchange was to seaside Mataro, a city of 120,000 people about a half hour north of Barcelona.
Our flat was a first-floor walk-up on the main street: an elegant home with high white walls lined with books in Spanish, English, and Catalan. Ceiling fans in many rooms took the edge off the Mediterranean summer heat.
We spent a large portion of each day in the patio and lush garden. A couple hundred mostly drought-tolerant potted plants formed a garden oasis within the tightly packed European city. A large awning protected us from the heat and from the eyes of upstairs neighbors.
The master bedroom and adjacent study looked out over the plane tree-lined street, which was boisterously active at all hours except afternoon siesta time and the dead of night. Families with young kids were often out past 10 p.m.
Spanish food was as fresh and seasonal as Santa Barbara’s, with a heavy emphasis on fish and the local Catalonian version of paella using vermicelli. We were faithful at the neighborhood farmer’s markets and the bakeries along the way.
Catalonian cuisine draws from all the neighboring countries, including buttery pastries and rich lasagna.
One fabulous day we rented bikes in Girona and were hauled up to Olot, in the Pyrenees foothills. From there we followed a green bike path constructed on an old railroad line: 58 kilometers of gradual downhill through forests, countryside, and small towns, with plateaus and cliffs as backdrop.
We chatted with a woman along the way who wondered why we’d come all the way to Spain to ride bikes. “Because it’s pretty!” we enthused. “But isn’t it pretty in California?” We assured her it is, but I don’t know of an epic ride such as this.
Most days we weren’t touring, we walked 15 minutes to the beach in the late afternoon. We’d take a dip, then relax with sangrias at a beachside cabana.
The wide beaches provided a few more layers of activity than some of our local ones. Bar and tapas cafes with plastic lounge chairs scattered in the sand sat near the street. Beyond that was plenty of open sand for games before umbrellas and blankets formed the last layer leading to the surf.
Okay, we don’t have Picasso, Guadi or Salvador Dali. But the part where Santa Barbara could do much better is walkability.
Mataro’s main street is almost exclusively a walking promenade. The street is where everyone encounters each other either commuting or for errands and socializing. It is the street that figures most prominently in the relaxed lifestyle.
With Viva La Fiesta! refrains not far behind us, I’m reflecting on how beautiful is our downtown, and how much more vibrant it could be. The food, architecture, and ocean breezes wafting up State Street are only a few of the many enticing reasons to be downtown.
But the biggest reason is encountering each other. We could better serve locals and tourists alike if Santa Barbara followed Mataro’s lead to de-trafficked State Street.
Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist
Karen Telleen-Lawton is an eco-writer, sharing information and insights about economics and ecology, finances and the environment. Having recently retired from financial planning and advising, she spends more time exploring the outdoors — and reading and writing about it. The opinions expressed are her own.