HOW WOULD YOU BEST DESCRIBE... a quintessential December evening spent quite close to the coast? Specifically the Central Coast, around Cambria, if we might hone in on just what we'd like to discuss? Would you call such an evening in such a place somewhat salty-starry? Or would you call it crisp-cool? Or might you refer to it as salty-starry-crisp-cool, knowing that it can be kind of all of those things, simultaneously, which is no shocker given Cambria's many magical properties? The air, the breeze, and the unmistakable electricity in the air is fully festive and Cambria-esque near the end of the year, thanks in part to something that happens to be going on outside, all the better to soak up that salty-starry-crisp-cool vibe. It's the Cambria Christmas Market, an alfresco, shop-around affair that's very much inspired by the nighttime markets found in some of Germany's most storied cities. That means that the gates open at 5 o'clock in the evening, just as the sun is dipping into the nearby Pacific, and everything wraps at 8:30, giving you plenty of time to retreat to your hotel room to go over the goodies you found.
AND GOODIES YOU SHALL FIND, thanks to the vendors in the area and the edibles for sale. Allocco's Bakery, Forever Santa (driftwood Santas for sale!), La Bella Olives, and Mehlenbacher Taffy are just a few of the participants. There's a Biergarten, too, and live tunes that make to sip your suds by. As for seeing those suds, and the driftwood Santas, and the pastries, and everything? Over a million lights give the Cambria Christmas Market its glimmer. Tickets run from $5 to $20, and everything sparkles on most nights through Saturday, Dec. 23, with only a few closed evenings along the way. All the details? Follow the salty-starry-crisp-cool breeze to Cambria now.
