Last minute travel changes end up for the best. Don’t they? Recently in October, I had a work trip scheduled to San Diego. Originally, it was a 3-day business trip, fly out on Tuesday and return back home on Friday. Then I got thinking. I hadn’t visited San Diego before and if I was spending the 6 hours flying to San Diego (SD), shouldn’t I spend a few extra days there to explore the area? So the day before my outbound flight to SD, I decided to extend my stay until Sunday night at my own expense and enjoy a weekend in downtown San Diego. I had a truly amazing time exploring downtown San Diego so the last minute decision certainly paid off.
Given my last few trips were sort of beach oriented (Hawaii and Cancun, Mexico) I opted in for 48 hours in the downtown area of San Diego. Downtown SD is definitely not New York City but it is pedestrian friendly (I did not rent a car) and has decent public transportation, easy access to ride shares and plenty of tourist activities for the tourist in me. San Diego International Airport is a mere 10 minutes from the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego, which is where I stayed. I decided to splurge a bit and booked my weekend stay at The Westin Hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter. It really did not disappoint. The hotel is beautifully designed and centrally located. It features an on-site restaurant with plenty of vegetarians food options. The hotel room was spacious and clean and featured a partial view of the San Diego bay and harbor. The stay did come with a resort fee of $25 but it was worth it. The fee includes a complimentary 1 hour harbor tour / cruise for two (or 2 hour tour for 1 person) as well as daily beverage credit for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages at the bar or cafe. I opted for the Venti Caramel Macchiatos from the Starbucks located on-site. The resort / amenity fee also included a daily bike rental which I ended up not utilizing. I am generally good with walking around for the most part until my feet can’t take it anymore *insert smiley*. As mentioned earlier, the hotel is centrally situated (1) a 15 minute walk to the San Diego Harbor and Waterfront, (2) a 25 minute walk to Little Italy, and (3) about a 35 minute walk to Balboa Park. Since I’m a Marriot Bonvoy member, I was fortunate enough to get a complimentary late checkout on Sunday at 1pm. Overall, I highly recommend the hotel (this post is not sponsored in any way and I paid for my full stay) since the staff was incredibly helpful, professional, patient and accommodating. All the adjectives but that’s my true and honest opinion.
Day 1 was Friday evening and the conclusion of a long week which includes traveling from east coast to west coast, work and meetings, adjusting to the 3 hour time difference. I decided to take it easy and just walk around the nearby area and then enjoyed dinner with a friend. We ended up eating at a Thai restaurant in the Gaslamp District. The restaurant was relaxed and casual, with no frills and most importantly, featuring some great food – which is what matters the most! Plenty of Vegetarian and Vegan options including a separate Vegan menu. A Yelp check-in special also got us a free Thai iced tea special. For dinner, I had my go-to and favorite entree. Spicy eggplant with fresh basil, vegetables and tofu with a side of brown rice and plenty of hot chili oil paste. So good. I ended up skipping dessert since I was so full and trying to eat less sweets in general but my friend had the mango sticky rice.
Day 2 started out bright and early, at least for a Saturday. I had my morning breakfast of Chilled Oats with fresh fruit and a complimentary Caramel Macchiato from coffee shop located in the downstairs hotel lobby. The caffeine was much needed for a full day of sightseeing in San Diego. 1st visit was the San Diego Bay and Harbor. I took advantage of the free harbor / tour cruise coupon in the late morning. The first half of the tour explored the North Harbor and the second half, the South Harbor. The coolest thing I saw on the South leg of the tour were the airplanes landing and taking off, so close to the city and water. Given the airport is located just outside of downtown, you will often see planes landing up close. Its both amazing and also a little scary. There was a lot of history and cultural shared during both tours as there are many military and navy warships along the harbor. On the North side, the Coronado Bridge is definitely a highlight and a great photo opportunity, especially on a perfect sunny day with beautiful blue skies and no clouds. After the tour, I walked around for some time, just walking and watching. Given it was Saturday, it was full of fairs, events and food trucks. Lots of food trucks. I opted for lunch at a family run food trunk featuring authentic Mexican food. The elote corn with cheese, mayo and spices was amazing!!
The second half of Day 2 was the Halloween special. With help from the hotel concierge in booking tickets and planning a quick itinerary, I decided to explore local traditions and events centered around Dias De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead)! Took the San Diego trolley from Gaslamp to San Diego’s Old Town. The trolley was very convenient and cheap, just make sure you take the trolley in the right direction or else you can end up at the border. Why Old Town? Because it celebrates the tradition of Dias De Los Muertos each year and it was the place to be on Saturday evening. The Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is just across the street from the Trolley station and featured a lot of fun events that day. Dias De Los Muertos honors the lives of friends, relatives and loved ones who have passed away. Its the main premise of the popular Disney film Coco. Highly recommend the film, if you haven’t seen it yet. So Old Town State Historic Park was alive with people remembering the dead (no pun intended) – traditional Dias De Los Muertos dresses, Halloween costumes, face paintings, song and dance, altars and of course, food. Plenty and plenty of food and drink. After exploring Old Town by foot, I joined the Ghosts and Gravestones tour at 6.30pm. The tour was a little delayed, and started about 15-20 minutes late due to some traffic in the area. If I am being completely honest, it was not that scary and spooky but it was fun to visit a school built on top of a graveyard with grave stones still present and view the Whaley mansion from the outside, that house with a sad and haunting past. Definitely an enjoyable and unique tour that was appropriate for October 29th, a few days before Halloween. Fun fact is some people on my tour knew kids who attended the school we visited with the graveyard.
Day 3 started with a morning workout at the Westin gym. The gym was well equipped with standard exercise equipment. I ended up running 3 miles on the treadmill and did some strength training with dumbbells and the TRX. The TRX was definitely a nice gym perk but the treadmills were strictly okay. After my workout, I finished packing, ate and then checked out. The last and final day’s agenda would include a trip to Balboa Park and then a walking tour and meal in Little Italy before my 10pm flight. I was ready to take advantage of yet another sunny and beautiful sub 70 degree day. I ended up walking to the park since it was nice out but warning – the walk is very hilly. During the walk, I ended up seeing more airplanes up close which was another “ohh” and “ahh” moment for me. I also stopped by a famous Mexican restaurant Cocina 35 that had wait times of over two-three hours. I was tempted to add myself to the list but then discovered the spot wasn’t vegetarian friendly. Skip. So that was a pass and I continued on my way to Balboa Park. There are many different entrances to the park. Since I wasn’t planning on hiking and running, I continued up the street for a few blocks to the main park entrance where car traffic can enter as well. The main part of the park almost looks like a castle, its as if you’ve entered some sort of beautiful and magical fantasy land. Think Disney World meets Central Park. There are several museums inside the park, as well as eateries and stores. There’s a walking path on both sides of the street as well. There’s no charge to enter the main park but many of the museums and venues may charge a fee and/or ask for a suggested donation. My first stop after all the walking was lunch in the park. I ate at Panama 66, an outdoor eatery with amazing views of the park’s garden with a very relaxed and chilled out vibe and lovely views of the park gardens. The food was decent, nothing outstanding or really worth writing about it.
After lunch, I walked around for a bit to see what the park had to offer. After some aimless wandering, I headed over to the San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA) to pass some time. The museum is located within the Balboa park grounds and is tiny compared to art museums in other major cities (hello, Europe and NYC!) and can easily be explored in an hour or two. The museum featured a special exhibit called Justin Sterling called “Chapel of Rocks”. It is a 1000-square-foot structure consisting of rocks, stained glass and other materials (e.g. fire hydrant) assembled, rebuilt and re-imagined, creating a unique space that contemplates the role of bad faith in society. Overall it was a unique and thought provoking exhibit. One material artifact that stood out – a faucet where the water kept running. I couldn’t help but think about water waste watching the faucet run, though I’m sure the water was cycling back. Another highlight for me was an exhibit featuring sketches by Picasso. The second half of Day 3 was exploring Little Italy. I Lyft-ed from Balboa Park to Little Italy for some more exploring, an early dinner and then ice cream. Honestly my feet were kind of sore after being on my feet for so long so the Lyft drive was a nice break from walking.
Little Italy in San Diego is completely different from the Little Italys I’ve visited in other cities. Usually Little Italy tends to be an older (think old world and authentic) but coveted part of a city. Little Italy in SD was completely the opposite. The buildings and apartments were very new, modern and luxurious. The streets and sidewalks were clean and paved well. Regardless of my expectations versus reality, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Little Italy. The main street is called “India Street” and is full of many authentic Italian restaurants, bakeries and shops and the foodie in me was really happy to just walk by it all. I window “shopped” in each restaurant’s menu. There was plenty of outdoor seating as well. The area certainly comes alive in the evening with music, singing, dining and crowds. I took full advantage of it and went on my mini food tour. (1) I walked and then ate a Cannoli. (2) I walked and then ate a slice of Margherita pizza. (3) I walked and then had Honey Lavender ice cream at Salt and Straw. And then I walked back to my hotel to end a very satisfying 48 hours in San Diego and got ready for my flight back home. The end.