Four Perfect Days in San Diego, CA

Last week we spent a few days in sunny and warm San Diego, and in this post I would like to share some of the highlights of our trip. Most of the photos featured here, with the exception of the food shots, were taken by my daughter.

We stayed in La Jolla, the prettiest part of town with a gorgeous sea shore, lovely beaches, and a great place to watch the seals, pelicans, and other wildlife. We arrived to a beautiful sunset on the sea shore, then came back to explore the La Jolla Cove and the Seal Rock in more detail the next morning.



We spent one of the days at the World Famous San Diego Zoo.



We had a lot of fun at Sea World.



We learned about San Diego history: Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo's landing at San Diego Bay in 1542 at Cabrillo National Monument. We also visited San Diego's Old Town, a charming reconstruction of old buildings, shops, and museums.



On the last day, we couldn't miss hiking in my favorite spot in La Jolla, Torrey Pines State Park, one of the two places in the world that has the rare and special Torrey pine tree.



Our casual dining spots included some of our old favorites. In downtown La Jolla, we had a lovely dinner at Georges at the Cove.



This restaurant, featuring modern California cuisine, has three different levels: the fine dining downstairs, the bar on the middle level, and the casual terrace outside. At each level, one can see the spectacular views of La Jolla seashore while dining. We ate at the George's Ocean Terrace, choosing one main entree each. We had sampled the special of Mahi Mahi served with beans, baby bok choy, creamy mushroom sauce, and truffle emulsion. This was a nice and simple dish, with the side dishes and the sauces perhaps a bit overwhelming the fresh taste of the fish.



We also tried the Potato Gnocchi accompanied by braised lamb, butternut squash, mint, and pecorino. The gnocchi were seared until golden brown and a little bit crispy on the outside and yet perfectly light and soft on the inside. The lamb was very tender and delicious. Although I thought the butternut squash was a little bit undercooked for my taste, I really liked the dish overall.





In downtown San Diego, we stopped by Anthony's Fish Grotto in the harbor area.



We started our meal with a cup of chowder which was nice and warming. Then, we chose the fresh catch of the day: Mexican Baqueta with spicy Thai glaze and the panko-crusted Mexican halibut.
While this meal was far from spectacular, the sunset view of the San Diego harbor is hard to beat.





In the Old Town, we dined at Cafe Coyote. A busy and lively place, it features excellent authentic Mexican cuisine.



Once our waitress finally got our order right, we really enjoyed our meal, having enchiladas and carnitas. We also loved their handmade tortillas.




Our fine dining experience in San Diego was a 5-star Addison, and I will be featuring a review of it in the upcoming post. We had a great time visiting San Diego, a really nice getaway from the cold and snowy weather on the East Coast.