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23 Sep 18, 06:27 PM |
#1
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Imagineer
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4 go La La in La La Land - Day 7: In a Cantina in San Diego
Tuesday 7th August 2018
We were now coming to the end of week 1 and were becoming accustomed to the time zone. Today it was nearly 6am before we woke up! Breakfast plans this mornings were a cafe just up the road from the hotel - the amusingly named “Marvelous Muffins” - there was a great selection of muffins (as you’d expect!) and other pastries. Melissa and M opted to share a Choc Chip Muffin and Donut Cinnamon Roll between them. They also had these warm. E also went for a Choc Chip Muffin and I chose the Chocolate Bear Claw. It was all good but, being a bit of a Bear Claw purist, I took issue with mine - firstly, I’m not sure whether, strictly speaking, you can have a chocolate Bear Claw. Secondly, it wasn’t shaped like a bear’s Claw, which is kind of the point - it was basically a pain au chocolat with some icing drizzled on top - but it was warm and tasty so I won’t complain too much. The muffins were, apparently, indeed marvellous, the coffee, however, was not! With breakfast finished, we got back in the car and headed to Balboa Park where we had planned to spend the morning. The great thing about San Diego is that it’s a really compact city, so you’re never really far from anywhere. It was only about a 15 minute drive, although I missed a turn on the satnav so had to detour a bit - that said, as a result we ended up taking a route that took us on the scenic road that ran through the centre of the park. The other good thing about San Diego is that a lot of the parking is free - such a pleasant change from home! We parked up and decided to hop on the free tram that runs around the park. Once we’d got our bearings we got off at the main centre of the park and began exploring. Balboa Park is home to a lot of different museums and, if we were staying here for more than a few days, we’d probably have spent some time visiting some of them, but we really wanted to take in as much of the area as possible so we just walked around the park itself. It really is a beautiful park, with some lovely architecture - the buskers, however, left a lot to be desired - in particular two old chaps armed with a guitar and questionable harmonies! After a morning of exploring, we decided it was time to head off. Our other plan for today was to visit Old Town, and we wanted to have dinner there later in the day. As it was still only around lunchtime we decided to go back to the hotel and have some relaxation time. As we were so close to the Downtown area, we decided to drive back this way - we drove through downtown, the Gaslamp Quarter and then along the Harbour Road, and it looked a really nice area. They had even named a road after me! We were beginning to get a bit peckish so thought we’d get some lunch - Melissa had done a lot of research in the build up to this holiday and had made notes on a few recommended deli’s - unfortunately she hadn’t made the notes on her phone so we couldn’t try to find any of them! In the end we stopped at a “Ralph’s” supermarket close to the hotel. We’d never been to Ralph’s before but were impressed - it reminded us a lot of Publix. The girls were always amused to read how the American media reports differently to the British media! We learnt lots about the Royal Family. Meghan is also pregnant apparently! Anyway I digress... We picked up some sandwiches and salad from the deli counter and took them back to the hotel to share for lunch. We then spent some time relaxing - this may have meant a nap for me! Melissa was a bit more active and went for a ride on one of the bikes that are available for resort guests to use for free, exploring the local area. At around 3.45pm we got ourselves sorted and back in the car to go to Old Town - this was only a short drive from the hotel and in no time at all we were parking up in another free parking lot. There are two parts to the Old Town area - the Historic State Park, which is a bit like a living museum interspersed with some restaurants and specialist shops, and then the surrounding streets, which have more “touristy” shops and more restaurants. I’m not sure if it was quite what we’d expected or imagined, and the historic state park element was different. We wandered around and soon it was time for dinner - we’d originally planned to go to a place called Cafe Coyote, which had been mentioned on The Dibb - however, when we’d been at Bath and Body Works yesterday, we got into conversation with the lady serving us and she’d recommended another place called Fred’s, which she said was better. They were practically across the road from each other, but we preferred the look of the menu at Fred’s so picked that one. The other good thing was that, being a Tuesday, everywhere was doing “Taco Tuesday” offers. All of the restaurants were set up Mexican Cantina style, with most of the seating being outside, basically open onto the street. Virtually all of them also had the tortilla cooking area open to the street so you could see them being prepared. We had a great server, and he helped Melissa pick a Margarita from the extensive menu - she eventually opted for a frozen strawberry one which, when it arrived, was in a glass that was almost as big as her head! She really enjoyed this. We were then brought some house made tortilla chips with guacamole and queso dip - oh my word, the queso was so good - there was a real danger that I would eat too much of this and then not be able to manage a main! As it was Taco Tuesday, it would have been rude to order anything else! Melissa and E went for Chicken, M for Crunchy Chicken and I chose the Surf and Turf option - steak with Cajun shrimp. They were amazing - tasty and filling, and after 1 each we were done, which was bit of a shame as it would have been good to try some of the other options! All in all, the bill came to just under $50, which was great value for brilliant food. The girls were keen to visit Coldstone Creamery, which was next door, so they shared a small tub for their dessert stomach! We headed back to the hotel and headed to the smaller pool this time. Girls went swimming, Melissa sat in the jacuzzi/hot tub and I sat on the sun lounger all enjoying the sunset. Perfect. After showers etc, the girls got into bed whilst Melissa and I spent some time out on the balcony. Another great day done. Tomorrow - Exploring Downtown and Coronado.
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24 Sep 18, 06:03 AM |
#2
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Imagineer
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That looked like a successful day Lots of good eating, and good sightseeing. Now, I've been hearing about Marvelous Muffins but have yet to try it- after seeing your pics, I have got to get over there soon! That all looked so scrumptious. And yes, you can have a chocolate bear claw...this is California, we set trends. Although, I never would have guessed it was a bear claw looking at it either...
Glad you enjoyed Balboa Park and Old Town. Love all the photos, they are all great! Cafe Coyote is still one of my favorites in Old Town, but your food looked good and I'm glad you had a great meal there. Just give me Mexican food and a big fat margarita anywhere and I'm good to go.
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Planning a trip to San Diego? Check out my San Diego planning guide at the link below: https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sho... php?t=1047941 |
29 Sep 18, 05:05 PM |
#3
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Apprentice Imagineer
Join Date: Oct 10
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Like you, I would definitely like to go see more of San Diego generally but particularly Balbao Park as only got the zoo, which was amazing btw.
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29 Sep 18, 05:41 PM |
#4
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Very Serious Dibber
Join Date: Nov 10
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Balboa Park looks beautiful!
Margarita as big as your head - that’s my kinda place! What a great day. Jo xx |
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29 Sep 18, 07:15 PM |
#5
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Apprentice Imagineer
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All my comments are going to be food related!
I was wondering which was the bear claw Love the look of your lunch in the boxes, And Fred’s also looks amazing
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Emma |
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30 Sep 18, 09:34 PM |
#6
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Thread Starter
Imagineer
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Ah, but surely the bear claw has to look like a bear's claw...?!
Still dreaming of the Tacos from Freds We loved Balboa Park - we didn't make it to the zoo...next time! It was a lovely park. You would definitely approve of the Margarita's! Ha - a large proportion of our report is food-related Thanks for reading all!
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30 Sep 18, 09:56 PM |
#7
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Imagineer
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San Diego looks an interesting place to visit with lots to do.
The tacos (and muffins earlier) both look delicious. Nice relaxing way to end your day. |
6 Oct 18, 08:38 AM |
#8
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VIP Dibber
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The Old Town is great to look around, you're right to have Tacos! You're so close to Mexico it's got to be done!
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Abby New pre trip report - Summer 2024 Link to all my completed trip reports 2017: NYC and Orlando. Salzburg. Boston. 2018: Orlando. Berlin. 2019: DLP. Orlando. Washington DC. 2020: DLP. 2021: Jamaica. Rome. 2022: Orlando. 2023: Orlando. Niagara and Toronto. |
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6 Oct 18, 07:24 PM |
#9
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Thread Starter
Imagineer
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We loved it - it's a great city, with great food
I'm still dreaming about those tacos... Thanks for reading all!
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6 Oct 18, 11:08 PM |
#10
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Imagineer
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Wow San Diego looks just stunning, I love that you were able to borrow bikes from the hotel free of charge! And those trams looks awesome, certainly not hard to spot in that eye-catching green!
Melissa did well with picking that margarita... it looked amazing! |
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