San Diego, which of course in German means…
you know the rest 😉
Last night was Bella’s dream night. We took her for a long walk at the park – which I especially enjoy since the Pilot and I can catch up on the day- and then to Frost for gelato.
Vanilla for her:
Pumpkin for him, and a peanut butter truffle for me.
While we were enjoying the treats, the Pilot and I talked about potentially taking a little roadtrip to San Diego before the holiday insanity begins. San Diego-ans, or friends who have traveled there, any recs for places to stay or things to do?
I haven’t been to SD in YEARS, and the Pilot and I have never been together, so it should be a lot of fun.
He’s a pretty good beach buddy 😉
Bfast this morning was some protein fluff,
[Thinned out with chocolate almond milk- I’m hooked]
spread atop brown rice toast with strawberries.
It’s a work day over here, so I’m out! See ya on my lunch break.
xoxo
Gina
Something to do: Today is Love Your Body Day! Take a second and be thankful for all of the amazing things our bodies enable us to do. Show it some love- take a nap, get a massage, take an awesome fitness class, or go for a walk with a friend.
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So jealous your berries are still nice and fresh – Pittsburgh berries (that probably came from far away anyway) are super expensive and no where near that red!
i really, realllly need a massage and have been needing one for so long. so maybe i should just schedule one instead of procrastinating it… 🙂
doooooooo it 🙂
Thank you for the reminder of love your body day. 🙂
ooh thanks for the reminder maybe ill schedule a massage this week its been forever!
I’m going to take an awesome Zumba class tonight (and possibly a nap!).
oooh enjoy!
Aww I wish I could give our doggie stuff like that but her tummy is too sensitive. She gets spoiled with PB and that’s pretty much it.
Omg, Gina I was there this past weekend visiting a friend (boy :-)) from college! That city is unparalleled. You guys should check out George’s in La Jolla. It’s this incredible restaurant with a rooftop eating area that’s basically on the beach. You can’t beat the food or ambiance. It’s super romantical!
Being German, I didn’t really get the headline, to be honest…Sometimes it’s hard for me as an a non-native speaker to get all the jokes…:-)
But thanks to Google…ahem…no comment…
Although I don’t know if that’s what we’re calling it in German..probably not.
haha!
Being from San Diego, I can’t help but try to talk you into going! It will be SO worth it if you do. I stayed here
http://www.hotelsandiegodowntown.com/#all
last year and absolutely LOVED it. Great location downtown, just a few blocks from Coronado and the Gaslamp district, and you can literally see into Petco Park (Padres stadium) from the from the entrance. Shopping on 5th avenue and Horton Plaza, not far from the beach or bay, and of course, plenty of good Mexican on practically every block.
Please enjoy and give it a big hug for me 🙂
The Andaz Hotel in the Gaslamp District is phenomenal…I highly recommend it! And Zanzibar is a cute little cafe for breakfast and lunch 🙂
we always stay naval lodge on coronado island! private beach (plus that awesome navy exchange….), and it’s close enough to still do other stuff in san diego. we love san diego. maybe we’ll escape for a weekend one of these days as well.
Be sure to check out The Cottage in La Jolla for breakfast or lunch. It’s such a cute place and the food is amazing. I used to love to go there with my roomies in college.
Coronado is the place to go Gina.
Totally embracing Love Your Body Day with my first ever foam rolling experience.
As for San Diego, my family and I went not too long ago, but none of the spots we hit were phenomenal — although the zoo was pretty cool. We did typical touristy things and went to a too-crowded beach due to lack of planning. Since my husband and I are planning on going back soon, it will be helpful to see what the rest of the comments suggest.
Bella got her own ice cream?!? What a lucky dog.
yes, almost all the ice cream places here give free doggie ice cream 🙂
I am from San Diego so have lots of love for it and recs!
– Balboa Park, and the Prado restuarant in Balboa (my fave!)
– Corornado…if you get a chance just go to walk around Hotel Del Coronoado’s grounds, gorgeous, they also have the most amazing Sunday Brunch…expensive but soooooo worth it!
– San Diego Zoo/Wild Animal Park
-La Jolla is probably my favorite beach
-for great seafood check out The Fish Market downtown, the upper level is their higher end resturant called top of the market, situated right on the water!
My husband’s mom lives in San Diego. Some of the places we frequent there include:
-The Station Tavern: http://stationtavern.com/
-Marisco’s German Taco Truck (there are several of these throughout the city. They seriously have the best fish tacos I’ve ever had, anywhere. We always track one down when we are in SD).
-Bocce in Little Italy is really fun, but you have to bring your own bocce balls.
-Sea Rocket Bistro is a fun, all local, sustainable seafood place
Im feeling a little blonde, what does san diego mean in german?
Girl, Google it 😉 Hint: Anchor Man.
Omg! haha How did I not know that?
You know it’s not real, right?
Omg I look like an idiot! haha Yes I know san diego does not literally mean a whales vagina. What I meant was how did I not know an anchor man reference!
this conversation cracked me up 🙂
The Hotel Coronado was SO BEAUTIFUL and fun to visit (as was all of Coronado Island). My dad and I saw a bunch of really good local theatre while we were there, and loved watching the cute little old Mexican ladies make tortillas in Old Town. 🙂
Extraordinary Desserts in Little Italy is amazing!:
http://www.extraordinarydesserts.com/locations.htm
This dueling piano bar is fun! You can request ANY song, classic rock, current, whatever, and the piano players play it perfectly.. off the top of their heads. It sounds cooler than it is, I promise!
http://www.theshouthouse.com/
I’ve not been to San Diego, but everyone seems to LOVE it there– yay for babymoons!! 🙂
If you go to Coronado, make reservations at Il Fornaio. Food is epic and the view of the San Diego skyline is fantastic.
Breakfast at The Mission!! So good! There’s usually a wait so get there early or just hungry and not starving. You will be by the time you eat and it will be worth it!
We’ve stayed at the Pacific Terrace Hotel in Pacific Beach several times and it’s very nice, especially the ocean front rooms. They have nice balconies and plush bathrobes so you can enjoy your morning tea/coffee out overlooking the water. Try Taco Surf Pacific Beach for the best fish tacos (cheap too!)
I like your Something to do/think about…so important and we all can put this stuff off. 🙂
Love San Diego, that is great for you to get away.
YAY! I went to law school in San Diego and love a lot about the town (um, law school: not so much).
— Save your sugar calories up for Extraordinary Desserts. Thank me later. Go to the one in Hillcrest, since it was the OG — there’s one in the Gaslamp but it opened later and isn’t as cute.
— Coronado Island is so fun to walk around on, it’s a cool beach-y town. Husband and I used to walk on the beach in front of Hotel del. We almost got arrested by Navy Seals one night because we decided to head down a new section of beach. You probably don’t need to meet Nacy Seals, but if you know anyone who’s single that’s a great way to do it.
On Coronado, I recommend having breakfast once at the Beach N Diner (they have a cow outside their diner). http://www.yelp.com/biz/beach-n-diner-coronado Their banana macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup will make you die. And sweat. And go into a diabetic coma. So worth it! They get crowded, so try to go early.
Also on Coronado, Have Polynesian food at Peohe’s (which is where I got married!) and have some of their banana macadmia nut halibut (which taught me that fish is good).
— Balboa Park is great and there are a ton of musuems (history and art), a beautiful arboriteum and Japanese tea garden, as well as a space/flight museum. That Pilot guy miiiight enjoy that. 😉 I actually loved seeing the flight museum. It’s especially cool to see how teeny pilots used to be — you can see their flight suits! They have planes on display as well! They have that stealth plane (I forget which one it is… it’s black and kinda ugly looking?) right out front! I think the restaurants here are very overpriced and touristy though, so unless you are absolutely ravenous I’d give ’em a skip and hit up something in Little Italy.
— The La Jolla Aquarium is one of the best in the world.
— Old Town San Diego is a great — fun natural history museums (I used to voluteer at the Whaley House) and get yourself a hot buttered tortilla right off the street! Their Mexican food is pretty good, but it’s not home cooking, you know what I mean? Pretty sure they’re not using lard in their frijoles. 😉
— If you like zoos, there’s also the zoo. I think the zoo is really depressing though. Animal jail! WAAH!
— Sea World and the Budweiser Beer Garden tour (Pilot may enjoy that, I dunno. It’s popular).
— There are lots of canyons to hike in the area. My favorite place to go after a particularly miserable, soul destroying day in law school was Point Loma. It’s BEAUTIFUL up there. The view is gorgeous. You can visit the Point Loma light house, take a easy little hike along the shoreline and visit the WWII bunkers where the military watched for submarine invasion. http://www.nps.gov/cabr/index.htm
— Fashion valley mall (my fav!), Horton Plaza (second fav!) and misison valley mall. Fashion and Mission valley have free parking. Horton Plaza is downtown so you have to pay to park in their garage.
Long comment! I think that’s enough for now. BUT if you feel like taking a drive on the 5…. there’s also Downtown Disney! 😉
so awesome- thank you!!
I’ve lived in SD all my life – so I say definitely go!! Perfect vacation spot.
-Coronado and La Jolla are both great places (more expensive to stay but beautiful beaches)
-the Cottage in LJ is awesome! you can get super healthy and fresh breakfast, brunch, lunch. Also, Pannikin in La Jolla is a cute little breakfast spot, small and ecclectic.
-Pacific Beach is great too, shops along Garnet Ave and the boardwalk is always busy with people running and walking.
-paradise point hotel in Mission Bay is pretty nice from what I’ve heard
-Hortzon Plaza if you’re staying downtown for shopping. Lots of cool hotels downtown as well
The Cottage is AMAZING…they’ll do a benedict over polenta and are very gf-friendly!
that sounds lovely!!
SanDiego is SO beautiful! Mike and I loved it there when we went!
We are actually going there for my 30th birthday in April, we were going to do Vegas, but I wanted to do something more romantic and low key : )
Marine Room is La Jolla is AMAZING dining! Its right on the ocean, the waves hit the windows of the dining room, it is just amazing there! mike too me there for a dinner surprise and I will never forget it, you guys would love it!
Gaslamp District is fun too! Shopping, dining, and nightlife!
<3
Gaslamp District–go to Croce’s–it’s owned by Jim Croce’s wife and they have musicians every night and excellent food.
Balboa Park–lots of fun, free botanical gardens and great architecture.
Old Town–super cute and fun, tons of nice shops and Mexican restaurants.
the ZOOOOOO!
Need any more, email me: csidlovsky@gmail.com….my brother (also a pilot!) was stationed in San Diego for 5+ years so he (and I) am very familiar with the area. 🙂
I second Croce’s. Its my favorite restaurant here!
Your longer bangs look so pretty on you!
thank you! 🙂
ooohhh, thank you for the ron burgundy reference. 😉
San Diego Suggestions:
Hotels:
Beachy: Tower 23, Paradise Point, Catamaran, L’auberge Del Mar
Luxury: Grand Del Mar
Coronado: El Cordova (across the street from Hotel Del Coronado)
Downtown: Andaz, Hard Rock
Eats:
Anywhere in Little Italy
Urban Solace
Cucina Urbana
Pacifica Del Mar
Island Prime/ C Level
Searsucker or Burlap (Top Chef Brian Malarkey’s restuarants 😉
Extraordinary Desserts
To Do:
Hike Torrey Pines or Cowles Mtn
Zoo and Balboa Park with lunch at The Prado
La Jolla or Del Mar at Sunset
Walk/Bike/ Rollerblade Mission Bay
Fashion Valley and Carlsbad Outlets for Shopping
Little Italy Farmer’s Markets (Saturday)
La Jolla Farmer’s Markets (Sunday)
my ladyparts exploded TWICE and humans emerged. That is pretty awesome/horrific. I love my body for that.
San Diego is on my top list of places I want to visit! Unfortunately, I don’t have the budget for it right now, but hopefully in the near future : )
Time for a killer cardio workout tonight! Had a massage Sunday, yoga Monday, weights Tuesday, cardio tonight and Pilates tomorrow! It’s a love-my-body week 😉
if you drive through murrieta or temecula on your way to san diego, hit me up! theres a gf bakery ive been dying to try, and share with someone who will appreciate it! (theres a surprising number of awesome restaurants here too.)
Tower 23 is right on Pacific Beach and has really great views.
La Jolla is gorgeous and you really can’t go wrong there.
Well I’m probably biased because I work there, but I vote Balboa Park! You would love The Mission for brunch/lunch, El Indio has the BEST chips and salsa ever, Echo all the votes for Coronado and hiking in Torrey Pines is indescribably beautiful.
I highly recommend staying AWAY from Hotel Circle!!! (It’s a mess of motels crammed together- their website pics can be deceiving!)
Old Town is really cute.
I just went to San Diego a few weeks ago and loved it! Some cops recommended The Shout Piano Bar and it was seriously the most fun we had! Duelling pianists, song requests, etc. They can literally play and sing ANY song. Absoloutley amazing but I would recommend making a reservation because it was PACKED. Little Italy is also a must.
Aww I’m so jelly that you get to go to SD! My husband lived there on and off for two years and I would always spend my spring/summer/fall breaks in college with him. It’s my favorite place in the world! My favorite thing to do is rent sailboats from the Hilton on Mission Bay, it’s beautiful and they have sailboats of every level from beginner to advanced. Also, Mission Bay has a beautiful park with sidewalks equipped with mileage on them (always a good help!). We also enjoy walking around Old Towne, best mexican shopping/food! But the BEST fish tacos are at The Pacific Beach Shore Club, it’s on the beach and I have yet to find better fish tacos from around the world than there! Happy Wednesday!!! 🙂
Yum! That truffle looks delicious!
I love Bella’s face.
I volunteer at a local humane society and when the weather is nice there’s one dog that I always walk over to mcd’s to get ice cream. I take him because he’s a dream to walk and whatever family gets him is going to be very lucky. But anyways, that’s the exact same look he gets as soon as I’m handed the ice cream cone–in addition to crazy kangaroo-like jumping and drool all over my jeans.
I live in San Diego so I always love to tell people fun/good places to eat (which in my opinion, is one of the most important part of any vacation!):
FOOOOOOOOD!:
.empirehouse (where should i start?! sausage bread, tots, burgers [they have veggie ones too], build your own grilled cheese, etc.)
.craft & commerce (definitely reccomend the fried pickles and the whole grain burger, amazing drinks as well [for the pilot, of course])
.cucina urbana or kensington grill (its the same owner, but the food is AMAZING and their menu changes seasonally)
.starlite (dark, romantic atmosphere, fantastic mules [served in a copper cup, naturally], grilled octopus appetizer is super tasty as well)
.bankers hill bar & restaurant (romantic as well [I actually went here for valentines day with my bf who is vegetarian, and we both loved it!])
.veg-n-out (great, super casual, vegan burger place)
oh and i forgot to mention, if you go to empirehouse, you MUST order the pear and pecan salad! it is to die for, i have it at least once a week 😡
Brown Rice Toast! What a gluten-free delight. I need to search fot that to use as a vessel for Honey Almond Butter
Looks like everyone had a great time last night–especially Bella! So cute. 🙂
I’ve never been to CA, can’t help… sorry! Hope you have a fun time if you go!
Love the photos of Bella waiting for her gelato. 🙂
her tail was wagging the entire time she was sitting and waiting 🙂
oh, Bella! How you make me smile. 🙂
San Diego is one of my most favorite places!
You have to check out Cafe 222 – the best breakfast/brunch place in town. Everything is good!
Their egg dishes are yummy. The pumpkin waffle is famous!
We also did a kayak+bike tour. It was amazing, but The Programmer got a little sea-sick while kayaking. So beware if you get sea-sick often.
La Jolla is always fine. Love shopping there – although it’s mostly shopping with my eyes! 😉
Thanks for the reminder about Love Your Body Day. We used to celebrate at my high school. We would put up statistics around the school about eating disorders and woudl sell T-shirts to benefit the local women’s shelter. The only place I have ever been in San Diego is the zoo.
Hmmm. I think I will love my body with some fro-yo. haha. Now I’m craving it!! Maybe I’ll grab some for me (and my pup) after I take her on a walk. She’s a great friend to walk with … if there aren’t any squirels.