Our next stop and part of our itinerary was to visit San Diego, a coastal city in Southern California located very close to the Mexican border. San Diego is especially known for its pleasant climate, its naval base, and its magnificent surrounding beaches.

On the way to visit San Diego, we quickly passed through La Jolla because it was already late. It is an affluent residential neighborhood by the ocean with beautiful beaches and lovely parks.

We got back on the road and arrived in San Diego late in the afternoon, and it was already promising us some wonderful surprises!

We went straight to our hotel located near the San Diego marina. We had asked for a bay view, and we were not disappointed. 🙂

That first evening, exhausted from the day’s drive, we decided to stay at the hotel. We first went up to the hotel rooftop to enjoy the magnificent view, then we ate a light dinner in one of the hotel’s many restaurants… Big hot dogs with Budweiser! Then, as you can imagine, we very quickly went to sleep…

The next day, we had planned to go to the San Diego Zoo. We had chosen the zoo rather than the safari park. Apparently, the San Diego Zoo invests a lot in animal welfare and the protection of endangered species. Now, it is still a zoo, and that is why I now prefer seeing animals roaming freely.

The San Diego Zoo is located near Balboa Park, which is a huge public park with tropical plants. It is one of the largest zoos in the world. It is very well designed for visitors, with many rest areas and food options, stroller rentals for little ones… There is even a chairlift, the Skyfari Aerial Team, which takes you all the way to the top of the zoo. You can then walk back down if you wish. You can also choose the bus tour if you do not feel like walking too much or if it is too hot.

Plan to spend a large part of your day there if you want to see everything, because the zoo is huge.

When we were there in August, it was extremely hot. After visiting the zoo, we therefore decided to head back to the hotel to cool off by the pool!

That evening, we headed to Seaport Village, which was just below our hotel. It is a sort of little village with wooden huts housing restaurants and shops. Some people will say it is very touristy, but we really liked it. We strolled through the little village and had dinner there. We even enjoyed delicious cupcakes in a specialty shop and watched a mini outdoor country music concert. The atmosphere was definitely there!

We then took a walk behind Seaport Village along an esplanade by the ocean where many people were enjoying the wonderful scenery. The icing on the cake: that night there was a fireworks display!

The next morning, we headed to Coronado Island. It is a seaside resort on a half-moon-shaped island connected to San Diego by the San Diego-Coronado Bridge. It is also possible to get there by ferry. Coronado is really lovely, with pretty sandy beaches, a seafront walk, and beautiful houses.

In the afternoon, we wandered around the city to discover some of its neighborhoods. We saw that San Diego has a lovely downtown that inevitably reminds us of our European cities. We strolled through the historic Gaslamp district, where we discovered beautiful Victorian houses, many restaurants, and shops. It is a very nice neighborhood that I recommend you visit if you are planning to discover San Diego. We also went to Harborview, with its harbor, which is also very pleasant.

That evening, we headed to Point Loma, which is a very calm area offering a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean. We ate in a diner because it is impossible to go to the United States without spending at least one evening in one of those mythical restaurants, pure American products!

The one we visited was part of the Corvette Diner chain. It was made up of several rooms: a large room with many games, a central area with the bar and a few tables, a dimly lit room with a space-age style, and a retro room where we had dinner. Throughout the evening, we got to enjoy many shows. The waiters and waitresses sing, dance, and create a great atmosphere. My little boy met a lovely little American girl his age, and they danced together.

I had the bright idea of ordering a brownie loaded with absolutely everything for dessert… Needless to say, I did not finish my plate!

On the way back, we took one last nighttime drive through the city and passed by the Little Italy neighborhood.

The next day, a long drive was waiting for us toward the city that never sleeps… LAS VEGAS!