TRAVEL | Stay Classy, San Diego

"You stay classy, San Diego." - Ron Burgundy, 'Anchorman'

 San Diego is pretty classy, and I hope it stays that way.

Not our first time in California, but our third location of our American travels after New Orleans was San Diego, a new location my family had not yet visited. I had only really heard of San Diego from the 'Anchorman' movies (there were lots of references made), but from the moment we came to the minute we left, I felt some lovely vibes from this city.

I felt like we didn't have a lot of time to see lots of San Diego; on our first full day we spent the whole time in this wonderful shopping centre or mall, and our second day was spent across the border in Mexico (read about that adventure here). Our single full day in San Diego, outside of a shopping mall, was lovely; the summer weather in San Diego is ideal, and was hardly like a touristy gimmicky place at all. 

We stayed in the new hotel Hilton Homewood near the airport, and my favourite part of it was the gym right beside outdoor pool where mornings were spent with my sister.

After shopping 'til we dropped on our first day (literally, I dropped on to my hotel bed once we returned), we changed and went out for dinner at a seafood restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter. This is a busy nightlife area with lots of restaurants and lit up bicycles, and I'm pretty sure we passed an 'exclusive private' party while walking around. Snazzy.

After an exhausting day in Mexico, we took it easy on our last day and went on a relaxing ferry ride out to Coronado, a resort city of San Diego county. We rented electric bikes - it was the coolest hour of cycling ever. No pedalling required! I felt like I was motorcycling!

In the gorgeous San Diego heat and light breeze, we passed public parks, paddle boarders on the blue water, many palm trees and stunning house estates around the place. My family have come to the conclusion that we should move there, to live in those Beverly-Hills-like houses (in our dreams).

After the cycle around, Dad, Emily and I got ice cream in Coldstone Creamery. I got birthday cake flavour... birthday cake flavour! It was delish.

We dined at an Italian that night near our hotel, prepping ourselves for the morning car journey ahead - from San Diego to Los Angeles! Stay tuned.