San Diego

One question I keep in mind when I travel is: would I want to live in this place I am visiting, like for 5-6 years? I don't have much of a criteria when it comes to living abroad, because being abroad comes with the perk of getting immersed in a totally different culture, but in the US, I like exactly where I am. I wouldn't pass on a chance to live in NYC. But other than that I am happy in Salem. Obviously cities have more going on, but I have a sense of belonging here which is rare to come by and it has lulled me into a pleasant inertia. However, San Diego has a fun scene with lovely weather year round, and not many places in US can lay claim to that. So on my current list of places I would move to within US, San Diego is second. 

Like every other place we visited, we booked a hotel downtown. Sometimes this strategy worked out, sometimes it didn't. In San Diego, it did. We were surrounded by restaurants and the night life was bumping. Most of the key attractions radiated from this central area, which wasn't always the case in other cities (looking at you, LA). 

A lot of the action happens in Balboa park which houses the San Diego Zoo. I went there with no expectations. Zoos have animals, and I like them, but we have also been to many zoos, so what's new? Well, it turned out to be one of the most fun days we had, we got to see koalas and there were several aviaries. But most impressively, they had an aerial tram, which gave us a great view of the whole park. Also, some things never get old.

Another day, we explored the rest of the park. It is an open space with walking paths that branch out to museums, theaters, gardens, open markets etc. It reminded me of Dilli Haat, but super-sized. We wandered into a few of the international cottages and the Spanish village. Because the weather is always amazing, lots of people were out to enjoy themselves. It changes the whole dynamic of a city.

We strolled along Little Italy a couple of times, and on one occasion, after buying a whole bunch of pastries from Extraordinary Desserts (of which I liked the Matcha cake the best) we suddenly came across a buzzy food hall. We sat outdoors and I people-watched while Mike went to check on his order. I know it makes perfect sense to google the hell out of where you want to eat or visit beforehand, but a spontaneous discovery is so much fun! 

We checked out sea lions (or maybe seals?) on La Jolla Beach. One strip of the beach, where tourists are not allowed, is set aside for expectant or newbie-mom sea lions and their pups. We watched one pup make for the water with it's mom, only to be bullied back to shore by a neurotic, killjoy of a dad. On another strip, people swam and bathed next to a napping sea lion. I sat a few rocks away from it, and reveled in our proximity.

On the last day, I booked us a fancy dinner, because I desperately wanted to wear a rather fetching purple dress that had been languishing in my closet for over a year. So, elegant date night it was. I chose a Mediterranean restaurant, and though it had excellent reviews, I primarily chose it for its ritzy look. In the end, the wait was long, the food and drinks were excellent, the service was awful, Mike was peevish, and I put on a good face, until I couldn't. I wish I had just worn the damned dress to Turner's (our Salem favorite). Still, that was the only lukewarm experience. On the whole, San Diego surprised us. We were ready to head home even before we reached San Diego, but instead we enjoyed the last leg of our trip.