California Dreamin'

This year for my birthday, I wanted to travel somewhere warm and escape the cold Nashville weather. My boyfriend suggested San Diego and we decided it was the perfect mix of beaches, good food, and sunshine!

Night 1

We arrived on a Thursday night and settled into our Airbnb before heading out for tacos at La Puerta. We loved the guacamole and margaritas, but the tacos themselves didn’t quite live up to the hype in our opinion.

Day 1 - La Jolla

We kicked off our first full day with lunch at Caroline’s Seaside Cafe in La Jolla. The ocean views were perfect and the food was good! After lunch, we walked along the beach before taking a quick Uber over to La Jolla Cove. We climbed down 150 steps to Sunny Jim’s Sea Cave, which was totally worth it! From there, we wandered through the shops on Girard Street. A few of my favorites were Thread + Seed, Hammit, 2Bella, and Faherty. We grabbed drinks at The Spot, watched the sunset on the beach, browsed a few photo galleries, and ended the night with a romantic dinner overlooking the water at Eddie V's.

Day 2

We started our Saturday morning in Little Italy. The wait at Morning Glory was too long, so we slipped into Vincenzo Cucina for breakfast instead. Afterward, we strolled through the market vendors, tried some samples, and then grabbed a Marquesita Espresso Martini at Coco Maya while catching part of the Alabama game. It was my favorite drink of the trip and surprisingly made with rum! My dessert highlight of the trip was definitley my cannoli from Solunto. Next, we headed to Balboa Park, which was very busy because the December Nights Festival was happening. A few areas were closed, but we still explored the Spanish Village, Botanical Garden, Lily Pond, and part of the Japanese Garden. Little Italy and Balboa both seem to be popular local spots! We spent quite some time trying to get an Uber out of that area. Next, we made our way to the Lafayette Hotel. This was high on my list! Between the Christmas Decor and the fact that the hotel just earned a Michelin Key, it's a popular place. I am so glad we got to see it! We went back to our Airbnb and ordered Filippi's Pizza for a cozy night in!

Day 3

On Sunday, we met up with one of my college friends for brunch on Coronado Island. We had a hard time finding a place to eat with the crowd. We ended up trying Clayton’s and it was such a good choice. After brunch, we walked through the Hotel del Coronado to see the Christmas decorations. Each year they choose a theme and this year it was Tinsel Trail to Oz. We found most of the themed trees: Dorothy, Tin Man, Scarecrow, Glinda, the Yellow Brick Road, and the Emerald City. We grabbed a drink at the Sun Deck before heading out. Later in the afternoon, we took an Uber out to Sunset Cliffs and I have never seen anything like it. We arrived just in time for sunset, and the whole moment felt surreal. I wish I could relive it again and again. To wrap up the night, we had dinner in Little Italy at Allegro, followed by drinks at Craft & Commerce and False Idol.

Stay - Alta Colina

We stayed in a beautiful Santorini inspired Airbnb near the airport. We had our own cottage with a private balcony and outdoor fire place. Our sweet host brought us muffins and fresh orange juice one morning! She even had a store on the property with items she has curated. It was very central and an easy uber to everywhere we went! Compared to most of the hotels we looked at, it was a great price! You can find the place on Instagram at altacolina.sandiego.

Here are a few of places we weren't able to get in that I'd love to visit next time!

• Little Frenchie

• Morning Glory

• City Tacos

Overall, December is a great time of year to visit! The Christmas attractions are very popular. The only thing I would do differently is to make sure I plan ahead to make reservations at the places I really want to go! They fill up quick at the popular spots.