I’m finally back with another blog post and this time
it’s about my new favourite American City – San Diego! I haven’t uploaded in a
while so bare with me as this might be a long one. Firstly, I'm sorry I’ve been MIA
for so long, I was sunning myself on holiday then took some time to ease
myself back into my ‘normal’ work routine; I promise I’ll try to keep to a more
regular schedule now that I’m back (and the next post is set to be a good one
so don’t miss it!)
This was my first time visiting San Diego and I was so SO
excited when I finally saw it on my roster as I’d been bidding for it since I
joined. San Diego is a four day trip for us which means we get two nights and
almost two full days down route to explore the city – I’d never done a long
haul trip with more than one night in a hotel before this so I was really
looking forward to being able to visit places without having to worry about
rushing back to get ready for pick up. We land quite late in the evening on the
first day so I went straight to my room, ordered room service, and watched some
Netflix (dream night tbh) before bedding down for the night to get some sleep
ahead of a day of fun.
BALBOA PARK:
On the first morning I woke up early and headed to Balboa
Park with one of the other crew; the park is quite a long walk from the hotel
where we stay so we decided to try out the bikes that you can find parked
around the city instead. For someone who hasn’t ridden a bike in a while this
proved… interesting, however we still somehow managed to get there in one
piece. Balboa Park is a massive plot of land that not only contains gardens
full of beautiful, multi-coloured flowers but also plays host to a botanical
building, a multitude of museums and the world famous San Diego Zoo. I decided
against visiting the zoo as I knew it would likely take up a large chunk of the
day and I wanted to stop by other places too, so instead we just wandered
around the park taking in the greenery and stunning views (and doing a touch of
plane spotting as they flew overhead). Highlights from the park included the
botanical building which was full of tropical flowers and the Japanese Garden
which was home to an array of unique plants such as Bonsai trees and cherry
blossom as well as a Koi pond and a Japanese teahouse.
CORONADO BEACH:
Our second stop of the day was to Coronado Beach. The West
Coast (in particular California) is famous for its beaches so we of course had
to make that a priority on our tour of San Diego, and where better than Coronado
Beach! We spent the afternoon catching some rays whilst lying on the sand then
went and got some drinks from the iconic Hotel de Coronado, which is the hotel
that provided inspiration for Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.
GASLAMP QUARTER:
For dinner that evening we visited the lively downtown
neighbourhood known as the Gaslamp Quarter. The Gaslamp Quarter is known for
its nightlife and excellent restaurants and bars; keen to experience all San
Diego had to offer it’s no surprise that’s where we chose to
eat (and the food was delicious!)
USS
MIDWAY/UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER:
The start of day two saw us head out early to go to the
harbour and see the Unconditional Surrender Statue, more commonly referred to
by tourists as ‘The Kissing Statue’. Standing at 25 meters tall this sculpture recreates
the iconic photo of an embrace between a nurse and US Navy Soldier on V-J Day
in Times Square. Along the harbour right next to the statue you’ll also find
the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum moored at the Navy Pier. Once the United
States’ longest serving aircraft carrier, the USS Midway is now open to the
public as the largest museum dedicated to carriers and naval aviation. Although
I didn’t have the opportunity to go inside the museum due to lack of time, it’s
definitely something I want to cross off my list should I return to San Diego.
OLD TOWN:
OLD TOWN:
In the afternoon of the second day we took a trip to Old
Town San Diego. The Old Town is the site of the first European settlement in
present-day California and contains dozens of historic buildings and sites,
remaining true to its heritage. The main square looks like something straight
out of a Wild West film and the shops offer a variety of different goods to
buy. We of course headed straight for the sweet shop, which had just about
every type of candy you could imagine and smelt rather nauseating; put off by
the aroma, I decided to head to the ice cream parlour instead whilst the others
purchased their goodies and tried out a couple of scoops of birthday cake ice
cream – yum!
KANSAS CITY BARBEQUE:
Perhaps better know as ‘The Top Gun Bar’, Kansas City
Barbeque is a small bar/restaurant located in San Diego’s harbour district, famous for being the filming location for the iconic Great Balls of Fire scene
in Top Gun (as well as the jukebox scene at the end of the film). Me being a
HUGE Top Gun fan and aspiring pilot I absolutely could not visit San Diego
without taking a trip to this bar. Inside you can still find the piano Goose
played during the film as well as hundreds of license plates and caps that
adorn the walls and ceiling. If you, like me, are a massive nerd I would 100%
recommend visiting this bar as it’s an iconic spot for all things Top Gun and
the staff there are so welcoming - and they're happy to discuss every little detail of
the film with you.
So that concludes my
San Diego blog! Sorry it was such a long one but I absolutely LOVED the city
and had so much to rave about. I can’t wait to go back and I've got my
fingers crossed it appears somewhere on my future rosters. I hope you enjoyed
this post and thanks for reading! Olivia x
