Things to do in San Diego when you're conferencing

[rivkat]

I'm looking for advice. I'll be at the ICA for the next four or so days. Is there anything/anyone in San Diego I should make an effort to see?

In other news, wow are my exams less impressive than I'd hoped. I'm reminded of a story told to me about a now-established law professor who, immediately after reviewing his exams, encountered a student from his class who asked "How were the exams?" The professor replied, "Now I know why I did so well in law school." There are people who can write and think, but I think I had unrealistic expectations.

Comments

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm going to be at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. I like to walk, especially if the weather stays good (it's miserable in NYC), and I like to eat (vegetarian; cheese/eggs great). I'm not so big on beaches -- like a vampire, I tend to burst into flames when exposed to direct sunlight -- but I love to windowshop. I was thinking of trying to go to the zoo. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

[logovo.livejournal.com]

Hey, that is a great place to stay, and very good as a starting point for seeing the sights. You will be right next to Seaport Village, a sort of touristy spot that has little shops and restaurants and makes for a very nice walk along the bay. Look for little The Crow's Nest bookstores for some coffee, tea and snacks. Its a relaxing place.

Right across the way you will see Coronado island, that, erm, is not really an island. You could take the ferry across, but you might want to take the taxi or trolley to the ferry first, its some blocks away but doable if you have on comfy shoes. The island doesn't have a lot to see, except for the Hotel Del Coronado, but its not near the ferry landing, you would need to take the little green bus.

The San Diego Downtown area is just across the trolley tracks, in front of the Haytt and on the weekends it has a lot going on. It can make for a nice walk along 5th and 4th avenue right up to Broadway. Lots of shops, coffee houses, galleries, restaurants and bars. I don't go downtown very often, specially on weekends because it gets very crowded an parking can be a nightmare. It is however a *very* short distance from you hotel, maybe 3 minutes or less in a cab.

3 places downtown I like:

Cafe Lulu's for excellent espresso drinks and desserts. On F between 4th and 5th

Gaslamp Theaters big movie palace kind of place, 4th and G.

Cafe Sevilla Spanish food. Don't sit in the restaurant area, or go downstairs. Go to the bar instead and order some tapas and sangria. More fun and less expensive.

Downtown is not an area for a lot of morning and early afternoon activities, unless you are just looking for a place to have breakfast. I've gone to Cafe 222 a couple of times and I've liked it. It's at 222 Island Ave, downtown of course. You can walk there, but you must get there early since breakfast is what they do and it gets busy.

To the North of your Hotel and about 10 minutes in a cab from your hotel is Balboa Park. You can spend all day there. The San Diego Zoo right next to the museum area. A little bus (looks like a trolley) picks up people for free in the park itself and makes stops at several points. Most museums charge about 7 dollars. On Sunday afternoons at 2pm the Organ Pavillion plays music for the crowd. There is a nice restaurant called The Prado right in the center of the park. Moderate to expensive, entrees 12-25 dlls, but pretty and the food & service is good.

The Zoo is the main attraction, but the restaurants inside the zoo are not very good and the wait for a table can be long.

North of Balboa Park is Hillcrest, my favorite because its relaxing, great to walk around, good places for coffee, drinks, movies, eating and people watching. It's a nice gay neighborhood, very friendly.

Favorite restaurants:
Celadon the best Thai place in town. Good for vegetarian dishes. University, in between 5th and 6th avenue.

Bombay Indian, great vegetarian menu. 5th, between University and Washington.

Bread and Cie bakery. Good for breakfast and lunch. Best bread in San Diego. Inexpensive. Excellent sandwiches. Good coffee. The kind of place you like to go to Sunday mornings. University, between 4th and 3rd.

Hope you have fun here. I would love to meet you if you if you have the time. I just saw some people responding to your post. Could I tag along? Thanks :-)

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Wow -- lots of stuff to do. Thanks for all the details. I'd love to meet -- contact me at RivkaT@aol.com and I'll give you contact info so we can work something out.