San Diego, California

A few years ago, when I was sitting on the couch with my mom planning my wedding, we got distracted. Our eyes were starting to cross as we scrolled through page after page of mother-of-the-bride dresses, so she thought it was time for us to dance around the living room. Her choice of music? André Rieu. Ever heard of him? He’s an incredibly famous Dutch violinist and conductor of the Johann Strauss Orchestra. He and his orchestra tour the world performing waltz music. And if you watch any videos of his performances, you’ll see that people get really into it. They weep at the music he plays and women sometimes faint. Also, people get up and dance while he’s playing, and it’s so endearing and romantic–you can see why we were eager to see this in person! When my mom and I discovered that André was bringing his famous European act to the United States for a short time, we booked our tickets to the nearest city in an instant. The nearest city to Memphis and Nashville, by the way, was San Diego, California.

San Diego has always had my heart. It’s vibrant, colorful, and close to the ocean. Its proximity to Mexico means that it has a rich Mexican culture and history. Matt and I spent four days in San Diego with my mom and stepdad, and here were the best things we saw (in no particular order):

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Balboa Park: the largest urban park in North America. Set in the Spanish Colonial and Mission Revival architecture, its 1,200 acres includes museums, gardens, a green belt, theaters, and the San Diego Zoo.

We explored the Alcazar Garden, beautifully designed after the Alcazar in Seville, Spain in Moorish green, turquoise, and yellow tiles; the Japanese Friendship Garden; the Botanical Building and Lily Pond; and Casa del Rey Moro garden.

The lush, verdant gardens and the Spanish-style architecture offer a very authentic taste of Southern Spain.

La Jolla: probably one of the more famous places on this list. La Jolla is a seaside community just north of San Diego. We explored the shopping and restaurants along the coastline and dipped onto the beach to take pictures with the famous La Jolla seal and sea lion colonies (sea lions have big flippers that let them walk; seals have webbed front flippers and move around by wiggling). 

I recommend visiting La Jolla Cove, Sunny Jim’s Sea Cave, La Jolla Children’s Pool, and Shell Beach for the best seal/sea lion encounter.

My favorite was the Sea Cave, which is the only sea cave in California accessible by land (a slippery underground tunnel).

Sunset Cliffs: a 68-acre park in San Diego that extends along the coast of Point Loma’s western shoreline. The viewpoint is so stunning and we had an inordinate amount of fun watching waves crash against the cliffs. If you visit, be super careful!

Old Town San Diego (the “birthplace” of California): this may be my favorite thing we did in San Diego. Founded in 1769, Old Town is California’s first Spanish settlement, which included only a Catholic mission and a fort at that time.

Nowadays, Old Town boasts specialty shops, gardens, restaurants, and museums.

We watched a strolling mariachi band, saw employees decorating for Dia de los Muertos (we visited in late October), learned about the early Mexican-American experience, watched blacksmiths, drank tequila, and ate churros.

Cabrillo National Monument sits at the southernmost point of the Point Loma Peninsula. It commemorates the landing of Spanish explorer Juan Cabrillo in San Diego in 1542. The park offers stunning views of San Diego’s harbor and skyline, as well as the Coronado Air and Naval Base.

I could spend hours on the side of the island that faces the Pacific Ocean. While visiting Cabrillo, we also explored Old Point Loma Lighthouse and museum. Don’t miss this!

André Rieu: need I say more? He put on a fantastic performance for me and my mom, and even gave us a twelve-song-encore. That’s right. After he finished playing his entire concert, he came back and performed twelve more songs. A legend.

Liberty Public Market: consider this the Granville Island of San Diego—aka, a hotspot of restaurants, food vendors, live music, and artisans situated on an outdoor patio. We ate lunch here on a hot, beautiful fall day and enjoyed ice cream, coffee, arepas, and tacos.

USS Midway Museum: located on Navy Pier, this museum holds the Midway aircraft carrier (which can hold 200,000 sailors).

We didn’t take a tour of the museum, but we did explore the surrounding area, making sure to take a picture in front “Unconditional Surrender” (the perhaps infamous WWII sailor-kissing-nurse statue), as well as explore the Bob Hope Memorial.

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This list isn’t meant to be exhaustive (or necessarily accurate, since André Rieu was only in San Diego that one time). I haven’t included some other things we really loved about this city—the Gaslamp Quarter, strolls along the harbor, and staying in the cutest Airbnb!

(Also, if you’re interested in more André, check out his performance of And the Waltz Goes On by Sir Anthony Hopkins. Not only is it one of my favorite waltzes, but Sir Anthony dreamed it up after being inspired by New Zealand’s landscapes. You can watch it here!