We had such an amazing time in San Diego during our big trip to California! We spent the most time in San Diego out of all the destinations on our trip. Andrew had always wanted to visit San Diego, and I wanted to explore it more since I only had a day there the last time I visited with my parents. We were able to see and do so much, but there were a lot of things we weren’t able to squeeze in. Hopefully, we will be able to visit this beautiful city again in the future because we both loved it! In this blog post, I am sharing all the restaurants and boutiques we visited as well as the hotel we stayed at, and all the sight seeing we did in “America’s Finest City”.

What To Do

Little Italy

Our first stop when we arrived in San Diego was Little Italy. This neighborhood was recommended to us by a local, and by a friend who used to live in San Diego. Andrew and I are both Italian, so we loved this charming neighborhood filled with pizza restaurants, Italian fine dining, and more. We strolled through a residential street with the cutest and most colorful old houses, but what Andrew was most drawn to was the water. From the streets of Italy, there were amazing views of the ocean, and they were just calling his name. We decided to walk down until we found a street where we could access the marina, and I’m so glad we did. Andrew was as happy as a clam as you can see in the photo below. Afterwards we checked into our hotel downtown, and drove over to our dinner reservation at Cori in North Park.

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Balboa Park

On the morning of our second day in San Diego, we visited Balboa Park after having breakfast at Communal Coffee in North Park, just minutes from Balboa Park. This was one of the spots I visited with my parents and sister when I was 6 months pregnant with Sage. I really loved the Spanish architecture of the buildings there, so I wanted to make sure I could bring Andrew there. He absolutely loved it too! We even took our own little hiking excursion in this area of the park that looked straight out of The Jungle Book. It was definitely off the beaten path. In fact I’m sure we weren’t supposed to be there at all, but it was Andrew’s favorite part of that day!

North Park

After exploring Balboa Park, we headed back into the main area of the North Park neighborhood where all the shopping and dining is located. We checked out this adorable boutique Pigment, and then had our second cup of coffee and pastries at Lovesong Coffee. Afterwards, Andrew stayed there for a work meeting, and I explored more of the local boutiques in this area with Sage in his stroller. I’m highlighting more of the coffee shop and the boutiques below! One of the locals mentioned to me how this is really one of the only walkable neighborhoods in the city for shopping and dining. We really liked this neighborhood so I suggest you check it out if you like that sort of thing too.

Sunset Cliffs

During the evening of our second day in San Diego, we drove to Sunset Cliffs near Ocean Beach to check out Sunset Cliffs before our dinner reservation at Elvira. We actually had not originally planned on visiting this spot, we just managed to squeeze it into our itinerary. This was another spot our friend had recommended to us and I can see why, because the views of the ocean were stunning and the homes in this area were absolutely beautiful too. Sage had fallen asleep in the car on our way over, and managed to continue napping as we strapped him onto Andrew with a baby carrier, which he would never normally do. He was just so tired from all of our travels! It was so sweet. The drive up the coast to our restaurant in Ocean Beach was so pretty too.

La Jolla

One of the places my parents had insisted we needed to visit during my first trip to San Diego with them was La Jolla. It was so beautiful there that day, and my sister ended up taking some maternity swimwear photos of me on the beach of this little cover there. I wanted to take Andrew, but I couldn’t remember where it was or if we could have accessed it at that time. It was still pretty even on an overcast morning, especially with the flowers, and we had so much fun showing Sage the seals! There were so many birds as well. We all enjoyed the wildlife there. This was a stop on our way to Malibu, after having had breakfast at Selva Coffee House.

Where To Eat

Cori

After checking into our hotel on the Tuesday that we arrived in San Diego, we drove over to North Park for dinner at Cori, which was about a 10-minute drive from our hotel. Andrew and I had been excited about an Italian dinner all day. Sage loves Italian food too, and we all arrived ready to eat! We got to try their Italian flight of wine and food. I believe it was called a “taste of Italy”. I tried octopus for the first time! That was actually Andrew’s favorite dish. The desert was amazing as well. The restaurant was so charming with beautiful tile floors, dried florals, and amazing art gallery walls. The old bar was gorgeous too! The staff at Cori was so kind to us, and we had an amazing experience there.

Communal Coffee

The following morning (on our second day in San Diego) we had coffee as well as sweet and savory pastries at Communal Coffee for our breakfast. They have 3 locations in North Park, but we ended up visiting the University location because it looked so pretty online. My latte and our pastries were perfection, and I really loved the interiors at this spot. They also had the Communal boutique gift section of the store with books, decor, and more. They have a flower bar where you can watch the florists making the bouquets they sell in their shop. I love spots like this, so I totally adored it! Afterward, we drove over to Balboa Park.

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The following morning (on our second day in San Diego) we had coffee as well as sweet and savory pastries at Communal Coffee for our breakfast. They have 3 locations in North Park, but we ended up visiting the University location because it looked so pretty online. My latte and our pastries were perfection, and I really loved the interiors at this spot. They also had the Communal boutique gift section of the store with books, decor, and more. They have a flower bar where you could see them making the bouquets they sell in their shop. I love spots like this, so I totally adored it! Afterward we drove over to Balboa Park.

Lovesong Coffee

After our fun-filled morning exploring Balboa Park, we drove back to North Park and had coffee at the prettiest coffee shop, Lovesong Coffee. I really loved the vibe of this coffee shop! The large windows at the entrance were all the way up with a cement bench and pillows for seating. I really like the indoor/outdoor feature of that, and there was plenty of indoor seating and outdoor seating for those getting work done remotely or just meeting a friend for coffee. There were tons of plants there, which I always love. Best of all though, were the fabulous pastries we had! They were so good and the coffee was excellent as well. Andrew had a meeting he had to hop on, so this was the perfect spot for him to get that done. While he was in a meeting, Sage and I walked around the neighborhood exploring boutiques. The location of this coffee shop was perfect because there were so many local boutiques nearby.

Elvira

After checking out Sunset Cliffs, we drove up the coast to Elvira in Ocean Beach for another amazing Italian dinner. Poor Sage, who had been sleeping in our baby carrier as Andrew carried him, was still napping in the car on the way over, and into the restaurant. We were on our second course before he woke up, and when he did, he was ready for some yummy pasta! I really loved the cozy, family home vibes of this restaurant. It really felt like you were in “nonna’s” dining room. They had an amazing bar, patio, and room for special occasions as well. We took our desserts to go and had them back at our hotel room that evening.

Selva Coffee House

On our last morning in San Diego, we checked out of the Andaz, then drove over to Selva Coffee House, which was on the way to our next destination, La Jolla. It was about a 20-minute drive from our hotel in downtown San Diego. I was really excited to visit this coffee shop because it is located in a plant nursery, Terra Bella. Both Andrew and I love plants! It was really cool having our coffee and breakfast among all the plants. They had a really cool plant wall feature, and I loved the murals that were painted at the entrance. We walked around the nursery for a little bit afterward, then headed out.

Where To Shop

Pigment

Pigment is a shop I had seen online before, so I was really excited when I learned that it was right next door to Lovesong Coffee! The plant wall outside the store is very “Instagram-worthy”. We snapped a few shots with it, and then perused around the shop. This is the kind of shop that has everything I love in it! I was obsessed with all of their wicker decor, and they had the cutest section of items for babies. There were beautiful plants everywhere, and they even had an area where you could make your own terrarium. I definitely recommend checking out this shop before or after grabbing coffee from Lovesong.

Home & Hound

This has to be hands down the cutest pet store I have ever seen! If you are a dog lover, then you are going to want to check out this spot. Home & Hound offers a curated selection of home decor items that you would need for your pets. Think pretty baskets to store their toys in, chic dog bowls & beds, and aesthetic-looking toys you wouldn’t mind lying around the house. I would totally buy all of their dog stuff for Arlo!

Shop Good

I happened to find this boutique that specializes in organic skincare while I was exploring North Park with Sage. It was such perfect timing because I ran out of my oil cleanser and lip liner at the beginning of the trip, so I picked up new ones here. One of the employees at Shop Good helped me with my selections, and I love that all the brands they carry are organic. The boho modern interiors of the shop are so pretty! In addition to clean beauty, they also specialize in facial and wellness services. It’s exactly the kind of spot I would want to shop or get a facial at.

Casa Y Cocina

I love the Spanish vibes of this new shop, Casa Y Cocina, a sister store to Artlexia a few stores down! Casa means home, and cocina means kitchen, so naturally everything in their shop is for the kitchen or the home! In their shop, you’ll find a curated selection of gourmet foods, kitchen wares, and tabletop decor. Everything is actually from Mexico! They did such a great job with this space. I got a ton of interior design inspiration while I was there. Too bad Andrew was in his meeting when I stopped by, because, as a chef, he really would have like this spot.

Casa Palma Dulce

Another shop in the Artlexia family is Casa Palma Dulce! It’s located across the street on the opposite corner of Artlexia, and across the street from Home & Hound. You can find many unique items in this gift shop, from candles and botanicals to self-care items. Their entire selection of curated items is from Latina-owned business, which is super cool. You are bound to find something unique for yourself or a loved one in this shop!

Where To Stay

Andaz San Diego

During our 2 day visit, we stayed at the Andaz in the Gaslamp Quarter of downtown San Diego. Our room was beautiful, and it was the perfect space to unwind after our days of touring the city. The location was amazing because we were only about a 10-20 min drive away from everything we wanted to do. The view of downtown San Diego from the Andaz rooftop is absolutely spectacular! Plus they had a pool, gym, and many other amenities, In this blog post, I share more about our stay at the Andaz.

XOXO