tourists in San Diego

Throwback Thursday to one of the first (and best) trips Matt and I took together. One Memorial Day in the early 2000s, we hopped a flight to SAN and spent a weekend exploring all the tourist spots of San Diego. Our hotel was located in Little Italy and we quickly fell in love with this new-to-us neighborhood. The food in the area was fantastic, the light rail picked us up right outside our hotel, and the neighborhood was perfect for walking. Plus, who doesn't love a little bit of Italy on every vacation!

The highlight of the trip was dinner at Filippi's, a favorite restaurant we have visited over and over again. Patrons wait in a very long line that wraps around the small Italian grocery, so there is ample opportunity to browse all the Italian delicacies. Once you are eventually seated, the ambiance is rustic Italian and the food is incredible. Filippi's entire experience is one of our favorite parts of any trip to San Diego.

Another core memory from this particular trip was the ride out to Coronado Island. Hotel del Coronado is spectacular and the white sand beaches are pristine. We enjoyed walking the hotel property, relaxing in the sand, and the views back to mainland California.

Back on the mainland, we set our sights on that famous SoCal Mexican food and headed to Old Town. The Old Town Trolley transported us around town and provided us with a history lesson, but the best part was, of course, the food.

Continuing our expedition of San Diego tourist spots, we next found ourselves at Seaport Village. There is a lot of kitsch but it's still a cute place to take in the harbor and ocean views. Riding the carousel was not necessarily our best idea as we both ended up motion sick and almost puking up our lunch. haha.

Day two of our Memorial Day weekend was spent at the famous San Diego Zoo. I'm still blown away how the animals appear to be roaming free without any separation between us and nature. It's so well done and an experience unlike any other zoo I've been to. Here are some of our favorite animals; take special care to see Matt feeding the giraffes!