Cruising to San Diego and then Dining.

Another one of my favorite places in San Diego is the Coronado Bridge and Beach area. The Coronado Bridge is essential for anyone visiting the San Diego area. If you have not driven over it you must. The views from the bridge are truly amazing. You can see for miles when you are on the highest point of the bridge. One side is San Diego and the other side is Coronado Beach.


Coronado Beach is a quaint little town with several things to see and do. This area is a little more upscale but still makes you feel welcomed. The Famous Coronado Hotel is right on the beach and a main attraction to many visitors. There are shops and a few restaurants in the hotel.

We spent the afternoon here walking around on the cold sand beach, Once again it was freezing and overcast, however you just can't visit the beach and not make a trip out there. My son too was not at all bothered by the weather. He took his firetruck out and played forever. he had the time of his life. We stayed to watch the sun set and even in the midst of over cast it was still worth watching.

La Jolla is one of my favorite places in San Diego., It is one of the most beautiful scenic areas around. We started off our visit by parking and walking down to the cove where the seals come out and sun bath for hours. You can walk out on a pier and watch them. Be careful though you might get splashed by the tides coming in.

After watching the seals for a while we deiced to walk the cost area. We took a short hike down some rocks and enjoyed the gorgeous views. La Jolla is a great place to rest and relax and take in all that San Diego is about. When you have spent a few days in L.A. this is just the place to go and refresh from the craziness.

La Jolla offers several little parks, picnic tables, benches walking and bike riding trails and several other activities. This places is a great family friendly area.

Since we visited here in late December the weather was a bit chilly.However that did not seem to slow down my little boy, or my self for that matter. We took a scenic walk around the park. We let out son play on the play ground, which I must say was still a little wet from the previous day drizzle. He sure did not seem to mind he played anyways.

Mission beach has several activities and things to do. We started out the day playing at the park which is across the street from Belmont Park. There are plenty of swings, slides and other things for the little ones to enjoy while being close enough to the beach to enjoy.

After some time of playing at the park and plenty of wet clothes we headed back across the street to check out Belmont Park. The park was just opening and our son seemed a bit apprehensive about some of the rides so we just walked around. We did end up buying some sand toys to take out to the beach. There are several stores and shops to buy all kinds of suvioners and stuff.

Before heading to the beach we stopped to eat some food. We ate some pizza and tried not to get too cold. The sun had tried to peak out a few times but for the most part it was over cast and chilly. As well as many shops and stores there are also several restaurants and little picnic areas to eat.

After a yummy lunch we changed clothes and took our sand toys to the beach, The sun had finally deiced to shine through but the temperature was still a bit cold. Once again though it did not slow us down.

Well the name pretty much says it all. But I guess since the editors would not just take one sentence I will try to put into words the word "extraordinary"

First I will begin with, this place was a bit hard to find (at night) the street that it is located at is not lit up at all, and with very few cars in front since everyone walks there was no indication to where it was. Fortunately though we did find it, I must say just writing this review I am already craving the sweets, once we found it I ran inside to grab something to go. Little did I know I would be mesmerized when I walked through the huge metal and glass door that swung open.

So now I am in this beautiful restaurant with the first thing I see is a huge case with all sorts of cakes and sweets. I could not believe my eyes. Every dessert was so pretty and looked great. It was weird because they did not necessarily look too good to eat even though they were gorgeous they looked that good that you knew you wanted to eat it. After about 10 minutes and lots of questions about what dessert to choose I finally choose a slice of triple chocolate mousse torte. I know it is as good as it sounds. This triple chocolate mousse torte was displayed with the clear description that read. Layers of dark chocolate cake are married with white, milk and dark chocolate mousses, caramelized hazelnuts, and a splash of frangelico. (You have to see the pictures.)

This dessert was exactly what the name of the places says extraordinary. It was so good that the next night I went back and tried another dessert, this time choosing the Ivoire Imperial which is, fine layers of vanilla bean soaked pound cake and creamy white chocolate mousse, bursting with fresh raspberries and cranberries, hidden behind white chocolate shavings and dusted with powered sugar. This dessert too was extraordinary, the chocolate was the best but this one also was great.

So now that I have told you all about the dessert let me tell you a little about the rest of the place. The atmosphere of this little restaurant was very modern and unpretentious the prices are a bit on the higher side but very relaxed and laid back, People come here to grab a sandwich, a cup of coffee or a dessert and just relax. The menu is limited but who cares with a dessert menu that reaches all the way to L.A. The staff was very helpful in guiding me in my decisions on what desserts to choose. The display of desserts is very descriptive and gives you a clear idea of what each one is.

I could not tell you all the prices of the food but my slices of cake cost about $8 a slice.

I absolutely loved this place and will go back EVERY time I visit San Diego.

After picking up my dessert at Extraordinary Desserts we drove down to Little Italy, which was only a few blocks down and ate dinner at a place called Mona Lisa’s. This place was very unique. When we passed it the first few times I kept thinking it was a gas station the way it was all lit up. Its location is right on the corner and it is a small restaurant and a small store/ deli. When you walk into the restaurant there is not much room to be waited on. We had to wait about 30 minutes, which seemed good for a Friday night in down town. So while you wait you can try to stroll through the store, which is right next to the restaurant and is open to the restaurant.

So we walked over there and looked around. There were all kinds of authentic Italian spices, fruits, vegetables, meats, wines, and noodles. There was so much in that little store I was really amazed. And you could tell people come there just to get certain things on a regular basis. I decided to buy some authentic noodles. Noodles I had never seen before that looked fun and good. The prices we very reasonable for food that came from Italy itself.

After that adventure our table was ready. The food here was great. I ordered manicotti and a salad and my husband had lasagna. Both were great. We ate all the food that was in both our plates. Out server was very friendly, the atmosphere was a tad bit loud and of course crowded but no one seemed to mind too much, everyone pretty understanding. The price of our meal was also very reasonable. It was a great choice to be followed by a triple layer chocolate moose torte.