Grown Up Escape in San Diego

My poor hubby has his birthday right in between Christmas and New Year's.  That doesn't sound too bad, but trying to motivate people into coming to a party during that week is nearly impossible.

Happy Birthday!

It has been several years since we went off and did something on our own, so we decided to leave the kids and head down to San Diego's Gaslamp District for a night out.  First we had to find a place to stay.  We almost always avoid large chains if possible, either for hotels or eating out.  We love supporting mom and pop and boutique like places.  We settled on a great deal at The Bristol San Diego.  It has an ideal location only 2 blocks from Horton Plaza and short 5-10min walk to the bustling Gaslamp center.  At first I was worried about the walk, but the Gaslamp is so vibrant and crowded on the weekend, we would have wound up in a hotel that was much nosier than where we were.

Everyone we talked with at the hotel was so friendly and sweet.  The reservations lady even upgraded our room for free when she heard it was for my husband's birthday!  We enjoyed a huge room with a king size bed and a great view with free wi-wi and one of the prettiest lobbys we have ever seen.  The holiday decorations were still up and they even have the lobby smelling like a winter wonderland.

Entrance to The Bristol lobby

The Bristol's lovely REAL Christmas tree

We loved the spacious room at The Bristol

For our night out, we booked a tour called "Brothels, Bites and Booze" with 3 other friends, through So Diego.  It was incredibly fun, tasty and filling!

Deb our fun tour guide!

For over 2.5 hours, we were given a guided tour of different buildings throughout the historic area, interspersed with stops at five different restaurants and bars.  The tour guide told us some very interesting stories of the origins of San Diego and the "colorful" brothels that used to be there.  We were amazed at how many there at been and how they operated.
The food was plentiful.  We could barely eat the delicious gelato at the end because we were so full!  The most amazing food was at Bolillo Tortas.  We were served a creamy bean soup, corn on the cob with cotija cheese and chili powder and cream cheese stuffed jalapenos wrapped with bacon.  The horchata they served was the best we had ever had.

Yummy mexican corn with bean soup

Cream cheese stuffed jalapeno wrapped in bacon

Our beer flight from Rock Bottom Brewery

Amazing slider and fries from Bare Back Bar & Grill

Gelato made fresh daily at Cremolose

Wyatt Earp actually ran a saloon and brothel here

We were happy to have a slight walk back to the hotel to digest some of the food and drinks.  In the morning we woke up and went for a walk down to the Zanzibar Cafe.  We picked the restaurant based on the Yelp reviews and did not disappoint.  My meal consisted of Eggs Benedict served with basil hollandaise sauce.  The eggs were absolutely cooked perfectly and the herb potatoes were well seasoned and cooked to a soft, not mushy texture.  My husband was in love with his Sunrise Panini that had eggs, Boursin cheese and roasted tomato.  The cheese melted right into the eggs and bread.  It was like a delicious grilled cheese breakfast sandwich.  Honestly, it was the best breakfast sandwich I have ever tasted.

Eggs Benedict with basil hollandaise and applewood smoked bacon

Zanzibar's Sunrise Panini with roasted tomato and Boursin cheese

After a leisurely stroll back to the hotel, we did some window shopping at Horton Plaza and then decided we were ready to go home.  We loved our quick getaway and we cannot wait to come back to the Gaslamp for another one.

Wonderful city view from our room