LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA

Sunset at La Jolla Shores

At the end of last week, after visiting family out West, my husband took me to La Jolla, CA to celebrate my birthday. We had both been there before many years ago, but this was our first trip there together and we had a wonderful time. Southern California's climate is pretty amazing, and we were told we had just (narrowly) dodged a major heat wave, so we felt blessed to enjoy some great weather and even better food the couple of days we were there.

My birthday dinner was at Piatti - a quaint Italian restaurant with a charming outdoor courtyard. I had this AMAZING saffron pappardelle. Everything was phenomenal and the service was terrific.

I'm in awe of the trees in La Jolla - between the windswept gargantuan pines and the stately old eucalyptus, we were stopping to admire the vegetation constantly.

Love the eucalyptus trees!

Art is everywhere! Loved this mural, although the photo doesn't do it justice.

The cool courtyard at our hotel - Kimpton Hotel La Jolla

A sample of the charming local Coastal architecture

The "Grande Dame" of La Jolla hotels - La Valencia. Pink, stucco, Spanish Colonial......count me in!

A great French place in La Jolla Shores, the Cafe Solange - a perfect spot for breakfast. The avocado scramble was extremely tasty.

The views from our hotel were picturesque - this view was from the back. See the cross at the summit of Mount Soledad?

View from our room over the Pacific

The heirloom tomato and beet salad from our last meal at Poseidon in Del Mar. Nothing like eating right on the beach at sunset......

What a perfect finish to a very special trip. If you haven't yet been, I'd certainly recommend a visit to San Diego and specifically, the coastal towns dotting the North shore. Each area has it's own unique personality and there is a plethora of cute boutiques, great restaurants, natural beauty, outdoors activities and exhilarating weather.