Back to San Diego

It only took four months to head back to San Diego. We knew this drive would be longer than others, but fortunately traffic was light and we only had to stop once. We arrived in San Diego after 5 hours on the road. Con Pane Bakery was our first stop. The new location in Liberty Station is nearly four times the size of the old one, and they still pack them in. Thankfully, they are still serving up delicious breads, sandwiches, cinnamon rolls and other treats. I was afraid it might not be the same after the move. All my concerns washed away after the first bite of my Italian on rosemary bread. Frank enjoyed his Turkey Cobb. The inlaws were happy with their selections, too.

Next stop was the hotel. We stayed at the St. James Ramada again. It worked so well when traveling with Bob, since two rooms are joined by a bathroom. Plus, the location is fantastic right in the Gaslamp Quarter. We checked in, this time the room set up was a bit different. The bathroom was in one of the rooms, the second room only had a sink. We took the room without a bathroom. It worked out well for the most part. I only had one major inconvenience as you learn later. We needed a break before we set out to see the sights. We locked ourselves in our room for a couple hours.

Once refreshed and prepared for the next round we told Frank's parents to get ready to head out. We took them up to the rooftop deck to take in the views.








It felt great to be back. I love San Diego.

Valet pulled the car up and we were off to Pomegranate Russian-Georgian Restaurant. On the way we spotted this (yougottagged.com), why hadn't I thought of it? I would love to armed with a bunch of these bad boys.


We found the restaurant, it's a unique little place. Lots of writing on everything, reminded me of Gino's East when I was a kid (not sure if they still let you write on the walls). I picked it out since it had great reviews on yelp and I knew the inlaws would enjoy it. FIL is half Russian.


We started with Lobio, which is a bean salad with walnuts. It's dressed with feta and tomatoes. It was big hit with everyone but me, I've never been a fan of beans.


The Baltika Extra Lager on the other hand was awesome. I loved this beer! I have a new favorite.


Next up was Borscht. It was a very tasty soup.


That was followed by our entrees. Chicken Shashlik (similar to a kabab), Golubtsi (cabbage rolls), Chakhokhbili (like chicken stew), and Vareniki (reminds me of pierogies).








It was all very tasty. It bit pricey considering it is a cash only restaurant, but I suppose if your the only game in town, you make the rules.

The bathroom was odd here, you don't see a telescope, among other things, near the toilet often.


And this was the poster hanging on the ceiling above the toilet. Again, a bit unusual.


After dinner, we went to Old Town. We knew MIL would love it. And she did. I'm still not a fan. The Mexican restaurant reeked of greasy chips and junk shops do nothing for me. I do like the architecture in Old Town, however.




We wandered outside the square, and found a couple blocks of bars and restaurants mixed with shops, this area was more my style. It felt less touristy and grease stank no longer filled the air, instead it was the delicious scent of fresh corn tortilla being heated.

We stopped in Coyote Cafe for margaritas, but when we saw they had Pacifico on tap, we had to have it. We had never found it on draft before. It did not disappoint. FIL was thrilled with his margarita, MIL was less thrilled with her sangria. She wanted it sweeter.


We saw that they had a guy on hand to chat about tequilas, we chatted him up and tasted a couple, Fortaleza and Leguas. Both were tasty, clean and smooth.


One last shop we stopped in had a bunch of masks. These things kill me, they're hilariously creepy, awful masks. Frank had me going, it was a riot.


From Old Town we went back to the hotel. We walked over to the liquor store and bought a six-pack of Pacifico to enjoy on the rooftop. IL's joined us. It was so chilly and breezy up there I was freezing in no time. Before I could finish my first beer I was having Seattle flashbacks. I couldn't handle it. I was just too cold. We relaxed in the room a bit, IL's said goodnight and we left to head over to La Puerta for a late-night snack. We ordered a couple Dos Equis and devoured chips and salsa, and then scarfed down carne asada fries and carnitas in an instant. Yum! We were pretty beat once our bellies were full (for the third time today) so we went back to the hotel to crash.