San Diego, California, USA. Here’s somewhere you wouldn’t usually think of travelling to – people usually go with the more popular destinations like LA and San Francisco. However, if you’re in the area anyway, why not pop down to one of the US’ southernmost cities? San Diego is on the border between California and Mexico, and with warm weather all year round, who wouldn’t want to make the trip to this unique city?
One of San Diego’s most famous attractions is the annual San Diego Comic-Con, the most well-known conference of its type. This is held in the Convention Centre, in the heart of the city. Film-makers, directors, producers, animators, screenwriters and actors from all over the world come to this 4-day event to talk about new films, TV shows, comics etc. that will be coming out soon. Famous appearances at Comic-Con include the legendary performance by Tom Hiddleston as Loki, to promote the Thor 2 film. Fans went wild for his appearance, and it’s become a bit of a smash hit on Youtube.
Step out of the conference centre, and just across the street you’ll be transported to a strange mix of old and modern. The main street is very Victorian, with typically Victorian style, Western buildings lining the road. The next block over, however, there will be skyscrapers and brand new glass structures, reflecting the clear blue skies and sunshine in the city. San Diego is a city with many lakes and inlets, and obviously the Pacific Ocean, so it has a very sizeable port. It’s particularly famous for its military port, and it features the ship USS Midway, which tourists can look around. It’s an aircraft carrier that was built after the Second World War, and was only decommissioned in 1992, very much a product of the Cold War. It was actually the biggest ship in the world until 1955, so that really says something about the size of it.
There is also the charming old town, a little way out of the modern city centre. The architecture here is heavily influenced by Spanish architecture, as it was the Spanish that originally occupied this area, conquering the Native American tribes that had previously settled. It’s a really great example of a Wild West town, if that’s what you are interested in. Also, San Diego is on the border with Tijuana, Mexico, so if you wanted to see how the other half live, cross the great wall that divides the US and Mexico.
San Diego is also famous for its zoo, one of the largest in the world and the first of its kind. It has over 3,700 animals, and is set in 100 acres of parkland. The zoo features an excellent cable car ride from the bottom to the top of the park, from which you can see parts of San Diego, many zoo creatures, and the wonderful architecture of the Museum of Man. If you like animals and you’re looking to have a day out that everybody will enjoy, then this is the place for you. There’s a real chance to get close to these beautiful creatures, and the resources for learning they have there are both fun and educational.
If you want to get away from the busy traffic, hustle and bustle and hype of LA, or perhaps you’re in San Francisco and you seek warmer climes, San Diego could just be the place for you.
Image from: http://www.sandiego.gov/directories/visiting.shtml
0 Comment:
Be the first one to comment on this article.