San Diego: Paradise in California
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Situated in the southern
most corner of California on the coast, the city thrives in the sun year
round and temperate weather during most of its winter. Many travelers come
here just to bask in the warmth and experience what it is like to live in a
Southern California paradise. Surrounded by long sandy peninsulas, San Diego
provides the perfect setting for a vacation getaway. Pristine beaches -
such as Coronado Island's secluded waterfront - and trendy upper-class
shopping districts, overlooking the bluffs of San Diego's jewel', La Jolla,
are two of the unique characteristics of this city.
SeaWorld, is yet another. It is the city's closest and most respected link
to the ocean and in  many ways, San Diego's central identity. The centre for
several wildlife conservation programs, as well an excellent resource for
public education, its name is now synonymous with San Diego. The more
obvious ties to the sea are evident in the sun-tanned, barefoot, bikini-clad
surfers that fill the city, especially just north of Mission Bay, where the
small shops, coffee houses and restaurants of the city's beach area, the
heart and soul of Southern California lifestyle, are located.
Historic communities like the Gaslamp Quarter - San Diego's first
commercial district - and Little Italy, which once supported a
multimillion-dollar tuna industry, are now centers for performing and visual
arts. Once a year, artists in the downtown sector open their studios and
galleries to the public as a celebration of the area's artistic heritage.
Music is an integral part of San Diego's heritage as well - it has become
the theme for its historic Gaslamp Quarter festivals.
Spanish influences remain
to this day, especially as San Diego is only an hour's drive from the
U.S.-Mexico border. The evidence of this connection to its Hispanic heritage
is everywhere, although most prominently noted in cross-border "fiestas" or
festivals, such as the Cinco de Mayo day festivities, the Latino Film
Festival and the San Diego International Film Festival. Yet this city, which
attributes its modest beginnings to the efforts of a single Spanish monk, is
not a single city but a patchwork of cultures, neighborhoods and unique
communities - the embodiment of the American melting pot.
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