San Diego Day 3

Our final day in San Diego was both good and bad. The bad: I woke up with a sore throat. The good: everything else! Those who know me well know that, in my world, a sore throat comes with an immediate prescription for . . . GELATO!!!

Fortunately for me, San Diego's Little Italy is the real deal. We had multiple options for breakfast gelato (Is there any better way to start your day?) and, upon the recommendation of a friend, we chose Pappalecco. I was able to jaw with the proprietor in Italian and the dark chocolate gelato was just what the doctor ordered - Pappalecco gets two thumbs up in my book!

We then spent the rest of the early morning strolling up and down the Little Italy farmers' market. Lots of good food, drinks, and crafts were to be had but we [mostly] managed to resist temptation and stick to free samples.

As the sun rose, we felt the pull to play some beach volleyball in a part of the world where it reigns supreme. We drove to Mission Beach and were not disappointed by the volleyball scene - row upon row upon row of courts and almost all of them full!

We managed to secure one for just the four of us to play and it was so much fun! We haven't played with these two for years and they have really upped their game - hopefully we can play with them again soon.

While we were there, a friend and former colleague of mine came out to meet us on the beach. I hadn't seen him for years but it was nice to meet his growing family and spend a little time in the waves.

As I was feeling a little subpar, I took the afternoon off for a nap but rallied and caught back up with the group at The Flight Path for dinner. It was OK but not terribly memorable. The best part of dinner was catching up with a classmate I haven't seen since college. We pretty much picked up right where we left off. Unfortunately for the rest of our party, "where we left off" was a pretty nerdy place since we were both computer science majors!

Before we turned in for the night we followed a hot tip to Extraordinary Desserts which was, conveniently, right on our way back to the hotel. Wow, did it ever live up to its name! As we salivated in front of their dessert case, there were easily 30 items I wanted to order. Luckily restraint prevailed and we only got two, the Dame Chocolate and the Truffe Framboise. Oh my, heavenly, rich decadence! That's right, the day that began with dark chocolate gelato ended with dark chocolate cake . . . I'm sure it all helped my sore throat!

It was a quick trip to San Diego but we made the most of it. I'm so pleased to have gotten to know a new area of town (Little Italy) and I must say that I'm pretty impressed. More than perfect weather, an active volleyball scene, and great food, though, San Diego is home to several of our friends and that's what will keep us coming back . . . hopefully soon!