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July 2026

I moved to San Diego in September of 2025, and my brother visited me three months into me living here right after Christmas, and here is an itinerary I created to show my brother around all my favorite spots in San Diego! No, I am not afraid of AI replacing my jobs because I am certain my brain is absolutely irreplaceable by a human, let alone a robot.

If you are visiting San Diego or if you are too lazy to create an itinerary yourself, sit back and relax because I have already done the work for you 😉

Day 1 (assuming you have a morning arrival)

  • Lunch: The Lafayette Hotel
  • Drop off bags

Old Town

Sunset cliffs beach, sunset cliffs cave,

4pm Sunset at Sunset Cliffs

Froyo at Cup of Yo

Come home to change, chill

Dorothy’s Wine Bar

8:15pm dinner reservations at Born and Raised in Little Italy

When eating at the Lafayette Hotel, be ready to wait a little before you are able to be seated since they are always so crowded. Additionally, you may have to hunt down a waiter right when you get there too

I love parking at Cornish Dr on Sunset Cliffs for accessible parking and easy access to the cliffs!

I have tried to do a walk in at this restaurant and it is simply impossible during those prime time hours, a reservation is still your best bet. You will still have to wait for a while before you are seated even after checking in for your reservation. Regardless, the atmosphere and food is delicious.

Day 2

Breakfast at Relic Bakery (pastries) and ASA bakery (matcha)

Coronado (but not limited to):

  • Tidelands Park
  • Coronado beach
  • Hotel Del Coronado

I love seeing downtown San Diego from here! I love driving across the Coronado bridge but taking the ferry from downtown to Coronado is also fun for your first time. Lots of restaurants and fun little shops to explore on the island. Preppy-ish vibes, but also watch out for jet skiers, they are ruthless on these waters and you might get splashed on the island or when you are on a boat on these waters!

Day 3

Breakfast Charli’s Landing

Walk around then drive around

Olive’s Cafe for coffee

Annie’s Canyon Trail

Del Mar Beach

Powerhouse Park

Sea cliff coastal trail

Nothing like the calm view along the water for breakfast at Charli’s Landing! You can bring your breakfast to go and park somewhere along mission bay as well for a better view of the water.

If you are exploring Pacific Beach (PB), set your destination to Olive Cafe and there is a large parking lot at the end of that street. Olive Cafe’s food and drinks are delicious! When exploring PB during Christmas, look out for the Christmas trees along the beach!

Del Mar beach is my favorite beach due to how nice Del Mar is, and I also love Powerhouse Park, which is a large grassy area right above the beach. I like to relax by the beach and once it hits sunset, I move to the grassy area and love watching the sunset from higher up.

Day 4

Breakfast: Modern Times

10:30am Sunday service at St. Paul’s Church (my brother is Christan Protestant but I am Buddhist. However, I love attending Sunday service with him).

Explore Balboa Park and have lunch there (also where the spanish village art center is located)

La Jolla:

  • Coast Walk Trail
  • La Jolla’s Cove, Tide Pools
  • Sunset at La Jolla

8:45pm dinner reservations at Fleurette

Modern Times is a safe bet food wise with lovely outdoor seating in downtown San Diego. At night, it turns into a fun little bar!

I swear when I say the La Jolla Coastal Walk transports me straight back to Europe! How stunning are these waters?! Make sure to not touch the cute little seals! I love parking on Park Row in La Jolla to escape the parking mayhem.

Day 5

Midway/Maritime Museum

1:30-3:15pm BRING YO BROTHER TO WORK DAY!

Afternoon snack:

Humberto’s Best tacos all around!

Explore Kearny Mesa: Walk down Convoy Street

7:15pm Dinner at Seneca

Seneca has beautiful downtown views and delicious Italian food. Vinarius in Little Italy has the best Italian food in the city, but the atmosphere in Seneca is unmatched.

Might be interesting to link an article about the restaurant such as this one https://sandiegomagazine.com/food-drink/born-raised-cost-6-5-million-to-build/

The music therapy interns are busy, busy, so eating enough and eating healthy is super important! Here is everything I like cooking for myself as a Chinese person…

Noodle soup:

What a Chinese classic! I love making this for dinner after a day of internship. After the water reaches a boil, I throw the noodles in and two minutes before they are cooked, I will throw my chopped vegetables in too.

After taking the noodles and vegetables out, I will poach an egg in the water. I season the noodles with soy sauce, black vinegar (balsamic will also do), sesame oil, chill crisp, peppercorn oil, white pepper, cilantro, and scallions.

 

Frozen dumplings:

I love buying frozen dumplings from the supermarket, 99 Ranch, and on an online Asian grocery delivery app called Weee!,  and cooking it in the morning to bring into the office for lunch. For the sauce, I use black vinegar and chill crisp.

 

 Rice, sauteed vegetables, tofu salad

Rice is best when it is portioned like this: one cup of jasmine rice, a handful of brown rice, and half a handful of tricolour quinoa. Sauteeing vegetables the Chinese way is actually very easy: wash and cut vegetables, heat up the pan, add oil and a few ginger slices, then throw the vegetables in. If you would like, you can add salt or soy sauce to taste at the end.

Tofu salads are very common in Chinese cuisine, my favorite is to toss tofu strips, sliced cucumber together and to garnish with cilantro with a sesame oil and soy sauce dressing.

 

Nothing like a hearty soup with rice. This is my loose interpretation of the korean soup dish, sundubu-jjigae (soft-tofu stew)

I add scallions, ginger to a pan before adding my vegetable broth or just water. I throw in daikon radishes, napa cabbage, enoki mushrooms, soft tofu, vegan kimchi, and Korean chili paste. I try to have it on a simmer for as long as I can before garnishing it with some fresh cilantro. I like scooping a tablespoon of rice and dipping it in the soup!

 

Zucchini with smoked tofu

Nothing like the smell of oil and garlic together! Smoked tofu is versatile in a tofu salad or sauteed. Always add the tofu in before adding in the vegetables so everything can be evenly cooked.

 

 

Red radishes

Northern Chinese people love sauteeing radishes with sugar and vinegar. Sautee sliced radishes before adding sugar and black vinegar into the pan.