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N less than threepeople at the dinnerparty in LA told meId be bored rigid bySan Diego.

Located on the Pacific, itoffers miles of fabulous coast-line and boasts one of the bestclimates in the country.

Its a lot more compact thanLA and is friendlier, too.

This city was the birthplaceof California Portugueseexplorer Juan RodriguezCabrillo landed in what isnow San Diego Bay andclaimed the area for Spain in1542 so it has plenty of his-tory on offer.

As well as smartened-up,revamped neighbourhoods

such as Hillcrest, South Parkand North Park, the wholeSpanish-Mexican bit going onbrings a tangible chutzpah tothe city Mexico is just 30minutes drive away.

The locals are justifiablyproud of the Gas Lamp Dis-trict. Formerly the rough partof town where sailors hungout, its now teeming with eth-nic eateries, boutique hotelsand interesting clothes shops.

If you have kids, in additionto the famous zoo theres alsothe Wild Animal Park andSeaWorld.

My highlight was BalboaPark, a huge Moorish-themedparkland that surrounds thezoo and is the USAs largest

urban park with 13 museums(including the Museum ofArt), an IMA cinema and theOld Globe Theater.

The Navy is still a major partof San Diego and down on thewaterfront we visited the USS

Midway a 1001ft aircraftcarrier that was part of the USNavy fleet for 47 years andhome to more than 200,000sailors during the Vietnamand Gulf Wars.

Decommissioned in 1992,its now a giant floatingmuseum in San Diego Bay.

Highlights include flightsimulator rides and access tothe ships mess desk, engineroom and flight deck.

Also down on the harbourwere a collection of historicships that comprise the citysexcellent Maritime Museum.You can explore all sorts ofvessels there from the sail-ing ship used in the movieMaster And Commander to

a recently de-commissionedRussian submarine.

The white powder beachesare a huge reason to visit SanDiego. My personal favouritesare on Coronado Island anisthmus two miles from down-

town San Diego.This low-rise beach commu-nity has a definite New Eng-land feel to it, and the Hoteldel Coronado opened asa health resort in 1888 iswhere the Some Like it Hotwas filmed.

The whole of Coronado isquintessential small-townAmerica with preserved Vic-torian houses and a mile-longmain street with a good vari-ety of shops and restaurants.All very chilled, pretty andvery much worth seeing.

A good base there is theLoews Coronado Bay Resort(loewshotels.com/coronado-bay). This impressive resorthotel boasts direct access to

So-

Cal,

By Katie Wood

n I youre looking for something different foran Easter break, why not pop over the Irish Seato see what Northern Ireland has to offer?

With easy air access to Belfast from anumber of airports in Scotland and ferries from

Stranraer and Troon, its never been easier toseek out the hidden gems of Northern Ireland.

One advantage of travelling by ferry is takingthe car, and the Antrim Coast road is regardedas one of the most scenic drives in the world.Stretching from Larne round to the GiantsCauseway, driving, cycling or walking the routemakes for a perfect holiday.

Stop off at each of the nine glorious glensbefore making your way to the Giants Cause-

way where you can view the new state of the artvisitor centre, and on to Bushmills for a well-earned tasting session.

And why not make time for a stop in the cityof Belfast, which is busy readying itself for thearrival of the much-anticipated opening of theTitanic Exhibition to mark the centenary of theships fateful maiden voyage.

Belfast will be hosting a range of festivalsand events until May 31 to mark the 100-yearanniversary of the sinking of the famous liner,so theres plenty of history at your feet.

Select Hotels of Ireland is also offering twonights for the price of one with prices froms99midweek for a standard double room and fullIrish breakfast. The offer is valid for stays untilApril 30, 2012. Visit discoverireland.com

n TOCH O CLASS TAVELhas a blooming wonderful offer to loriadeAmsterdam from Edinburgh on April 23. Threenights B&B at the four-star Central Park Hotel.ull day excursion to loriade, from only 369per person. Tel. 0843 216 0451.

n BITS are renowned for speaking English

(albeit loudly) when conversing overseas, butnow there is no excuse forbeing tongue-tied on for-eign travels accordingto the language expertsat Berlitz, mastering just1,000 words or so will ena-ble language learners tocommunicate in up to 80%of common situations.

Theyve just launched theDip Into series which fea-tures 1,000 everyday wordsand phrases to ensure Britsabroad will never be lost forwords.

All the words are organisedby topic and alphabeticallywithin these sections, so itseasy to find the right wordfast, plus a full index ofwords into the bargain.

Available from bookshopsand at berlitzpublishing.com, priced 4.99.

Admittedly there is notori-ous rivalry between SouthernCalifornias two major cities,but still, I didnt arrive in thecity thinking this was going tobe a travel highlight.

Not after hearing provin-cial, boring and tacky assome of its descriptions.

Fortunately for me, theywere wrong.They hadnt visited for well

over a decade, which was onegood reason to ignore them and Im so glad I did.

Fact is, San Diego has rein-vented itself from an edgy,down-at-heel Navy town toa relaxed and sophisticatedSo-Cal (the hip way to saySouthern California, appar-ently) city. In fact, in my hum-ble opinion, it beats LA handsdown.

This is a family-friendly citywith a beautiful setting andsome impressive museums

and restaurants.

Dont miss the first part of our exciting travel

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he Pacific Ocean and hassuperb spa. Doubles startround $190, but are worth it.

A wacky thing to try is a gon-ola massage cruise!Back in the city, we made

ime to discover the HistoricOld Town. The hop-on-hop-

ff trolley bus tour (trolley-ours.com/san-diego) canrop you there.This uniquely Californian

own steps you back to the9th Century. There are

more than 15 historic sites toxplore, some of which are

home to interesting retailhops. You want Mexicanouvenirs without risking arip to Tijuana? You got it.

If you enjoy beer take aBrew-Hop Tour. Paying hom-

ge to the plethora of smallraft breweries in the area,his companys tours see anxpert drive you round vari-us breweries for tours andamplings.One brewery not to miss is

Stone Brewery Bistro & Gar-en an impressive set-up

with a fine organic restau-ant, stunning gardens andll manner of excellent beerso try (see brewhop.com).

The classic American out-et experience can be found

at Carlsbad Premium Out-lets a wide range of shopswith some good bargains inclothes and shoes (see pre-miumoutlets.com).

Items like Ralph Laurenshirts for $35 and Gap jeansfor $25 are still worth bring-ing home.

Food is something this city

does really well. Cafe Chloe(721 Ninth Avenue) doesexcellent organic food witha French twist. Huge maincourses for an average of$13. Seecafechloe.com

Nouvelle Mexican foodwas a new concept, but awelcome learning experi-ence at Candelas Coronado(candelas-coronado.com).

Superb Mexican dishesfrom steaks to seafood and

well worth booking ahead.We spent our last night outof the city, at a pretty littlehamlet called Julian an exgold-mining town now hometo a thriving apple industry.

Stay at the Orchard HillCountry Inn a charmingassortment of cottages clus-tered around the main Inn.

As you sit and enjoy yourglass of complimentary wineoverlooking the orchards,youll be glad you made thejourney out of town. Seeorchardhill.com for roomsfrom $225.

This part of Californiais decidedly on my list toreturn to sorry Ange-lenos, no more LA for me.

so friendly!

n or more informationsee sandiego.org or tel.020 7257 6183.n Prices on nited Air-lines from London Heath-row to Los Angeles startfrom 691.73 including alltaxes. rom Glasgow toLos Angeles its 904.49including all taxes. Visitunitedairlines.co.uk or tel.0845 8 444 777.nDollar ent a Car dollar.co.uk or tel. 0203468 7685. The lead inprice for an Economy car(ECA) at Los Angeles isfrom 111.00 per week.

series in association with Week one Ayrshire and Arran

n Around San Diego, including a gondolamassage and the beach on Coronado Island.