Travel

Don’t worry about getting your Christmas fix this season, San Diego County has many holiday-themed festivals to choose from. From Encinitas to Little Italy, from tree decorating to gingerbread house making, you can expect to have a Christmas packed day, even in sunny San Diego. But one unique festival sets itself apart from the competition….

All aboard! Here are links to the Trolley and Train schedules. See you on the tour! Trolley Schedule [pdf] Pacific Surfliner Schedule [pdf] Coaster Schedule [pdf]

Are you in town for the 34th Annual Breeders’ Cup World Championship this week? The Breeders’ Cup (@BreedersCup) is attended by people from all walks of life who travel from all over the world. Everyone is interested to see 187 of the world’s best thoroughbreds compete for $28,000,000 in purses and awards over two truly eventful days. Friday’s races begin at 3:00pm and Saturday’s races begin at 1:00pm. The highlight of this championship is the Breeders’ Cup $6,000,000 Classic which is considered to be the defining event of the international racing season and is held on Saturday night. 2017 is the first time the Breeder’s Cup has come to the beautiful Del Mar Race Track (@DelMarRacing). This racetrack opened in 1937 and can seat 44,000 attendees. The Breeders’ Cup Host Committee has chosen to celebrate all week long (October 28th-…

Wine comes in at the mouth And love comes in at the eye; That’s all we shall know for truth Before we grow old and die. -William Butler Yeats February is such a great month in San Diego.  Not only is it when springtime begins around here, but it’s also the month of love! Valentine’s Day is a tradition that’s been going on for centuries – and probably millennia.  The tradition of Valentine’s Day is murky, but it’s thought to come from a 5th century Roman fertility rite called Lupercalia.  The rites were supposed to honor Faunus, the god of agriculture, and Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome who according to legend were raised by a she-wolf.  The rites consisted of parties and sacrifices, but most importantly, wine. Over time, it became much more about romantic…

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Today’s the traditional day to celebrate your Irish roots (real or imagined) alongside hundreds of thousands of Irish and Irish-at-heart who are doing the same.  Today started out as a religious celebration (and a celebration of Ireland itself) but got exported to the United States, where it became a big, drunken holiday and…

If you’re in San Diego, you probably have noticed the fact that it is raining.  Not just any rain, either — it’s a true-blue El Niño, one storm after another lined merrily up to dump some long-overdue moisture on our parched and cracking soil. While the rain is undeniably good for everyone in the region, it can put a damper (pun intended) on outdoor activities.   The animals are almost all in hiding at the San Diego Zoo, walking around Sea World is a chore, and hiking up a steep and muddy hill?  Forget about it. But, of course, that’s what we are here for.  Whether you’re visiting or you live here, we have delightful and delicious ideas for your activities, all of which, of course, involve wonderful wines, lip-smackingly delicious beers, and some of the best food you’ve ever had…

The season has begun! We’re not talking about springtime, although that came in last month with scattered showers and even a hint of some May flowers.  We’re not talking about sports, although there are various events and seasons going on there, too. No, what we’re  talking about is that most important of seasons in southern California: that of the craft beer festival.  It kicked off this year with the acclaimed Citybeat Festival of Beers, an afternoon fair that offered music and food as well as local beer that ranged from the mainstream to the obscure. Starting May 1st, and continuing through the 3rd, Temecula is hosting its annual Southern California Homebrewers’ Festival at Vail Lake. It ran into some problems last year because of legislative issues, but this year it’s going strong and promises to be a fun time, so…

  You know how we keep saying this is the best time of the year for beer and wine lovers?  We do, because it is!  It's not only a gorgeous time to experience all of southern California's unique and unforgettable beauty without contending with too much crowding and traffic, but it's also harvest time, when the grapes are squeezed and the hops are threshed.   This is also when great events take place for those who love their wine and beer.  One such happening is Oktoberfest, a loosely-knit series of beer festivals.  There's the huge one in Munich, which draws at least 6 million visitors a year (!) and then the various local Oktoberfests that showcase local brews all over the world.  We like those better, because not only do you save yourself hundreds to thousands of dollars in airfare, we…

We're not gonna lie – Earth Day is one of our favorite days of the year around here. Since our inception, we've been all about saving the planet.  Just check out some of the information on our carbon-footprint-reducing train tours and our emphasis on buying local! By the way, if you're a beer and wine nut, one of the best things you can do is buy locally.  It's not just that you'll get better beer and wine, even though you will, or feel more connected to the local environment while you sip, even though you are.  No, the best reasons to drink locally is twofold: first, you're supporting our vibrant Californian wine and beer culture and keeping local jobs coming, and second – and this is a biggie –  by directly supporting all the local brews, you're reducing the enormous,…

  Statue of Dionysius, the Roman god of wine and the harvest. Also the most fun god. True story. Caesar: Who is it in the press that calls on me? I hear a tongue shriller than all the music Cry "Caesar!" Speak, Caesar is turn'd to hear. Soothsayer: Beware the ides of March. Caesar: What man is that? Brutus: A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.  March 15th supposed to be a day that bad things are bound to happen.  The phrase "beware the ides of March" comes, like so many other things in the English language, from Shakespeare.  There's actual history behind the saying. As you may have guessed, March 15th is the day that Julius Caesar was assassinated, setting the stage for the Roman Republic to become the Roman Empire.  But the middle of March wasn't…