EUROQUEST SideTracks

See the full gallery on posterous Nothing better on a sunny Sunday than to escape San Diego's urban area and head 20 miles on I-5 in the direction of Los Angeles to the charming communities of San Diego's North County. Once past the Mormon Temple near La Jolla and the exclusive community of Del Mar, we reach SOLANA BEACH and Encinitas - perfect getaways for a day trip away from the city. Both boast gorgeous coastline and pristine beach areas, but it is the alternative charm of Encinitas that makes it stand out in Greater San Diego, and no better time to witness this than on a Sunday, when the seaside resort's FARMERS' MARKET is in full swing. Our first stop in Encinitas, however, is the San Diego Botanic Garden, formerly known as "QUAIL BOTANICAL GARDENS", a green sanctuary of over four miles of park and trails featuring more than 3300 varieties of plants including the nation's largest Bamboo collection. Admission is not cheap but helps to ensure surviv...

Visitors to San Diego will undoubtedly set foot onto the precious premises of Balboa Park - the green gem and natural retreat of San Diego, and among others, home to the world-famous San Diego Zoo. Yet Balboa Park has an infinite number of attractions, both well-publicized and hidden, and as such, tends to cater to visitors and locals alike. For that reason, Balboa Park constitutes a wonderful meeting point between visitors and locals, where the former become acquainted with true local Southern California hospitality and the latter engage in fruitful exchanges with a vast variety of cultural and artistic impulses in a spectacular and unique natural setting. For that reason, Balboa Park is a main tourist attraction and a treasure off the beaten track in its own right, combining the best of both, most of which is totally free of charge. For hiking, biking and other outdoor recreational activities, the part of Balboa Park located EAST of FLORIDA DRIVE, MORLEY FIELD, offers the best cond...