Kicking Off December in San Diego

I was in San Diego for the first two weeks of December for work. It really made it feel like I skipped a large chunk of time for holiday preparation and festivities. During any time off from work I tried to squeeze in some festive fun. Mr X even made a whirlwind trip just for the weekend to see me. 

We happened to be in San Diego during the weekend of "December Nights". It's a holiday event that they do in Balboa Park every year for one weekend. Lots of vendors, holiday shops, free access to the museums, Christmas music, lights and performances. We showed up right when it opened because we didn't want to have to deal with parking problems or drive in traffic. Our plan worked.

 

The architecture of the buildings in Balboa Park is beautiful.

Behind that giant tree is an enormous pipe organ that was played later. In this photo a bunch of little kids are dressed up and singing Christmas songs & doing dances.

The Arboretum at Balboa Park.

The Old Globe Theater's Grinch Tree.

We checked out the Museum of Natural History. It was great fun!

Mr X's older brother came down from LA to visit us while we were in town. It was really nice to see him. He came to December Nights with us.

The food highlight of the evening was a food stand called "Sweiners". I suppose that's is a combination of Swiss and Weiners. Mr X and I have had something similar to this before in Vienna several years back. I remembered them being really yummy so we decided to see how these fared in comparison.

Basically they take a half of a mini baguette, punch a hole in it, fill that hole up with melted Swiss Raclette/Gruyere cheeses, stuff a roasted sausage in and then put a pump or two of mustard on the top. They are so, so delicious. I will admit that the ones we had in Vienna were better, but these certainly were not far behind.