great cosmetic surgery
by bestfaceever
My best friend and my daughters have gone to T.J. for plastic surgery! We come in before noon check in at the Doctors office, get the tests done, and take a cab to the beautiful and friendly Lucerna Hotel. We spend the evening in our room, the food is great, maybe stop by the bar in the hotel for a drink. We do not "wakl the streets" buying things we don't need. Next day surgery, spend the night in the hospital a night or two, then take a cab across the border to our waiting car in a safe lot. We don't have problems because we don't mil around at night, we don't drive over and we don't go shopping. With the Internet we can shop or if we need an antibiotic we can stop and buy it at a drug store on the way to the border. No problems just great cosmetic surgery!!! Having the pleasure of looking 15 years younger! And the great room service and food at the Lucerna hotel, we are going again it's been three years now, in April. Same Doctor same hospital and same hotel.
A food and wine guide to Northern Baja
by aatkin
I am always amazed at the attitudes that visitors to Southern California have about Baja Mexico. So many people are either just plain afraid or view the area as one vast tourist trap.
If you visit this area on a whim without any advance planning, then your trip probably will be a disappointing one. Furthermore, if you are not willing to get off the beaten path and to try some more authentic experiences (i.e. eating from taco stands and small local restaurants), it is also not worth the trouble.
However.....if you have an adventurous spirit and you want to truly feel like you have left the U.S., this is entirely possible in Baja. There is some fantastic food available and believe it or not, some great wine as well.
Contrary to the advice of most web guides and tour books, I strongly recommend driving if you are going to visit Baja. Most of the interesting places are not walking distance from the border and I feel strongly that the freedom of having your own car makes up for any downside. Of course, you must make sure that you get Mexican auto insurance (which is normally like $15 a day) and also make sure if you are renting, that the rental company allows you to drive in Mexico.
Your first stop will be Tijuana. In my view Tijuana is great for places to eat and also to shop.
One of my favorite places in Tijuana is the Mercado Hidalgo, which is located at Av. Independencia and Sanchez Taboada. This is an open air fruit and vegetable market. There also are stores that sell amazing pinatas, Mexican candies and Mexican house wares. There also are a few good restaurants there. I love to go the Mercado in the morning. My visit there is never complete without a stop at El Rincon del Oro for birria. Birria is a goat soup that is just fantastic. Don't be put off by the goat thing. This is great stuff!
Here is a link describing the Mercado Hidalgo:
http://www.sdreader.com/php/bestshow.php3?year=2000&id=64
This link from the L.A. Times gives a great itinerary on how to spend a day in Tijuana:
http://www.latimes.com/la-061202tijuana,0,7035826.story
For a hotel to stay at, I loved the Hotel Lucerna. It has a very nice pool and is in a great location.
REST OF BAJA
This is just my opinion, but I am not a big fan of Rosarito Beach. It just feels way too Americanized for my taste. I think Ensenada is a much more interesting place to stay. However, on the main road out of town, there are a bunch of nice furniture stores and arts and crafts stores.
If you are in Rosarito and are hungry, stop at Yaqui Tacos
(One block off Rosarito's main street at the south end of town. Turn east onto the side street directly across from Festival Plaza's parking lot; Yaqui is on the first corner). This is the place for carne asada tacos. Make sure to get some of the free grilled jalapenos. Open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
On the trip down to Ensenada, in my view, stopping at Puerto Nuevo for Mexican style lobster is a must do. It has become quite touristy, but it still really is unique and a nice place to stop on the way down to Ensenada.
Here is a link to a good guide, with specific restaurant recommendations there:
http://www.bajalife.com/bordercrossing/dininglobster.html
As an alternative to Puerto Nuevo, and if you truly want to see something authentic, go to the Popotla Fishing Village, described here:
http://www.sdreader.com/php/bestshow.php3?year=2000&id=76
Ensenada
Ensenada is such an interesting place. I tend to use the city as a base for visiting all of the amazing wineries in the Valle de Guadulpe area. Mexican wine is such an undiscovered secret right now. The quality of some of the wines is just amazing, especially the merlots and cabernets.
A great place to get your introduction to Mexican wines is at Sede Vino. You can taste almost every Mexican wine here, and they have nice food and atmosphere as well. They also are super friendly. They are located almost exactly across the street from Hussongýs at 138 Av. Ruiz. Here is their web site:
http://www.ensenada.airseago.com/sedevino/
Also worth a stop for wine shopping (and also for their art) is La Esquina de Bodegas, Avenida Miramar at Calle 7.
For food, it really is worthwhile to eat along the water and have some fish tacos and ceviche. My strategy is to always go with the place that is the most crowded.
For a place way off the beaten path, try El Taco de Huitzilopochtli. They serve food from the Aztec region of Mexico. It is so homey feeling and I promise there will not be an American for miles. Very very unique place. Only open Sat and Sun, 9 to 5. It is located at Ave de las rosas 5 and Col. valle verde. To get there, take Ave. Reforma north from the Juarez statue for 1.6 miles; rt on calle ambar, take it to its end, then turn left, go two blocks, make another left.
Wineries
Most of the wineries are about a 30-40 minute drive from Ensenada, in the Valle de Guadalupe.
If you are interested in visiting some of the wineries, you may want to ask the staff in Sede Vino for help in arranging a visit. One of my favorite wineries in Case de Piedra. They only see people by appointment, so see if the nice people at Sede Vino can arrange a visit for you.
Other wineries to visit include Monte Xanic and Chateau Camou. Both of these places have stellar wines and I have never needed an appointment to visit on a weekend.
For a more touristy winery (but with a good gift shop) and lots of selections, head to L.A. Cetto.
If you would like to stay overnight on a winery, there is new bed and breakfast that has opened. Here is the link:
http://www.adobeguadalupe.com/html/welcome.html
Well, I hope this gave you some good ideas of places to go in Baja. If you need more restaurant suggestions, here is a great link:
http://www.sdreader.com/php/rrglist.php3?area=11
Please contact me with comments or suggestions.
A food guide to Tijuana
by aatkin
I am always amazed at the attitudes that visitors to Southern California have about Baja Mexico. So many people are either just plain afraid or view the area as one vast tourist trap.
If you visit this area on a whim without any advance planning, then your trip probably will be a disappointing one. Furthermore, if you are not willing to get off the beaten path and to try some more authentic experiences (i.e. eating from taco stands and small local restaurants), it is also not worth the trouble.
However…..if you have an adventurous spirit and you want to truly feel like you have left the U.S., this is entirely possible in Baja. There is some fantastic food available and believe it or not, some great wine as well.
Contrary to the advice of most web guides and tour books, I strongly recommend driving if you are going to visit Baja. Most of the interesting places are not walking distance from the border and I feel strongly that the freedom of having your own car makes up for any downside. Of course, you must make sure that you get Mexican auto insurance (which is normally like $15 a day) and also make sure if you are renting, that the rental company allows you to drive in Mexico.
Your first stop will be Tijuana. In my view Tijuana is great for places to eat and also to shop.
One of my favorite places in Tijuana is the Mercado Hidalgo, which is located at Av. Independencia and Sanchez Taboada. This is an open air fruit and vegetable market. There also are stores that sell amazing piñatas, Mexican candies and Mexican house wares. There also are a few good restaurants there. I love to go the Mercado in the morning. My visit there is never complete without a stop at El Rincon del Oro for birria. Birria is a goat soup that is just fantastic. Don’t be put off by the goat thing. This is great stuff!
Here is a link describing the Mercado Hidalgo:
http://www.sdreader.com/php/bestshow.php3?year=2000&id=64
This link from the L.A. Times gives a great itinerary on how to spend a day in Tijuana:
http://www.latimes.com/la-061202tijuana,0,7035826.story
For a hotel to stay at, I loved the Hotel Lucerna. It has a very nice pool and is in a great location.
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