Balboa Park, San Diego, California

Balboa Park in San Diego, California is amazing. It has a park, a garden, a museum, a zoo, historical buildings, all located in one place. The area was dedicated in the Nineteenth Century as a park, and in 1915-1916 it was the location of the Panama-California Exposition (first World's Fair). The California Dome (which houses the Museum of Man) was erected for the exposition.

The architecture of the park's buildings reminded me of Stanford University. When I mentioned this to The Professor, he commented that both 'campuses' were built in the same era so it is not surprising that they would be similar in style.

We passed the Botanical Garden on our way to visit the Museum of Man. We misread the sign as 'fee entry' instead of 'free entry' so we did not go in until just before closing time at 4pm when we walked by again and correctly read the sign. We did a really quick tour of the building and promised ourselves we'd return when we had more time.

There are 35 of these little 'houses' in the International Houses Park, each one featuring a country of the world. They are open only on Sundays, so we were not able to do more than walk around and peek in the windows.

Thirteen museums, a replica of The Old Globe theatre, Casa del Prado theater (MamaMia said she saw the Nutcracker there last December), many parks, walking trails, and gardens!

There is just so very much to see at Balboa Park! You can click on the link and read more about this incredible park in the middle of San Diego.

I think the next time we go to visit MamaMia, we will need at least a week in San Diego to explore the 1,200 acres of Balboa Park. The Professor says we can buy a pass that allows us to visit all thirteen museums in a seven day period. And for a little more we can get passes to the San Diego Zoo, too. Two museums a day for seven days, he says...