Attention all sun, sea and surf lovers! Welcome to the place that considers those three words the only three little words worth saying. This is where the vibe is cool, the living is easy and weekends are spent worshiping the holy trinity, beachside. The southernmost city in California, San Diego borders Mexico which gives the place a slightly transient feel, although as America’s eighth largest city, it is anything but. Made up of little neighborhoods, each has their own personality which gives a blended family feel. There’s Mission Beach, Little Italy, the Gaslamp Quarter, Downtown… all in all 17 neighborhoods range from quirky to cool result in a city which is much more than a sum of its parts. European settlers arrived in the mid-18th century although Iberian explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo claims to have discovered San Diego Bay in 1542, 200 years previously. Regardless of when the Europeans arrived, there is proof that Native Americans populated the land 12,000 years before, and a trip to the San Diego History Centre is both educational and inspirational. The town became part of the United States of America in 1848 (it had been under Mexican rule before that) and since then has carved out a niche for being “America’s finest city”, a moniker that you’ll see everywhere from t-shirts to bumper stickers. If it feels familiar, that’s because it is. Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe filmed Some Like It Hot here and the city’s slightly worn around but ever so glamourous feel has remained.