The French Market returned to San Diego’s bayfront this afternoon. The fun cultural event, organized by the French-American Chamber of Commerce of SoCal, was held outdoors at Lane Field Park. Its purpose was to celebrate French culture, flavors and innovation right here in San Diego, and to promote vibrant Franco-American business ties and cultural exchange.
I swung by to check it out!
Several vendors and organizations had canopies on the grass, and there was live music provided by Chloe Perrier & the French Heart Jazz Band, too!
Without further ado…
Versailles Café & Pastries had tasty crepes topped with strawberries and chocolate!The Alliance Française de San Diego offers French classes in La Jolla and Vista, and organizes social gatherings. Their French Literature & Arts Festival is coming October 2-4, 2025 in San Diego. More here.The San Diego French American School, in La Jolla, offers bilingual education from preschool through 8th grade.The mobile and online Clotilde French Bookstore had many books at their table!Author Claude Koehl’s book, The American Way of Life: The Foreigner’s Perspective, helps people understand cultural differences, using humor.Some smiling authors!Six Years of Absence is a novel based on French Sergeant Alexandre Rolland’s harrowing experiences during World War II. Written by Alain Rolland, his son.A good time in sunny San Diego.
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The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park was jammed with families as you can see from the following photographs. The community event was an early March preview of the 2025 Conrad Prebys 5th Anniversary Summer Season at this most amazing San Diego bayfront venue. If you’ve never had a chance to attend a concert at the Rady Shell, you are truly missing out.
When I came by, San Diego band Cassie B was up on the stage covering favorite songs from different decades and singing original compositions, too. I heard the music of Queen, Mariah Carey, Taylor Swift… Many in the audience were dancing, swaying, singing along!
During the big event other performers would include San Diego Symphony musicians and local band The Farmers. It was the perfect afternoon for an outdoor picnic!
Anyway, I was totally impressed by another San Diego Symphony production, as I always am. I couldn’t believe the massive crowd!
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
The Holiday Bowl was played yesterday in San Diego. It’s a time for family vacations–the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Passengers with rolling suitcases were boarding a cruise ship. No wonder so many people were walking along the Embarcadero this morning.
Wouldn’t you know, I took these photos under a gray overcast sky, and just as my walk ended the sun broke out and the sky turned bright blue. Not unusual in San Diego. Even in winter.
I began by walking north from the Broadway Pier…
I returned from the Star of India to the Broadway Pier, and will now proceed south…
The last old building at Navy Pier is being demolished, making way for Freedom Park. The almost 10-acre public park will be developed on the historic pier next to the USS Midway Museum.
New trees have been planted on the grassy lawn between the USS San Diego Memorial and the Embracing Peace statue of the Greatest Generation Walk.
Late Saturday morning, and the weekly Tuna Harbor Dockside Market was winding down.
A commercial fishing boat loads boxes of frozen bait.
This holiday season’s first ever “Downtown Skate” roller skating rink wasn’t open yet. The action would begin at noon behind the Marriott Marquis and Marina hotel.
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
A very unique sculpture can now be approached by the public on San Diego’s waterfront. More construction fences have come down at the new Research and Development District (RaDD) complex!
The Tower of Ten Billion Stars is another work of monumental art on what is called the RaDD Artwalk. You can spy the narrow oblong sculpture standing strangely on one end, by looking south from Broadway, east of Harbor Drive.
The creator of this shimmering “tower” is Lindy Lee, a Chinese-Australian artist. As its official description states here, it stands as both a beacon and wayfinder.
Hundreds of small holes in the sculpture’s side allow the passage of bright daylight. The holes shine like visible stars in a silvery sky. They seem to form constellations. Stars–like the North Star–have been wayfinders since ancient times, right?
I’m not sure why it’s a Tower of Ten Billion Stars. There are 100 to 400 billion stars in our own Milky Way galaxy. And there are between 100 billion and 2 trillion galaxies in the Universe.
Perhaps this curving tower is like a tiny, tiny, infinitesimal sliver of the inconceivably vast and mysterious Cosmos.
I walked around the sculpture this evening and took some photographs. I love those reflections of palm trees and nearby tall buildings!
(I also love how “beyond boundaries” can be read nearby. Astronomers can only theorize. The words are actually in reference to a World Design Capital event being held at RaDD.)
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
The cities of San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach and Coronado were all made more beautiful this morning! Volunteers with Operation Clean Sweep fanned out to pick up litter on each city’s waterfront!
I happened to stumble upon the above group this morning as I walked along downtown San Diego’s Embarcadero. They posed for a photo!
I learned there are numerous sponsors for the big annual clean up event, which is organized by the San Diego Working Waterfront. You can see all of the sponsors by checking out the Operation Clean Sweep website here. Some of the smiling volunteers I encountered are with Old Town Trolley Tours.
As a resident of downtown San Diego, lover of the city and avid walker, I want to thank everyone involved!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
More works of public art can be approached at San Diego’s waterfront RaDD complex now that additional construction fences have come down!
Back in mid-February I was able to photograph cool murals and a sculpture between new buildings south of here. See those photos and learn a little more about the Research and Development District (RaDD) by clicking here.
As before, I don’t know the artists. If you have any information, please leave a comment!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!
A new tree-filled, park-like space is coming to San Diego’s waterfront!
The Manchester Pacific Gateway project’s 1.9 acre plaza will be located west of the One Broadway Hotel, which is now in the early stages of construction. The sunny outdoor plaza will be open to the public, just across Harbor Drive from Broadway Pier.
A small army of workers was out today planting greenery in the new plaza. When completed, this popular stretch of the North Embarcadero should be even more inviting and beautiful!
The tall building you see in the background of my next photograph is one of five new buildings at the adjacent Research and Development District. I spotted more new public art at RaDD during today’s walk. I’ll be blogging about that shortly!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!
New public art has appeared at the RaDD (Research and Development District) complex that now rises on San Diego’s waterfront!
Sculptures and murals can be viewed by those walking along the Embarcadero among the five gleaming RaDD buildings where some construction fences have recently come down.
I was able to photograph the above sculpture and a long mural today during my walk near the USS Midway, the Greatest Generation Walk and Ruocco Park. I also spotted a water feature among plants and trees between the two southernmost buildings.
Another large red sculpture and another mural have also appeared among the buildings to the north, but construction fences still obstruct photography. I’ll try to provide more photos when those fences are removed.
I know nothing about the artists. If you have any interesting information, please leave a comment. If I learn anything further about this new public art in San Diego, I’ll post an update!
(Last November, I spotted a new mural at the north end of RaDD. See those photos here.)
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!
For well over a year, the Research and Development District (RaDD) has been rising on downtown San Diego’s waterfront. I’ve been watching the ongoing construction of this project and have posted photographs from time to time. In June I posted these.
I rode the Coronado ferry last weekend and got a good look at how San Diego’s skyline has been altered by RaDD, as seen from across the bay. (The above photo shows the long Tuna Harbor pier in the foreground.)
RaDD is a project of IQHQ. It’s described as a life science district–five new buildings occupying six city blocks–the largest urban commercial waterfront site on the West Coast. It appears to be nearing completion.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!
The Serpent Tree has vanished from Waterfront Park! The big, colorful sculpture by famous artist Niki de Saint Phalle has been put into storage, I’ve been told.
The north half of Waterfront Park is being redeveloped. A dog park, basketball and pickleball courts, and other recreational facilities will soon be built. Will the amazing Serpent Tree reappear in the park? I haven’t yet heard what its fate will be.
Today I noticed a banner on the construction fence describing the project. It shows how this part of Waterfront Park will eventually appear.
If you’d like to view photos of Serpent Tree shortly after it was installed in 2015, click here!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 