There is a “value added’ benefit to blogging. Sometimes favorite blogger friends unwittingly act as travel advisers. That’s what Cindy Knoke of http://cindyknoke.com did for me. If you haven’t visited her blog, plan to join the hundreds who recognize her photos from “The Holler” as fabulous, and her photos from her travels as worthy of National Geographic attention.
Anyway, Cindy once did a post on San Diego’s Spanish Village and I knew I had to go there and yes, I was there just a few weeks ago!
The Spanish Village Art Center is a courtyard collection of quaint structures built in 1935 for the second California Pacific International Exposition.
The idea was to depict an old village in Spain and the results were so popular and so beautiful that the village was allowed to remain when the exposition ended.
I can certainly see why because today the Village is still the “stuff of dreams.” First taken over by local artists it transitioned to a barracks during World War II, and finally determined artists restored it to what it is today.
There are 37 working artist studios/galleries that host over 200 local painters, sculptors, metalsmiths, jewelry designers, clay artists, gourd artists, photographers, printmakers, fiber artists, basket makers, mixed media artists, glass artists, enamel artists and more.
If I lived in San Diego, I know I would be spending days there for peaceful wandering and enjoying the enormous collection of talent and maybe even taking classes myself.
Thanks Cindy for the phenomenal travel tip! The Village is definitely worth seeing!
Virginia Views 