An old friend of mine, who has an insatiable penchant for travel, once disclosed to me his methodology for discovering the ‘character’ of a city. According to him, every city, however large or small, has its own signature hidden in its cuisines, how people relate to each other, the sounds and smells in the streets and its nightlife.

He makes it a rule to spend at least one night out in every new city he visits, either taking in the theatre, bar-hopping or just rounding up the nightclubs. And his favorite? He didn’t sound so sure. I queried him specifically on San Diego since I had spent a couple of weekends there ages ago, and was keen about getting an expert’s opinion.

“Oh… San Diego,” he replied with a dreamy look in his eyes. “The adult playground. San Diego nightlife has come into its own—big time! The real places are those where the celebrities hang out until late after midnight.”

I made a mental note of that for my next visit to San Diego. You never know, I might just bump into Beyonce.