Carlsbad, Ca. lodging at the Homewood Suites, Dining at Buca di Beppa and Legoland attraction (7/13)
About a 90 minute drive south of Los Angeles is the nice town of Carlsbad. When searching for a place to stay, we found the quaint Homewood suites perfectly located for our journey. Since this was a family trip, having a suite is the ideal way to travel so you can put the little ones down to bed at night and not be in the dark while you are in the other room They provide a pull out couch-bed and the rooms were very clean and impressive.
The hotel offers a complimentary breakfast with many choices, a fitness room, outdoor pool that was kept about 80 degrees and free business center and wi-fi. The staff were very friendly and hospitable and Legoland was within 10 minutes driving. We spent one day at the beautiful La Costa resort checking out the qualifying of the So Cal Open (the WTA Professional Women’s Tennis Tournament). To find out more about this hotel and other Homewood suites, go to http://www.homewoodcarlsbad.com/
From there we were hungry so no better place to go was Buca di Beppa about 5 minutes from there. If you have never been, it is worth the visit. The decor is very neat with red booths, tables and a multitude of framed photos on all the walls. This is a great family friendly restaurant where the small portions are huge and enough to split a few ways. They have all types of pastas with a variety of sauces, veggies and proteins from chicken, meatballs, veal and seafood. The pizza was crunchy and delicious. Be careful not to overeat, as it is very plentiful. Our waiter Dan was very helpful and courteous as we indulged in multiple outstanding dishes from appetizers- calamari fritti, caprese salad (mozzarella cheese with tomato and basil) and the mixed salad with apples, cheese, walnuts and cranberries. For entrees, we had with the classic spaghetti and meatballs (kid’s favorite), their new macaroni paste with chicken in a spicy rosa sauce and the linguine with mixed seafood in a spicy red sauce. If you have any room for dessert, try the tiramisu or canollis before hobbling out of the restaurant. They have many locations so don’t miss this fun place with very good food. http://www.bucadibeppo.com/locations/rp_restaurant_carlsbad_ca.aspx
On our last day before we headed back, we went to Legoland to experience their aquarium and fun amusement park. In the afternoon, we went to their water park for the first time and they had an assortment of water slides, pools and other attractions but the one thing it lacked was better organization and knowledgeable staff. More at www.legoland.com