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    Home ยป Travel

    Exploring Downtown San Jose, California

    Published: Apr 8, 2013 by Jennifer ยท This post may contain affiliate links ยท 17 Comments

    953 shares

    As much as I love attending brand meetings, I usually find that I do not have any time to explore the cities I am visiting. When I visited St Louis to meet with Purina last week, our trip was so quick that I only saw our hotel and the Purina Headquarters. Back in January, when I covered the North American International Auto Show for another blogger, my hotel was in the airport, and I only saw the convention center where the auto show was being held and three locations we visited as part of our trip. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not complaining - but it's so nice when you go somewhere on business and you actually get to explore a bit of the city around you while you are there!

    I just returned home from a trip to meet with a brand that I am going to be working with - I will be making that announcement in a few days - and my hotel was right in the middle of Downtown San Jose in California.

    I have never been to San Jose before, so I was really excited when I saw that we were in a great location and that my schedule actually allowed me to do a bit of exploring before and after our meetings each day!

    The Hotel De Anza

    historical hotel de anza san jose california

    The Hotel De Anza was spectacular, I really couldn't have been happier with my stay there! It was centrally located just about a block and a half away from San Pedro Square, the guest rooms were lovely and the onsite restaurant, La Pastaia, was amazing!

    I went out to to dinner with an old friend who recently moved to San Jose on Friday night and her husband told me that the hotel was supposed to be of some historical significance. Of course, as soon as I boarded my flight home on Saturday and connected to wifi, I looked it up!

    Hotel De Azna was built on February 26, 1931 - right during the middle of the Great Depression - and was one of the only first class hotels in San Jose.ย Developers originally wanted to call the hotel The San Jose Hotel but ultimately named it Hotel De Anza after Juan Bautista de Anza,ย the explorer who discovered the Santa Clara Valley in 1776.

    La Pastaia Restaurant

    la pastaia restaurant in hotel de anza san jose

    Located on the lobby level of the Hotel De Anza, La Pastaia Restaurant was incredibly convenient and we dined there for dinner the first night, had breakfast there each morning, and a few friends and I had a light dinner there before we left town on Friday afternoon.

    I loved their menu; with everything from cheese plates to side dishes to share, gourmet entrees and crafted beers, there was something for everyone on the menu! My favorite was the pan roasted balsamic glazed salmon with fennel salad - though the Osso Bucco my friend had looked amazing!

    San Pedro Square

    san pedro square in downtown san jose california

    San Pedro Square was pretty awesome, the only thing it was missing was boutiques and shops (hint, hint, San Pedro Square, get on that!). It reminded me of our own Coconut Grove at home, with little cafes and wine bars - it was just lacking the shopping aspect.

    I kept finding myself on San Pedro Square every time I had a few hours to kill - which was every single morning because I was still on East coast time and woke up at 4 AM, and could only entertain myself in my room for so long!

    San Pedro Square also has quite a bit of history...and it made an excellent backdrop for my new business card photo! With a few hours to kill on Friday afternoon, some friends and I staged a mini photo session on the corner. Big thanks to Jennifer Leal at SavoringtheThyme.com for playing photographer for me!

    SONY DSC

    Of course I had to get silly too...now I'm torn between these two photos for my new business cards!

    Just kidding. I am obviously going to use this one that shows off my awesome butt boots! ๐Ÿ˜‰

    therebelchick in san jose

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    953 shares

    About Jennifer

    Jennifer, AKA "The Rebel Chick," is a 40-something Gen Xer who strives to help her readers live their best lives possible with easy recipes, travel inspiration and lifestyle tips!

    Comments

    1. Alison says

      April 08, 2013 at 11:05 am

      I love how colorful that restaurant is! Oooh... and I'll say it again. You look AHmazing!

    2. Stephanie says

      April 08, 2013 at 2:54 pm

      Im so glad I went across this post, my husband is going to San Jose next week for work Im going to tell him to check out that restaurant because it looks like something that he would love!!

    3. Jennifer says

      April 08, 2013 at 3:49 pm

      I've been to San Jose a couple times, but I've never stayed there. That hotel looks great and so do you!

    4. Liz says

      April 08, 2013 at 6:33 pm

      You are making me want to visit there immediately, and how cute are you?!

    5. Jennifer Quillen says

      April 08, 2013 at 8:16 pm

      You're too sweet! ๐Ÿ™‚ It was a long few days of meetings, it was fun to act silly and blow off some steam!

    6. Jennifer Quillen says

      April 08, 2013 at 8:39 pm

      It was REALLY, REALLY good! If he likes pasta, tell him to try the brown butter ravioli with fried sage! My friend ordered it and let me taste it - it was amazing!

    7. Jennifer Quillen says

      April 08, 2013 at 8:40 pm

      You're making me blush! LOL ๐Ÿ™‚

    8. Donna says

      April 09, 2013 at 8:14 pm

      Looks like a great place! And YOU are just too cute! I love the bottom pic!

    9. Nichol says

      April 10, 2013 at 10:26 am

      I have never been anywhere in Cali. Looks like you stayed in a great place and you are absolutely beautiful!!

    10. Jennifer Quillen says

      April 10, 2013 at 3:59 pm

      You're making me blush!! Thank you! ๐Ÿ™‚ It's been a long road but the results are definitely worth it. ๐Ÿ˜‰

    11. courtney says

      April 10, 2013 at 9:15 pm

      You look fabulous and I would love to go to Cali!!

    12. Toni says

      April 12, 2013 at 7:27 am

      I love every single photo in this post. I want to go and explore San Jose. Love that restaurant!!!

    13. Toni says

      April 12, 2013 at 7:28 am

      I love every single photo in this post. I want to go and explore San Jose. Love that restaurant!!!

    14. Stefanie says

      April 12, 2013 at 8:15 am

      You look great, Jenn!

    15. Colleen says

      April 13, 2013 at 8:47 pm

      LOL, you look great! I love when I actually have time to explore. I don't do much traveling anymore it is just to hard on the family.

    16. Anne - Mommy Has to Work says

      April 14, 2013 at 6:52 pm

      You look great! I would love to travel more!

    17. TG62mile says

      September 13, 2013 at 9:13 am

      Hello Jennifer.

      Your pictures are very nice!
      Those are very very good.

      I am going to visit to Torrance in California next week.
      I guess that I will visit to San Pedro Square because I got inspirations from your pictures.

      Thanks,

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    Hi, I'm Jennifer! I'm a Miami native and I love sharing easy dinner recipes, baking recipes, travel ideas and general Miami Lifestyle fun! Follow along for inspiration on how to make the most of your life!

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