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| Written by Julia Simms | |
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Fox Studios Originally built for the 20th Century Fox epic, Titanic, Fox Studios Baja is a 40-acre, completely self-contained production facility. The stages and filming tanks, some of the largest in the world, are complemented by on-lot production offices, scenery shops, dressing rooms and wardrobe facilities. Unobstructed views of the ocean, a combined tank volume of over 20 million gallons and a modern filtration plant capable of delivering 9,000 gallons of filtered sea water per minute, make Fox Studios Baja the premiere facility for water-related work of any kind. It features more than 2,000 feet of Pacific Ocean frontage, an indoor tank with capacity over 4.3 million gallons, and 70,000 square feet of enclosed stage space and over 90,000 square feet of additional workshop space. The Actors' Building is on premises. Movies filmed at this studio include Pearl Harbor, Tomorrow Never Dies, Jackass production with MTV and more. Production companies like MGM, DreamWorks, Warner Brothers, Disney Touchstone, and Miramax-Universal among others have all filmed at Fox Studios Baja. For more information visit http://www.bajastudios.com/ . Guadalupe Valley Wineries Gaudalupe Valley in northern Baja is about 10 km north of Ensenada and 15 km from San Antonia de las Minas. The wineries are scattered around the towns of San Antonio de las Minas and Francisco Zarco off Mexico's Highway 3. Some offer personal tours that end with tastings of specialty blends in the winemaker's own kitchen. Others, like L.A. Cetto and Vinos Domecq, can accommodate busloads of visitors with hourly tours and picnic tables. Some of the wines you can expect to find include: 2007 Chardonnay, which tastes more like a Chenin Blanc with no obvious oak and plenty of ripe fruit and mineral flavors that enhance the wine; 2007 Sauvignon Blanc: Lemon lime nose and flavors without grassiness or grapefruit; 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon: Citrus quality (like Argentina), mid-weight, slightly sweet, soft tannins with no tobacco or leather flavors, no big oak--akin to the Tres Mujeres Cabernet. The best quality of these three wines is that the wines seem terrain-driven. Not trying to be something else from some other place. Chenin Blanc, Colombard, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay grapes are cultivated primarily for making excellent white wines, while Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Grenache, Carignan, Barbera, Nebbiolo and Zinfandel are used for making the award-winning reds. Visit www.discoverbajacalifornia.com for more information or go to http://www.enjoyensenada.com/english/wineries.jsp for location details. Historic Missions Explore the historical background of Spanish missions with details concerning the founding of each mission, its Indian population and other key facts. Take away a rich part of California history and insightful knowledge of this region’s past. The largest mission and one of the most beautiful is San Jose de Comondu, which is now partially fallen but has been virtually recreated in realistic computer-generated drawings picturing the site circa 1800, before the decline of the Indian population forced the desertion of this Shangri-La. The most well known mission is San Javier de Viggé-Biaundó, nicknamed the "jewel" of the missions of Baja California. It is reminiscent of the many portraits one sees of Baja missions. To discover the pre-Hispanic and colonial past of the peninsula visit the main missionary sites. For further details go to http://www.questconnect.org/baja_california_missions.htm . Museums and Art Galleries The shopping area along the scenic highway through Rosarito has several art galleries, Internet cafes, and department stores that sell popular product brands. The Plaza Pueblo shopping center houses a spa, an arts and crafts shop, a cigar shop, a furniture shop, and a leather coat and jacket workshop. The arts and crafts market along the main street has more than 200 shops that sell jewelry, arts and crafts, rock art, leather and bone artifacts. The Arts and Crafts Corridor in Rosarito's manufacturing zone features an extensive collection of original Mexican furniture, iron works, arts and crafts, hand-crafted wood pieces, vases, marble, mosaic, and other decorative objects. With so many museums and art galleries in the state of Baja you are sure to never run out of interesting thing to see. In Ensenada alone there are twelve different museums and galleries, such as the Museum of History (Museo de Historia), The Regional History Museum (Museo Historico Regional) and the Galeria de Perez Meillon featuring authentic Paipai and Kumiai Indian crafts. The Ex-Aduana Maritima showcases cultural and historical exhibits displayed in one of the oldest buildings in town, the former Maritime Customs House. The Science Museum ("Caracol" Museo de Ciencias) features interesting exhibition halls dedicated to astronomy, physics, paleontology and the marine sciences of Baja California; the most popular among youngsters is the Noah’s Ark exhibit. The Mati Ransenberg's Gallery (La Galeria de Mati 2000) encompasses thirty years and hundreds of paintings in German Expressionistic styles. Located in Ejido Esteban Cantu on the road to La Bufadora in Punta Banda stands the Art Gallery/Studio Los Arcos that offers original paintings, sculptures and fine and decorative arts by Baja California artists. Another unique museum in Baja is Museo Comunitario del Valle de Guadalupe, an intriguing exhibition of Russian pioneer memorabilia and local Indian crafts displayed in a curious Russian home dating from 1905. For more information visit http://www.enjoyensenada.com/ . Gourmet dining From Tijuana to Los Cabos a multitude of restaurants of all sorts and varieties may be found, making dining in Baja California truly an adventure. In Baja California you can expect to find a slew of Mexican restaurants all over the peninsula. Mexican cuisine is known for its colorful, fresh ingredients and flavorful taste which makes it a favorite of both children and adults of all nationalities. And since you are in Mexico, you are sure to be served authentic Mexican dishes, many of which in fact may be made from traditional family recipes passed from generation to generation. Seafood restaurants are also very popular in Baja California. This is not so very surprising because of the fact that the peninsula is located between two bountiful bodies of water, the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Sea of Cortez on the eastern coast. Tuna, crab, salmon, squid, clams, octopus, manta ray, lobster, and caviar are just some of the staple seafood ingredients served as grills, stews, steaks and soups in the many seafood restaurants of Baja California. For those craving for Italian, Chinese, American, Spanish, Japanese or other international cuisines, you are also guaranteed to find plenty of restaurants that serve them all over the peninsula. Baja currently boast more than 100 restaurants in the city serving authentic Mexican dishes as well as international cuisines. There are also several bakeries, cafés, delis, pastry shops, wine shops, bars and even food markets in every city and municipality of Baja California. Baja California's deserts also provide Baja restaurants with unique ingredients to cook and serve up to their customers. Where else in the world can you order a cactus salad, grilled cactus or a fish and cactus salad than in Baja California restaurants and other dining places. For additional information go to http://www.baja.com/city-guides/rosarito/restaurants/ . Golf Courses The two most popular golf courses near Baja California are the Real Del Mar Golf Resort and the Bajamar Ocean Front Resort. Real Del Mar, featuring scenic views of the Pacific Ocean and the Coronado Islands, is 20 minutes south of the U.S. border on the scenic road between Tijuana and Rosarito. It features a par 72, 18-hole golf course that spans 6,400 yards, interspersed with six lakes. Real Del Mar presents challenging canyon-style golf for veterans as well as novice players. The resort offers golf sessions for beginners and private lessons for adults, teens, and children. It holds regular tournaments throughout the year, accommodating 60 to more than 100 players at each tournament. It also offers corporate services such as organizing golf tournaments for companies, taking care of prizes as well as meals. The rate for an 18-hole game is $69 USD Monday through Thursday and $89 USD Friday through Sunday. A twilight rate, lower by more than $30 USD, is offered starting at 2 p.m. Senior citizens (60 years old and above) can take advantage of a 45 percent discount. The Bajamar Golf Resort is south of Rosarito and dubbed the Pebble Beach of Mexico. It features a 27-hole course with Scottish-style links with three combinations of play: Lagos/Vista par 71, Vista/Oceano par 72, and Oceano/Lagos par 71. The Vista and Lagos courses were first designed in 1970 and later redesigned in 1991 while the Oceano course was created in 1996. Rates for an 18-hole game are $75 USD Monday through Thursday, $99 USD Friday through Saturday, and $89 USD Sunday. A twilight rate is offered after 3 p.m. in the winter and after 4 p.m. in the summer. For more details go to http://www.baja.com/city-guides/rosarito/golf/ . |