At the Montage in South Laguna

We met our good friends Harvey and Yuliya and her mom who was visiting from St. Petersburg, Russia for drinks and a light lunch on the patio. It was our first time there and we were stunned by the beautiful vegetation and scenery created there!!!

California!

Just returned from a whirlwind 9 days in our old homestate. There is no place like it.

More pics to come soon.

80's Party... Munich style

Carlo and I got all dolled up for an 80's Party / 30 Birthday party for one of his co-workers this past Saturday.

Our Attic Project

Just wanted to share a few pics of our newly arranged upstairs, with my work area, as well as a silly attempt at a self portrait with the self timer. :-)

This project-to use the upstairs in a smarter way-has been a never-ending struggle! Since the ceilings are so slanted, it's been hard to find the right configuration.
In order to make good use of the natural light and to have a comfy place to read we moved the dryer and cabinets in the dark corner under the roof next to the stairs.

Fuerteventura-mountain trek

Our mountainbike trek took us through some pretty vast, open spaces. All you could here were the waves in the distance, pounding ashore, an occasional goat, and the ever-present wind. Amazing.

After 12 km we had reached a fork in the road and realized that we would not have the strength to bike the last 8 km to the tip of the island without running the risk of not making it back! We tied up the bikes to a sign and got a ride from a really nice older couple (in their rental car) who were nice enough to take us down and back up to the bikes. Without them, whose names we never knew, we would have not seen the pounding surf and lighthouse... :-) A very welcome solution to our dilemma!

Fuerteventura-snapshots

One week of sun, sand and wind:Fuerteventura!

The week in Fuerteventura turned out to be a very timely spring-getaway from the weather in Europe. From the far eastern plains in Russia, where Carlo was visting his brother, to the western parts of Holland - the winter swept over Europe with one last blanket of snow and ice. Almost to say "I'm down but not out - not yet". By the time we returned to Munich all snow had vanished and we were greeted by temps in the high 60's.

Fuerteventura surprised with the total lack of vegetation. There were a few minute and very determined spring flowers peeking out between the rocks, yet besides a few bushes nothing would ever have a chance to grow in such a dry climate. Almost as in California-all palm trees and other large tropical vegetation had to be irrigated..even some of the cacti we saw along the highway, which were planted there, did not survive...

Located off the coast of Morokko and West Sahara you wouldn't expect anything less, I suppose. This said, the sun was something we completely underestimated and were rewarded with being burnt to a crisp. My legs earned the knickname "Glowsticks" because they seemed to glow in the dark!!! (At least the sunburn made it feel like that).

Overall, the island is governed by water and wind. Perfect for sailing and windsurfing. The kitesurfers were all in the north of the island and we didn't see a single one, as we inhabited the most southern part. The wind proved too much for some of the tourist-rented catamarans and quite a few tipped over...which was almost painful to watch, as many of the people inside had a hard time getting the mast out of the water again!

We opted for renting mountainbikes and took a 25km bike ride over the hills en route to the southern tip of the island. We were told it was a level, easy ride. HA! Maybe for someone who is in peak physical condition!!! It was a strenous, yet beautiful day!

Easter Greetings!

Wishing you all a very happy Easter Sunday! Carlo and I will be spending the day in very different ways, as he is spending time in St.Petersburg with his brother and I will be en route to Fuerteventura, Spain to spend a week with friends!

Wherever you are, hope you will have a happy day!!!

Ganzirri, sunset over the mussle pond

On the way back to Messina, we passed the half sweet-half salty pond where thousands of mussles are being grown. The pond is fed by a channel to the open sea. The light was amazing!!

Last light at Carlo's beach

On our way home we stopped at the beach in front of Carlo's parents summer house. We could see Stromboli in the distance, slowing coughing up white smoke from its belly.
There were little flowers covering many of the dune-like areas. Overall, Sicily was full of flowering trees and shrubs. Little white and yellow flowers were covering the hillsides and greeting us from the smallest crevices.

Oh, and another cheesy attempt at taking a picture of ourselves - with our huge sunglasses on... i promise... no more !!! :-)