Corona del Mar, the beautiful

Just a few more shots while waiting for Björg to pick me up to go spend the afternoon at Crystal Cove! CdM is a jewel!

See's Candies!

I couldn't remember seeing these trees last time... They were beautiful.

Lobster season begins!

We were lucky enough to be in town for the beginning of lobster season! Yay!

On Thursday morning Anna and I made the trip to Pearson's Port Fish Market and purchased 6 lobsters! We had them sliced and grilled them slowly over open coals. A little bit of melted butter... and prego! YUM!!!

That's a lot of lobster...and six for us!

numero uno...

So glad we didn't have to kill them ourselves!

Just being giddy...

Before...

The shells were so beautifully textured and covered in tiny hairs. Beautiful.

and after...

Buon appetito!

Dinner with Anna, Joan and Marilyn

Wednesday night we met up with Kerry's mom Joan and his sister in-law Marilyn. We had a great dinner at El Ranchito's Mexican restaurant. Even though Carlo was a bit bummed about his shrimp Quesadillas, the Guacamole made up for it. It was great seeing Joan and Marilyn again!

Big beach, Corona del Mar, CA

"Our old beach" and view from Inspiration Point. It just does not get better than this!!!
Carlo went for evening runs up and down the beach. It was great!

Sushi at Gen Kai with Anna and Kerry

It was time again for a super deeelish dinner at GenKai Sushi in Corona del Mar. I wish I could turn back time... So fun!

Special Cucumber Roll!!!

Carlo is wearing the almost obligatory "sushi jacket" again!!!

Kerry and Anna with Yellowtail Sashimi!

Group shot!

Laguna Beach with Cambria and Hadley

My good friend Cambria and I met up in Laguna Beach for a few hours of shopping, catching up and enjoying some "gelato paradiso":-)

Hadley had grown so much! It was great seeing the both of them.

Crystal Cove

The - oh - so- wonderful - Crystal Cove beach!!! A place for cleansing, reflection and relaxation.
To me, it's almost a spiritual place. These pictures were taken between 7:30 and 8:15 in the morning. With a cup of joe in hand I set off for a morning walk. Just like the old days... It was glorious! Take a look around!

The hills of the park were quite brown and dry. At the beginning of my walk I saw a little rabbit which discovered the guest showers as a source for a morning drink. While rinsing off my feet at the end of my walk I wondered if it would be back after I left...

This little guy seemed to only have one leg. :-(


Sandpiper, Pelicans and Fishing Boat

Love the little seafoam bubbles in the background...

This stretch of the beach usually had the biggest waves...

The surf had washed these huge mussels ashore. Look at the size of these things!

Two surfers braving the early morning waves...

Trip to California

Carlo and I took a whirlwind trip to California last week and we have to say that it was impossible to see all of our friends and we ask them to forgive us if we weren't able to meet up.

Carlo actually worked 4 days of the week from the Newport Beach PIMCO office, which only left the evenings to see family and friends.

Carlo's cousing Andy and his wife Kacey welcomed their little girl Amelie to the world and by now she was already 10 months old! Such a little doll. :-)

Trip to Texas

I took a 10 day trip to Texas, which was soo very nice and relaxing. The weather truly displayed its entire repertoire. Sun, rain, wind, thunder, lightning, fog, heat... And one beautiful sunset.

As usual the wildlife wasn't far off and besides the many deer- I saw a snake, tree frog, monarch catterpillar and heard a screech owl. My mom and I set off for Austin a few times and had a really nice time not racing around for the wedding preparations. :-)

The summer drought was still ongoing, but at least a 12-inch rain had turned all the pastures green again and provided an nice reprieve before the winter chills will turn everything brown and barren.

Here some nice snapshots of beautiful Texas:

2. day sunset- wow!

passion vine-love this one!


Texas sky on a windy day!

coral vine

Back in Munich!

We've returned from our trip to the U.S. and are recovering from the brutal 9 hr time difference...

Pics and accounts of our trips to come soon...:-)

(It was a fabulous time with lots of sun, friends and great food.)