Quail Botanical

Yesterday, after Mass, we went to lunch at Tutto Fresco - an Italian restaurant almost a stone's throw away from Carmesi. We discovered the restaurant on Rafael's birthday back in March. We were searching for a place to have a nice quiet dinner not far from home and boy, is this one close to home! Prices are reasonable yet the food is really good. We decided to take Gra'ma there for a change. And waddaya know? She liked it! Seriously, for Gra'ma to say she likes it, is saying something...



After lunch, we drove to Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas - a 45 minute drive from Carmesi towards San Diego. I'm quite familiar with the Gardens as this was the site of the first ever wedding that we covered - free-of-charge. To build our portfolio, we agreed to take photos for free. The couple, Helen and Dave, we met through a lady we met at a photography class. She was the main photographer and we were her assistants but in turn we were allowed to add the photos we took to our portfolio. Going back to Gra'ma, I figured she'd love the place due to the variety of plants and cactii that they have. True enough, a short walk to the bamboo garden did impress Gra'ma and again, coming from a veteran horticulturist and an Ikebana member, that is really saying a lot!

the bamboo garden alone was impressive. you wouldn't believe how many varieties of bamboo there are.














check out these lilies! they're shaped like trays.


On our way home, Rafael fell asleep in this position.