Cousins

The morning before Anthony, Jenny and Jenna left for San Francisco, Angel captured some really cute photos of cousins Rafael and Jenna. As you know, taking photos of toddlers is not easy but with the help of Anthony and Jen, Angel caught some candid photos of the two. Here they are and enjoy. It made me smile seeing these photos.









These last 2 are my favorites

Biking in Lake Forest

I glanced at my computer's clock and it said 5:50 pm. I'm supposed to meet Angel at 5:45 by the Normandale Park - 5 minutes away from my office. I quickly packed up my stuff and rushed out. We had about an hour or so before sunset. I was excited as it had been ages since Angel and I went biking together. There was always some excuse to put it off but finally she decided she'd give it a shot again. Although summer's almost over, we can always set aside at least an hour during the weekends to do a quick ride around the neighborhood. So yesterday, after work we finally rode for about 8 miles and it was just the perfect distance for the time we had. A few snaps from yesterday:

check out the black spot. need to clean the lens (or sensor)


love the flare on this one

trying to achieve a blurry background with the G10 using the macro...


Angel hates posing but relented for this floor shot


We're also looking at different ways of how we can take along Rafael. There's a rear seat, a front seat, and a bike trailer. We prefer the front one as this would allow the best view for him except that we probably waited too long. He's probably a bit tall for a front bike seat to make sense. A trailer is too bulky but we might just end up getting that...like this one from performancebike.com. Man, these things aren't cheap:

photo from performancebike.com

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.

Bil in Carmesi

Last weekend, we were glad to have Bil over for the weekend. She drove in Friday evening. It didn't take long for Rafael to warm up to her. He wouldn't let go of Tita Bil once she carried him. Rafael loves Bil's playful nature so much that he actually slept beside Tita Bil the entire weekend - the first time ever he didn't sleep with us!





We took advantage of Bil's presence and snuck out to watch a movie across the street. Rafael usually cries out really loud whenever we have to leave but this time, he was so engrossed by Bil's presence that he didn't care if we left more a month.

Saturday, we went to visit Nor and Maricor in Portola Hills, not very far from Carmesi. They have a new adorable Maltese pet Ramsey. You should have seen Rafael's face when he saw Ramsey. He got so excited that he almost scared Ramsey away. When he settled down, he got to pat and hug Ramsey.







This is after devouring every corn chip and cookie in sight.

G10 Photos

Finally was able to get the SD reader today. We went to Gigli, a big shopping mall in Prato. Today is officially the start of summer vacation for the students and judging from how crowded Gigli was, it seems like the entire student population of Tuscany was there.

These are the photos from the G10 from Day 1 to Day 10 taken mostly by Angel. She's done a heck of a job documenting our trip. Taking photos of just about anything. Like a true photojournalist...

The day we arrived. This at the cafe in Lamporechio.


On our way to Lido for the Giro d' Italia.


Rafael with Tita Benjie


Rafael with Tita Benjie at Pisa


The Napoli-owned cafe'. Probably the best cappuccino I will ever have.


Cappuccino never looked this good.


The cafe' is frequented by amateur and pro-cyclists such as these two taking a break from their early morning ride.


Our train trip to Florence


Quick bite of Margarita and Pepperoni in Florence


Interior detail of the Florence Duomo.


Angel and I outside the Duomo.


While walking home from the park, we spotted this lady filling his containers with water from an old-school well.


A group of tandem cyclists.


More photos of Montefiore.






Spectacular view from the attic. The best room in the house.

Still from the attic...


imagine waking up to this view of Tuscany...again from the attic..check out the olive trees..


Luckily caught the sunrays in this photo...


Dinner at Gianni's restaurant..


Rafael with Eris, son of Benjie's friends.


Rafael with Sofia, Montefiore's Manager.


At the Pantheon in Rome..


Taking a break from our long walk to St. Peter's Square...what better way to beat the heat but with some gelato..


Yes, parking is very difficult in Rome..


We set the camera on a 10 sec timer mode but just before the shutter clicked, the strong wind almost blew the camera to the concrete floor..thus, the photo..


A German couple saw us and offered to take this photo..


From inside the Coliseum..