la dolce vita in san francisco

Now that there are only seven weeks to go, I’m starting to get really excited about my upcoming trip to Lake Como, Italy, for a wedding over Labor Day weekend. I’m getting in the mood by watching movies filmed there and trying to read up on where exactly George Clooney’s house is… ha ha.

But nothing quite gets me in the spirit like the sight of a Vespa, and I just happened to see an adorable baby blue one propped up next to a colorful house near Telegraph Hill last week.

a happy 4th of july

With the exception of a few international trips, I have spent every 4th of July of my life at Table Rock Lake in southwest Missouri. Those who know me know it’s pretty much my favorite place to be on any given day from about March to October, and when I don’t get to spend a 4th of July there (a lot rarer than you may think considering I don’t usually live anywhere near Missouri), I can get achingly sad. Luckily, I have deep, crystal-clear, fabulous Lake Tahoe a few hours from my doorstep. When we first considered going to Tahoe for the 4th of July, I naturally assumed it’d be a weekend of summery lake activities. I was wrong. Part of the weekend was spent that way, but on the 4th itself, I went skiing. Water-skiing, you presume? No. Snow-skiing. Snow-skiing on the 4th of July. It was odd, but tons of fun and certainly the most unlikely 4th of July I’ve ever spent (this includes three occasions of not actually being in the USA). Squaw Valley does summertime skiing right, with a sparkling swimming pool at the top of the mountain.

We had the good fortune of friends with access to a secluded cabin on Lake Mary (a much smaller lake near Tahoe, adjacent to Sugar Bowl Ski Resort), to which we had to hike through snow, still on the ground months after ski season should have ended. The hike was worth it, though, for the perfect woodsy spot.

 

bahama mama

Last week I had a welcome break from the pseudo-summer in San Francisco – a proper, sunscreen-filled, high-temp, warm-water, coconut-rum-drinks family vacation in the Bahamas. It was heavenly. A private house on New Providence Island with infinity pool and sandy beach equals pure bliss. Relaxing days soaking up the rays were interspersed with forays into town to browse the Straw Market, explore Atlantis and go snorkeling with hundreds of tropical fish in the impossibly clear water.

Click here to view more photos on kodakgallery.com.


Our home for the week (above left); cousins in the pool (above right); our beautiful view (below)

brotherly love

Apologies for my lack of posting! So far, summer has kept me away from the computer... a nice change. After a lovely 11 days at home in Missouri in late May, my little brother came to visit me in San Francisco, and we had a great time both in the city and at Lake Tahoe. I am happy to report that Lake Tahoe is just as glorious in the summer as it is in winter (as I knew it would be). We enjoyed a beautiful hike along Emerald Bay and some lakeside music on Commons Beach in Tahoe City.

Back in the city, a bike ride through Golden Gate Park was a nice ending to Lucas’s trip.


In San Francisco: a turtle swimming at the Palace of Fine Arts, next to the Exploratorium (above left); Lucas at the Exploratorium – an interactive science museum (above right)

In Lake Tahoe: Lower Eagle Falls (above left, middle and right); continuing the hike to Upper Eagle Falls (below left); Lucas and I at Upper Eagle Falls (below right); Upper Eagle Falls (further below)


Emerald Bay from the highway (above left); Lake Tahoe from Commons Beach (above right); Seb and Lucas jumping in freezing water (below left); beautiful, beautiful Lake Tahoe (below right)

Music on Commons Beach, Tahoe City (above left); clear blue water (above right)
Biking through Golden Gate Park: the Chinese pagoda in Stow Lake (below left); the plaza between the de Young Museum and the Academy of Sciences (below right)