more denver

downtown Denver

the denver mall where i spent loads of time wandering and eating

had a memorable meal one night at a Russian restaurant in this little Writers Square
Kane (an astro buddy from Sydney) and I hanging out on the last night
the view over the mall from Earl's, a restaurant I ate at a few times

santa monica, US trip

My last afternoon in the US (for now) - in between arriving in LA (from Denver) and getting on the long haul flight back to Sydney I detoured by this stunning beach in Santa Monica. The Sun was again setting over the ocean. I enjoyed the view (even though it was chilly) and had a lovely conversation while sitting on the bench below. I then day dreamed a little as I wondered back over the walk way bridge and through the palm trees, before hailing a 'town car' and hot fotting it back in style to the airport.

Boulder CO, day trip

happy snaps from a day trip to Boulder, Colorado and Estes Park.

chipmunks - who knew they were so small?!

rockies in the distance

random creature (elk???) by the side of the road, rather bizzarre

Santa Monica, Los Angeles

some positive visualisation from this dreamy Pisces - one of the loveliest houses on Ocean St in Santa Monica (see post below first) and one i'd be more than happy to live in!

these ones, not so much my style (what do you think Dad? The pink and purple one for you?) BUT they are right on the beach which would be ideal

Los Angeles

I love Santa Monica. This was taken at the end of a gorgeous afternoon with Mary, having wine and cheese and watching the Sun go down over the ocean. (Again living on the east coast of AUS this was a lovely new sight). I think last time I was here with Kate I'd thought I could live here and I had the same thoughts again this time around. A lot of LA is busy, but the coast is spectacular. Santa Monica pier (I'm sure it was in Baywatch!)

This is the fountain at the Grove shopping centre I first discovered with Kate in 2005. Was great to go back to - especially to Anthropologie, which we don't have in AUS, and where I got a lovely travel candle from, plus some cute clothes.

I thought this Mystery Bookstore was like spiritual mysteries but it was actually crime/ thriller/ mystery stuff. If detective stories are your thing, it's heaven!

Em - for you - Rodeo Drive!

I went into Westwood Village which was a lovely little spot - funky cafes and theatres, plus a few good shops. It was around the corner from a bank i went to cash a cheque in, which involved being finger printed!
Thouhght the image below was interesting - the guys on the right were trying to give the homeless people pizza, but they wouldn't take it.

So the trip to Los Angeles was lovely. The time seems so long ago now, however I shopped

up a storm. Em the pics of Rodeo Dr etc reminded me so much of you! I stayed at the Beverly Hills Plaza which was nice, but not quite what I expected. I did get a good sense of Los Angeles though - I hoped around on the bus each day, from one end of the city to the other. I spent an afternoon down at Santa Monica beach catching up with Mary, a client I met on my first

US trip in 2005.

This morning April (who I've been staying with in San Diego), took me for a drive up the coast to see the beaches et al. We stopped and walked through the gardens at the Self Realisation Centre in Encinitas, one of the homes of Paramahansa Yogananda. It was gorgeous. The view was amazing and as it's spring so were the colours of the flowers. I then took the Amtrak train service up to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles and cabbed it over to the Beverly Hills Plaza where I'm staying till Wednesday. Unfortunately the hotel isn't quite as close to Rodeo Drive as I had hoped, but don't think that will stop me shopping!

Yesterday April and I went over to Coronado Island (San Diego) and had lunch at the stunning Hotel Del Coronado. http://www.hoteldel.com/ Also a gorgeous day! We drove by Balboa Park and walked around the rose garden. Apparently it was a wet winter and the roses looked fabulous for all the rain - lots of bright blooms.

My presentation at the SCAN astrology group Thursday night went really well and I received many positive comments afterwards. http://scanastro.com/index.html

I also gave a short talk as part of April's presentation at the SDAS astrology group on Friday night and it was great to meet so many more astrologers. http://www.sandiegoastrology.com/links.html

Lachlan and his belly, Miss Millie Walker

the gorgeous Millie Walker who was perfectly behaved all night, being hugged by daddy Simon

absolutely delicious flourless choccy cake (thanks to Cass for the recipe!) - Lach will be going on that pre wedding diet any day now........ (Robyn hopes!!)

Megan Thailand trip

Megs loving the camera!

up at the crack of dawn to see Megs off on her first big overseas trip, none of us looked our best - except of course Em who was made up and ready for photos!