A QUICK RETURN TO BERKELEY & SAN FRANCISCO, CA.

This was our first trip back to the Bay Area since moving just shy of a year ago (a year has already gone by?!?!?)  Just like I thought it would be, it was bittersweet.  That place is just so full of magic.  The fresh air, ocean, colors, light, smells, plants, food...they are all just too delicious.  It was so, so special to be back, if only for a short while.  Very glad we got to spend time with as many friends as possible before we headed to Palo Alto for a work conference for Raf.  We had a few days in Berkeley and some San Francisco in between.  A little slice of heaven for a week.  Did I mention that walking into the produce section of my favorite grocery store (Berkeley Bowl) brought tears of joy to my eyes (and that like a couple of true crunchy folks we did two days in a row of acupuncture at our favorite community acupuncture clinic)?  :-)

A neighborhood fave: Berkeley Rose Garden

Republic of V, a new vegan shop in Berkeley.

Farmer's market rainbow.

The next few photos are from one of my favorite walk routes in the Berkeley Hills:

Hobbit-door entryway.

Birds of paradise.

Just a girl with some good light, shadows, and a backpack ;).

One of our favorite gardens in Berkeley.

Eucalyptus grove on campus.

Favorite palm tree in Berkeley.  Lots of sitting/journaling/thinking happened there.

So vivid!

Succulents for days!

Breathtaking view of Berkeley (with the fog rolling in at sunset) from a friend's roof.

Hike break at Tilden/Lake Anza with our dear buddy Dorothy.

Sweet pals Dave, Bridget, and Inna on the hike too!

Lake Anza.

Tilden <3.

Obviously Bumblebee thought my name was too boring.

 I only took one picture in Palo Alto:

Chillaxing at the pool in Palo Alto.

My friend Angela's apartment in San Francisco is so inspiring!  I love having creative friends!!  I could have walked around admiring her cool stuff/art for hours:

Kitchen wall.

Hallway with one of her beautiful photos blown up on the wall.

Kitchen bar cart.

Angela's office window.

Cool nook, creepy doll!  :)

Kitchen light.

I met up with some lady pals in San Francisco for a mini-adventure.  We came across some funny street art along the way:

Amazing!

Truth, haha.

Some sweet friends!

One last stop before the airport:  Coyote Point County Recreation Area for some views and ocean air before a long flight to Germany!  (more to come on that soon...)

SF in the distance.

One last look up into the eucalyptus trees.