Finally an excellent coffee...

Here are the boys at Cafe Mediterranean, Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley with a good looking and tasting coffee in the foreground! Yep unbelievable as it may seem we have found a place that makes a top brew, which even looks normal (being that the espresso shot isn't drowning in a litre of milk). Well our secret is ordering a wet double capuccino i.e. low on the froth. Have a look at the foam on that cup, it looks "just right" as Goldilocks would say. We had some yummy tasting croissants with the coffee and it was the best way to start a Saturday.

A bridge to da east side

Here is a view from the Dumbarton bridge as we were heading over to Berkeley. In the background you can see some mountains and on the opposite side there is the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge that we will have to check out one day as I am sure there are loads of birdlife and some great hikes.

No drugs here...

Yeah man especially as many moons ago it used to be drug haven... Here is Telegraph Avenue in all it's glory with a huge record store on the main drag. There were plenty of record stores and book stores and the most impressive vintage clothing stores. I had to be dragged out as I couldn't stop checking out the cool threads, man!

Bubbles of Tea

On the weekend we decided to take a drive over to Berkeley to check it out! Our friend Alex went over when he was here and sang praises about the place with the cool shopping and cafes. We took Kaz (our GPS) for a drive to Telegraph Avenue and had lunch and introduced Ashwin to bubble tea with pearls!

Dewdrops in the garden...

What a great album that is by Deee-Lite! Flashback again to the music of the 1990's - man it seems so long ago... the music is still loads of fun to listen and dance to :) I found these leaves on my way out the other morning and the light was just perfect I couldn't resist taking a pic. Check out the lush green grass in the background - probably an unfamiliar site back in Australia. The grass is so green over here and it is so relaxing to lie on under the shade of a beautiful big tree.

Aaaaah they are scary up close!

Here is Ashwin being a little scared from the farm animals when they came close to the fence. Before too long he was there with the hay trying to feed them himself! He has his new hoodie with 'Howdy' written on it with a pic of a cowboy boot - so perfect for a day out at the farm. He just loves looking at the animals and tries to communicate with them in his own farm lingo.

Wild and Woolly

We visited Rancho San Antonio this week and had some fun checking out the farm animals. My friend started feeding the animals some hay and they all ran to the gate for a feed! There is a cute little farm with chickens, ducks, rabbits, sheep, goats and a pig. They also have a lovely vege garden with lots of interesting plants. Check out the woolly sheep that were so soft and a goat on the far side battling for the hay. We all enjoyed visiting the farm and it was free which is an added bonus!

OMG a "normal" looking coffee!!

While out with Ashwin the other morning doing some homie biz downtown (paperwork for a work visa - nightmare), I thought we would drop by the local bakery for a pita with zatar ($2 and delicious!) and a croissant (for Ashwin) and coffee. This is a double cappucino served in a regular cup. You see, if you want a double shot you get it in a soup bowl??!! Anyway it was pretty well made for a coffee in the USA - next time I will order it more wet (translation - more like a latte with less froth).

How much can a koala bear??

Found in a glass display cabinet was this little guy sitting on a branch covered in eucalyptus leaves. He seemed quite happy eating away - the branch was the extent of the tree which was a bit dodgy. Anyway my fellow Aussie mate reassured me he would be happy as long as he was eating and sleeping. Whilst this little fella was doing his thing hoards of camera flashes were going off - this guy was popular with everyone! He had a friend on a tree across the way who was fast asleep in the funny way that koalas sleep, they are just soooo cute!

A fellow native

Awwwww look at this beauty - this was planted around the kangaroos in the Australian section of the zoo. There was plenty of gum trees as well, which smells like being in the bush at home - sort of made me homesick (again!!) I wonder how our grevilleas at our garden at home are going??

No cock and bull...

just a peacock! These birds are so glamorous, imagine strutting about all day with that amazing tail of feathers! We did see it do a bit of a dance to attract a pretty lady but the rhinocerous wasn't really into the show. They wandered around freely in the zoo and it was cool to see them doing their thang!

Hey little country boy!

Here is Ashwin ready to go for a spin on the tractor! He is pretty keen and concentrating on driving. If you are wondering if that is a leash attached to James - yes it is as he is a wanderer these days. That is the hoodie I made for him which is way too tight, it is like a crop top - how embarassing!! (OK it was my 1st piece of clothing, so hope I deserve a break?!?!) Anyway Masta Knitter Shona has knit it up again for me and we are waiting for a couple of balls of yarn to complete it again - Take 2 pic 2 come!

Baa Baaa Black & White Sheep

More animals that produce yarn, I couldn't resist these sheep they were so soft. Would love to have some of their fleece but I haven't gone into the realm of spinning yarn. Anyhow next on the knitting agenda is a poncho with some fat yarn again and some lace work. Looking forward to that, after I finish my shawl & James' vest!!

Alpacas are cool!

Check out this little fella with his funky 'do! Alpacas are the cutest animals - there were a pair of them at the zoo. This guy and a black and white one. They are a smaller cousin of the Llama and they have the most beautiful wool - ever so soft and warm. Would love to knit something from this most beautiful fibre, maybe some gloves??

Hoot a nanny!

This little spunky owl was over 40 years old, most of it's life it was thought to be a male. But when it laid an egg, the zoo people discovered it was a female. Even though it was still you had to capture it at the right time, they are pretty quick with their head spins. I enjoyed this exhibit of the birds before we went down the path to the petting zoo for the kids. They had a ball with all the farm animals, still the ducks seems to be number 1 for Ashwin - think it is the fascination with water!

Hoooo r u??

Look at the beautiful feathers on this feathered friend - this guy is indeed an owl! You should have seen the size of him, I have never seen such a huge owl in my life. His head is cleaning under his wing on the right and he had the most gorgeous eyes. We were surprised that all these birds were on show connected to the ground by a chain so they don't fly away... I prefer the birds of prey that flew over your head at Healesville Sanctuary - Melbourne, they were trained for a very exciting show.

Enjoying a Sunday drive...

Kaz (our Garmin GPS) took us out for a drive to the San Francisco Zoo on Sunday with our friends from Melbourne - Kath, Andy and baby Liam. We enjoyed the drive down and some of the sights along the way were very cool - this is of the ocean area, Pacificia which is just near the zoo.

Killer Mackaroni

Here he is just before he attacked yet another bird, he looks so innocent watching the world going by. Soon after this pic he caught a bird! The bird was lucky as it wasn't injured and got away. These days he spends most of his days laying around on the bed - oh the life of a cat, getting lots of pats, eating and sleeping!!

A night on the town!!

Friday night was a big one downtown. We went to see Armiel (another Aussie who works at our local cool coffee shop - Dana St Roasting Co.) sing a jazz set, very impressive. I enjoyed getting out with Shona and leaving the boys at home, then we hit the main drag and tried to find a cool bar to no avail.... Oh I miss Melbourne!!

Hey Mother Goose

As we were trying to get back to the car to go home after our picnic we were delayed by the ducks and geese enjoying their lunch. Ashwin went right up to this goose that was sitting on the grass - lucky for the goose was that his mates flew overhead and the goose got away before being poked!!