the evolution of Leni

Beautiful Downtown San Diego At Night & Coronado Places to Visit

This view of downtown is from Coronado.

Here is my list of places to visit and eat at in Coronado:

If you are ever in Coronado, you have to take the time to eat at Miguel's. Their white sauce is amazing. Also, Bistro d'Asia is good. Mootime is a great place for dessert. But my all time favorite place there is Tartine. Amazing food and dessert. Love the ambiance. And if you go during the day, there is a great little shop next door that has the best hand-made jewelry. [Sorry, but I don't remember the name. Just that I have to visit every time to check out the jewelry.] Day or night, I love to walk down Orange street. Lastly, a visit to Coronado is not complete without a trip to the beach.

A Destination Wedding?

Although M and I have a lot to discuss when it comes to wedding plans, we are considering getting married in this church in Santorini. I think it's so beautiful! The photos were all taken during our recent trip. [Please keep in mind that M and I have not made any set wedding plans/decisions and are still in the discussion phase.]

This is the inside of the church:

And here it is from the other side. This time we were eating dinner on the terrace of this amazing restaurant. (We loved it so much that we ate there 3 nights in a row!)

The church is right on the caldera and has a gorgeous view:

Musee Mecanique

I am still working on the proposal story so that I can post it along with some pictures. I want you to know that I have not forgotten, I just want to be sure that I haven't left anything out. Who knew that it would be so difficult to actually write the story down! Although, I'm really glad that I'm doing this, because I don't ever want to forget a single detail from that day. M was so thoughtful and romantic. It was honestly perfect.

Here are some photos that M and I took at Musee Mecanique a few weeks ago. In case you don't know about Musee Mecanique, you can go herefor more information. In my opinion, it's the best museum that San Francisco has to offer, and the best part, it's free to enter!

This was the fortune it typed up for me:



Of course, M would choose to play the newer machines!







Old photobooths are my favorite!











This next one was a love machine. M and I both had our hands on the heart as it gave us our fortune (and, obviously, M snuck in a kiss).

A Quick Photographic Overview

Here are the last digital photos of Greece - this time from my good digital camera. You can definitely see the difference in quality.

This is Santorini:

This was taken from the boat ride back to Athens from Santorini:

These are in Athens:

These are in Kineta:

Next we have Hydra:

And Mykonos:

And finally, Delphi:

Santorini (Part 3) + Red, White and Black Beaches

Here are the last of the Santorini photos. Actually, that's not true. They're just the last ones from my little point-and-shoot camera. I took 3 cameras with me on that trip: my holga, a little digital one and a nicer big one. All of the photos that've posted this far are from my little digital camera.

This is how they grow grapes in Santorini, on the ground.



This is the Black beach:











This is the White Beach:





And this is the Red Beach:



























The next few photos are of the only Catholic Church on Santorini:



















The last day we were there, it was overcast with dark clouds. It really made for some great photos!

















This is what Paris looks like from the plane:



And here we are landing in Los Angeles:

Santorini (Part 2) + Update

Clearly I didn't post anything yesterday. My wireless is still out on my laptop . (The new wireless card has been ordered and my laptop should be fixed by the end of the week.) I am still looking for a job and happily engaged to M. I am currently typing up our proposal story and will be sharing it with you all within the next few days along with some fabulous photos!

Here are the Part 2 photos from Santorini. Enjoy!

On one of the days, there was this beautiful fog that covered the caldera. Although there was clearly no view, it was still so beautiful.











Luckily, the fog cleared in the afternoon and we were still able to watch another beautiful sunset.

Santorini (Part 1)

The last Greek Island that M and I visited was Santorini. It's definitely a "love at first sight" island. There are red, white and black sand beaches, gorgeous sun sets, beautiful houses on the caldera, lovely museums and great local restaurants. Because we spent an entire week there, we have lots of photos of Santorini. I am going to split up the photos in a few posts.

Enjoy!

I love the next two before and after photos:

The Ruins of Delos

While in Mykonos, M and I decided to take a day trip to the see the ruins on the island of Delos.

Mykonos

Although I loved islands Hydra and Santorini more, I must admit that Mykonos has better beaches.



You might remember a similar photo to the one above from the last time I went to Greece.

I couldn't help myself in this next photo.

Ancient Beauties

One day in Athens, I was walking from my Aunt's house to Neratziotissa (where there is a nice big mall) and I came across this open excavation site. I was too chicken to wander in and get a better look, but it was pretty amazing to see the ruins being excavated in the middle of a busy city with houses all around.







M and I also took a trip to the National Archeological Museum in Athens where I saw some really beautiful jewelry.



I really want a ring like this:





These gold masks were also pretty amazing:



There were also hundreds of statues on display.



This next one is one of my favorites!



In case you didn't notice, the woman is hitting him with her shoe! Here's a closer look: