Most days of the year are unremarkable. They begin, and they end, with no lasting memories made in between. Most days have no impact on the course of a life. – 500 days of summer
DAY 6 – San Francisco
This day marked our first week in California. The travel was supposed to be for training, but having some fun, especially during weekends, is highly recommended. It was memorable for me and my friend (my colleague who was also chosen to attend the training) because this is our first time to break our normal hotel-office-hotel routine.
I would sum it up by saying it was a blessed tour.
We are blessed with a really cold weather that we haven’t experienced before;
We are blessed with a manager who is willing to drive us from Palo Alto to San Francisco (approximately an hour drive) and is generous enough to cover the gas and parking fee;
We are blessed with delicious and mouth-watering food from cheesecake factory;
And most importantly, we are blessed with an opportunity to be in that place at that exact time. We were meant to be there, despite all what we’ve been through before that travel. That is the reason why — we are simply blessed.
DAY 13 – Napa Valley
Who can ever resist a wine tour from the finest wineries in Napa Valley? I never liked the taste of alcohol, but something about the place and the wines made me wanna crave for more.
Our morning started quite early. We travelled from Palo Alto to San Francisco via Caltrain, and arrived there before 9am, just in time for the Napa valley tour. It could’ve been convenient to bring a car and drive to Napa Valley, doing what you want and stopping by when you want it. But we don’t have a car. And we don’t know how to drive (something that amazes most Americans). So we prepared ourselves for some adventure – this being the first time that we’ll take public transpo.
The tour that we got was for a whole day tour around Napa Valley and Sonoma, with stops on 3 different wineries, free tastes here and there, and some tips and trivias. I got a little bit tipsy with all the wine tasting, but overall, it was a great tour. The place is beautiful and relaxing. It was something we never thought would end up as successfully as it had. Needless to say, I definitely enjoyed every moment of it.
DAY 20 – Googling @ Stanford U
Going out every weekend while doing trainings and paperworks every weekday is tiring. So for this week, we tried to go somewhere near. Few blocks away from our hotel is Google and Stanford University. There isn’t actually anything out of the ordinary in those places, but the fact that you’ve only seen them in movies and websites in the past made the difference.
DAY 27 – Los Angeles
Being there for 4 weeks now, we were getting more and more familiar with the place. Though some getting lost almost always happens (I supposed it always will be as long as we can’t keep are feet from travelling), we are definitely loving California’s public transport: starting with the caltrain – a train amidst all the houses (you can never actually realize that it’s there), the busses – that load elderlies politely and bicycles patiently, and taxis – conveniently there when you don’t know which way to go. Those public transports helped us a lot in one of the craziest and most adventorous travel we’d ever had – the L.A. Tour.
Travelling from Palo Alto to Los Angeles is not easy. You can either take the plane (which is convenient but expensive) or take the bus (not so convenient but way way cheaper). Obviously, we took the latter. Because we love adventure (who doesn’t, right?). That, and the fact that we can’t afford the plane. Lol.
The travel actually went smoothly. Way smoother than I ever thought it would be. Though going back to the hotel in Palo Alto is an entirely different story. It’s something really crazy (literally and figuratively) and involves a bus, an old lady, an old scary man, a girlfriend, a boyfriend, a deaf guy, and a driver. You just have to figure out yourselves what happened, because I won’t tell. I definitely won’t. :p
We arrived in LA early morning on Saturday, then went directly to Disneyland.
Disneyland — you might think, as what i initially thought, that this place is just for kids. Well you might be surprised, as I was surprised myself as well, that it can awaken the child inside you. There is something special with this place that would make you want to believe in miracles, in imagination, and most especially, in happy endings. So if you are a person who had a not-so-good childhood, or someone who just wants to take a break, you might wanna try to go to Disneyland. You might end up being a completely different person, believing that dreams definitely do come true (well, dreams actually do come true, even without Disney).
DAY 33 – Residence Inn, Palo Alto
Finally, it was time to go home. No doubt I enjoyed the travel. But I also enjoyed each moment that I stayed in the office for training, those times when I would walk along the fancy pathwalks outside the office to feel the wind and the sun combining to create the perfect weather, those mornings of taxi rides while admiring the sunrise and the skyway, and those marvelous sunsets and skylines that I never had an opportunity to capture. It was a short journey, but I will have the memory of those travels, successes, and fails forever cherished in my heart.
DAY 0 – Ninoy Aquino International Airport
I was sitting at the airport’s lounge, with mixed emotions, as i think about how moments ago, I was waving goodbye to my family. It’s just 5 weeks away from home. I thought it was going to be smooth and easy, but those first few minutes of being away from them that’s the hardest. With a hint of anticipation and disbelief, i closed my teary eyes, not neglecting the loneliness inside, but feeling the excitement in my heart, for I know that in the next few hours, I will have the craziest days of my life – the so-called 35 days of autumn.
A Thousand Sunsets 
Fun trip.
Thank you 🙂