Last Sept. 8, my co-worker and I went to the US on a business trip. Our company is working on a new product line that's why we had to go there to meet some company reps in Indianapolis and show them the products we have developed. Business trips aren't really fun. Actually it's very tiring but then again, I get the chance to travel without spending a cent. Kaya lang, during business trips, I only get to see 3 things: airport, hotel, and the client. Yun lang! Swerte na lang kung magkaron kami ng free time.
We stayed at Indianapolis til the 11th, and had an early morning flight the next day to Chicago for a connecting flight to LA. Now here's where things became brighter. I was allowed by my boss to stay for a couple of days in LA to meet some of Toni's relatives. Yipeeee! Toni's mom, aunt and cousin picked me up at the airport then we had lunch at...guess what...Goldilocks! Yes it's the same Goldilocks in the Philippines where they sell cakes and pastries and also traditional filipino food. Ok so it's not western food but still it was very welcome. You see, I have been working in Taiwan for a little over a year now and what I usually have here is real, authentic chinese food, which I'm not particularly very fond of. So lunch at Goldilocks was indeed a very welcome note. We had lechon kawali, kalderetang kambing, chop suey (maybe this isn't filipino food), and fried chicken. Sarap ng filipino food! Nakaka-miss talaga! After lunch, we headed for the house of Toni's cousin where I would be staying for the night. After a few hours of rest, we went to visit some of Toni's relatives who lived just nearby. What was very wonderful was that it was the first time for most of her US-based relatives and I to meet but still they welcomed me warmly. It really felt like we've known each other for a long time na.
The next day, Toni's cousin Mark, took a leave from work to show me around town. We first went to Hollywood Boulevard where I saw the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Mann's Chinese Theater, and Hollywood and Highlands where I finally saw the famous Hollywood sign, though from a distance. Afer that, we went to Universal Studios. Di lang kami pumasok kasi it would take 1 whole day to tour the place but I only had 1 free day in LA kaya I wanted to squeeze in as much as I can for that day so Mark and I just went around the Universal City Walk. It had a lot of souvenir shops, restos and cinemas. Of course I bought some souvenirs from there hehehe. We then headed to Santa Monica which was about an hour's drive in the freeway. It was there where I saw the famous Santa Monica beach. It's really like the one you see in the movies where theres an amusement park in the pier. The beach was really clean and there weren't a lot of people when we were there. We even took off our shoes and waded in the water! The water was very cold by the way hehehe.
Here are some things I noticed during my trip. Food comes in BIG servings, enough maybe for 2 people. The places I have been to were very clean and there were a lot of open spaces. But then I wasn't able to go to the downtown areas so I guess it might be different there. Parking fees are expensive! Even if you had your ticket validated, you still had to pay something.
That about sums up my US trip. Mark and his wife Mawi (they were wed at Las Vegas earlier this year) will have their church wedding in December. Hopefully, Toni and I will be there also. :)
with toni's family :)
mickey mouse' star
look for the hollywood sign hehehe
universal studios
santa monica beach
santa monica pier
wading in the waters of santa monica beach
