Yes, UEA was like 2 weeks ago, but you know what, I really don't feel bad about being late on this because I'm putting up pictures which I NEVERRR do so be grateful.
I have never had a better time on a trip ever ever ever. I never wanted to leave. I loved every second of this trip! By golly. So it was for a flute tour with my flute studio. We went to the San Francisco bay area and then to Stanford University for a master class with a couple of head flute lecturers there(regrettably, the only pictures I have of that are on my phone...). Let me tell you a few highlights.
1: The Golden Gate Bridge. Named for the Golden Gate Strait it spans, not the color of the bridge. Check me out- leaning on the bridge. Aww yaaaa.
2. Lombardo Street- the most crooked street in the whole, entire, wide, 7 billion person, vast world. With Kirsten my best friend ever. we used to play soccer together and now we play flute together! Yay! Her and her mom, Patrice, and sister, Klara, were my family on this trip.
3: FISHERMAN'S WHARF. I'm obsessseeedddd with this place. Seriously. One of my favorite places on this planet! It was magical. We had lunch there on the first day. Kir and I went off by ourselves and found a cute little seafood stand. I ordered clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. Best food EVERRR. Once we got our food we headed over to a small square where a crowd was gathering to eat food and enjoy the entertainment. There was a street performer playing his electric guitar while singing. Oh wait, rewind. We had earlier decided that
this song was our theme song- "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" by Scott McKenzie. Okay fast forward to the square at Fisherman's Wharf. The man STARTED SINGING THAT SONG!!!!! whhhhat?? Never been so happy in my life. And we fed the seagulls. I guess you could say it was romantic (like the literature kind of romantic, not boy-girl romantic...)
4:Ghirardelli Square. a.k.a. chocolate heaven. I had a mint chocolate chip sundae with DARK hot fudge. I would highly recommend it.
5: ohhkay. this was the best part. like really. THE EXPLORATORIUM. located at the old World Expo but being moved to pier 15. Its a science and art museum. It was perfect. I could have spent an entire day there. easy. This picture(and the next) are from this cool little contraption. Inside this box was a mug of water and a camera. On the outside of the box you had to set how fast you wanted the camera to take the picture after you dropped a drop of water. When you were ready, you put your face next to a piece of glass facing the camera and dropped the water. 338ms after the drop, we got these lovely pictures.
The Exploratorium really was so amazing. There were tons of different areas to explore. My favorite was the "think" area. It was basically everything I'm learning in Psychology. It was so cool! AHH! I needddd to go back asap as possible.
6: Point Lobos. Basically it was just a beautiful coastal lookout. Really, so beautiful. I lurrved it.
All of Cindy's (my teacher) students. [Elizabeth,Katelyn, Kirsten, Maddie, Me, Klara, Hayley, Laura and Cindy]
Umm... it was windy?
7: CHINA TOWN! I got a piece of jade for a necklace and a pearl ring that I'm obsessed with. China Town was so fun. Just busy streets with tons of Asians and good deals.
Me and Klara:) I love this little girl! Lunch at China Town was so good. We ate at this Chinese restaurant that like a billion famous people have eaten at (Bill Clinton, Mayor Willie Brown, George Bush Sr, etc)
8: Muir Woods. The last destination of the trip:'( It was super fun though. Kir and I just went off by ourselves and took vampire pictures (haha) and made friends with these two tourist ladies.
Some of my favorite people from the trip![Cindy's best friend June, Cindy, Me, Kir, Klara, Hayley and Hayley's mom, Marie]
Some other un-photographed highlights include: Carmel by the Sea- one of the quaintest/romantic towns I've ever been in, Stanford- such a cool experience, i loved the master class, Pier 39-♥, Monterrey Bay Aquarium- oh yeah, love me some sea animals, a trolley ride, and ALCATRAZ! I'm obsessed with Alcatraz. It was one of the coolest places I've ever been. You probably think I'm a freak for saying that but it seriously was so cool.
So all-in-all, one of the most memorable UEAs of my life. Driving on the bus back to the Oakland Airport was one of the saddest moments of my life. I love the Bay Area and you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be returning.
mechale lauren
oh, oh, oh! I almost forgot about Gilbert, our super cute and funny bus driver:) i'll miss him.
