This post is way overdue.
Nearly a month ago, I had the pleasure of visiting San Francisco with my buddy Oliver. He mentioned visiting UC-Berkeley a couple of times in passing, and one night I just kind of decided to accompany him. Thankfully, my parents are awesome and entertained my request to snag a ticket to San Francisco with my mom's overflowing surplus of miles. Everything was functionally set. All we needed to do was book a room after I came back from New York.
With the help of Hotwire, we could only cross our fingers and gamble on the chances that the 4-star hotel mentioned was the DoubleTree, located right on a marina at the edge of Berkeley. Unfortunately, we only turned up a Sheraton Four Points. However, looking back, the hotel didn't make much of difference considering we only used it to load up on some wireless. Plus, the front desk staff was super professional and got us in and out in a gif (see what I did?).
The first day was a handful. After messing around at school for a few blocks, we headed to the airport only to find out that our flight was delayed two hours. Looking for anything to pass the time, we explored nearly all of the food options inside of MSP. Remember, even if something is labeled as "gourmet," it doesn't mean that it will taste good nor does it mean that the slope of the diminishing marginal returns curve will be small. In addition, attempting to get more than four cookies at Subway is a bad idea.
After arriving late in San Francisco, we busted some ass trying to get to campus so that Oliver could play ping pong with some of the UC-Berkeley kids. However, when all was said and done, the BART just wasn't fast enough. We ended up going to Durant Avenue to check out some of the residential units after skimming past the campus. The small restaurants on one side contrasted heavily with the huge residential units across, and the whole avenue was a really lively place overall.
With Oliver satisfied, we started heading back to the BART to head to our hotel. After a few steps however, I realized that Oliver hadn't even seen the UC-Berkeley campus. Using the excuse of wanting to buy a UC-Berkeley shirt, I prodded him over to the main campus just as the sun was fading behind the horizon. It couldn't have been more perfect. As we stepped onto the campus, the beating of taiko drums sounded off in the distance. We navigated through the huge buildings, stopping in on a cultural expression show and snagging some food before heading back out.
After passing through one of the more prominent libraries on campus, we found ourselves in a very different, tranquil part of campus which was very distinct from the hustle and bustle of Durant Avenue. A game of glow in the dark ultimate Frisbee was being played on one of the nearby quads, and I couldn't help but feel incredibly at home after receiving so many good vibes from the campus. It's a shame that I won't be joining Oliver next year.
We wandered around for a few hours or so, we headed out of the campus gates, and I was happy to see Oliver thoroughly satisfied with the visit. With the help of Google Places, we found ourselves at a place called "Tuk Tuk Thai" in the middle of Downtown Berkeley. The portion sizes were HUGE and the prices were super reasonable. Oliver had to finish my Pad Thai for me later in the hotel room. That is, after the trek to our hotel through a questionable part of town.
Let's just say if you are walking from UC-Berkeley westward, BRING A BUDDY. After a long day, I was glad to finally get a chance to get some sleep. Well, after some hilarious Partha hijinks.
Nearly a month ago, I had the pleasure of visiting San Francisco with my buddy Oliver. He mentioned visiting UC-Berkeley a couple of times in passing, and one night I just kind of decided to accompany him. Thankfully, my parents are awesome and entertained my request to snag a ticket to San Francisco with my mom's overflowing surplus of miles. Everything was functionally set. All we needed to do was book a room after I came back from New York.
With the help of Hotwire, we could only cross our fingers and gamble on the chances that the 4-star hotel mentioned was the DoubleTree, located right on a marina at the edge of Berkeley. Unfortunately, we only turned up a Sheraton Four Points. However, looking back, the hotel didn't make much of difference considering we only used it to load up on some wireless. Plus, the front desk staff was super professional and got us in and out in a gif (see what I did?).
The first day was a handful. After messing around at school for a few blocks, we headed to the airport only to find out that our flight was delayed two hours. Looking for anything to pass the time, we explored nearly all of the food options inside of MSP. Remember, even if something is labeled as "gourmet," it doesn't mean that it will taste good nor does it mean that the slope of the diminishing marginal returns curve will be small. In addition, attempting to get more than four cookies at Subway is a bad idea.
After arriving late in San Francisco, we busted some ass trying to get to campus so that Oliver could play ping pong with some of the UC-Berkeley kids. However, when all was said and done, the BART just wasn't fast enough. We ended up going to Durant Avenue to check out some of the residential units after skimming past the campus. The small restaurants on one side contrasted heavily with the huge residential units across, and the whole avenue was a really lively place overall.
With Oliver satisfied, we started heading back to the BART to head to our hotel. After a few steps however, I realized that Oliver hadn't even seen the UC-Berkeley campus. Using the excuse of wanting to buy a UC-Berkeley shirt, I prodded him over to the main campus just as the sun was fading behind the horizon. It couldn't have been more perfect. As we stepped onto the campus, the beating of taiko drums sounded off in the distance. We navigated through the huge buildings, stopping in on a cultural expression show and snagging some food before heading back out.
After passing through one of the more prominent libraries on campus, we found ourselves in a very different, tranquil part of campus which was very distinct from the hustle and bustle of Durant Avenue. A game of glow in the dark ultimate Frisbee was being played on one of the nearby quads, and I couldn't help but feel incredibly at home after receiving so many good vibes from the campus. It's a shame that I won't be joining Oliver next year.
We wandered around for a few hours or so, we headed out of the campus gates, and I was happy to see Oliver thoroughly satisfied with the visit. With the help of Google Places, we found ourselves at a place called "Tuk Tuk Thai" in the middle of Downtown Berkeley. The portion sizes were HUGE and the prices were super reasonable. Oliver had to finish my Pad Thai for me later in the hotel room. That is, after the trek to our hotel through a questionable part of town.
Let's just say if you are walking from UC-Berkeley westward, BRING A BUDDY. After a long day, I was glad to finally get a chance to get some sleep. Well, after some hilarious Partha hijinks.
10:03 AM
NoelVermillion
