(Gabi) Today we were wide awake at 5 am. That never ever happens to me. I tried to go back to sleep but my body was having none of it. Because at home it was 2 pm already. So we spent 4 hours blogging and eating cinnamon bun Oreos (OMG you guys, those alone are worth the trip!). Thankfully, Target opened at 9 am. We were really impressed by the place because it really has everything you could ever need including a generous grocery section. After some browsing we went to T-Mobile to get a pre paid SIM with data, so we can use Google maps, Yelp and other useful sites while on the road. Then it was time for breakfast!

I had heard so much about the ‘legendary’ Egg and Sausage McMuffin at Mc Donalds (and their breakfast in general), so thought I’d give it a go. I quite liked it. It’s a tasty combo of fluffy muffin, cheese, a thick egg and a sausage patty (something very intriguing  for a European, our sausages are always sausage shaped lol). It came with a hash brown, which I’d describe as a rösti patty. All really lovely but also incredibly filling. Too much breakfast for me.

At 11 we met up with our friend Aki in the beautiful historic Temescal area of Oakland. It’s full of little boutiques and has tons of character. I was particularly impressed by this store selling all kinds of tea blends, like teas for pregnant women and herbs that help with anxiety. There were also loads of gorgeous little jewelry shops selling the daintiest little necklaces and rings. All being produced on site, of course.

Aki is the Queen of Food, so she had loads of exciting suggestions for lunch. We ended up going for Korean BBQ and it was delicious. And SO plentiful. In addition to the chicken, rice and soup…

we also got loads and loads of sides (ban-chan). Korean food always comes with a lot of sides like pumpkin, fish cakes, sea weed, radish etc. This makes for a very healthy and varied meal. I loved the balance of spice, heat and sweetness and trying all the different flavors. An excellent choice!

Next we went for artisanal ice cream at a small ice cream shop called Ici in Berkeley. The flavors were out of this world with varieties like Horchata (a Mexican rice milk drink with cinnamon), Vanilla Rose (I had a sample of that, absolutely incredible), Crème Brulée and so many more. I went for Earl Grey ice cream in a home made cone. Divine!

We then went on to do some browsing/shopping in Berkeley which was fantastic because there are so many little gift boutiques with affordable pieces from local artists. I was blown away by the quality of the products on offer. In downtown Berkeley we went to a huge comic book store because the first Saturday in May is Free Comic Book Day (who knew?) and we were able to chose anything we wanted from a big table of comic books. What a lovely idea!

Next door was this cool computer store which only sells old Macs. Just a whole room full of (in some cases very old) Macintoshes. We’re huge Apple fans, so this was a real treat. Aki suspected that they were probably old computers from the surrounding University offices and labs. Makes a lot of sense.

Next we went up a hill (sorry and thank you to Thomie and Aki who almost expired pushing me) to explore the University campus. It’s so lovely and green and there were graduating students everywhere, posing for graduation photos in their caps and gowns. I think we also saw some prom dates in Berkeley, with guys in tuxes and girls in long dresses. Wearing those pretty little flower corsages we Europeans only know from the movies.

Once we had reached the top of the hill Aki told us to turn around…and look at that view! Yep, that’s the Golden Gate Bridge there in the hazy distance.

She also showed us these cool parking spaces which are reserved for Nobel Laureates. Berkeley has seven of them (impressive!) and they are clearly very proud of. Rightly so!

This is a famous gate on campus, leading to a big square where a lot of protests took place in the 60s. The whole place felt very serene and relaxing. It looked like a perfect place to go to school.

For dinner we met up with our friends Megan and Kenan (who had flown in from Portland) and Aki’s mum (such a pleasure to meet her!) at the Hot Italian in Emeryville. It’s a very fun and casual place to grab some tasty pizza. And they make huge and seriously strong cocktails. I felt pretty drunk for the rest of the evening.

We ended the day exchanging gifts, drinking cider and whiskey and eating Aki’s AMAZING lemon and elderflower cupcakes (a belated birthday bake for me) in our  room. A perfect end to a perfect day!