Oh, The Places I Went: Palo Alto

So I decided I'd mix things up this week and do a "Places I Went" post, rather than a "Place's You'll Go" post, because it's Thanksgiving break, and I've been wearing the same pajamas and sitting in my bed for the past 48 hours, and I really don't feel like going anywhere! Anyways, this week's post is going to be on Palo Alto, which is one of my favorite places on Earth. I am actually from Palo Alto, and my mom works out there, so I visit a ton, but I still get psyched every time I visit. 

For those of you who aren't really NorCal people, Palo Alto is a town in the San Francisco Bay Area, probably about 30-40 minutes away from San Francisco. It is in the heart of Silicon Valley, so it is a very fast-paced and diverse place, very different from the town I live in now, Park City. 

Palo Alto on a map of the Bay Area.
Image Courtesy of: Google Maps

Besides being the hometown of James and Dave Franco, Palo Alto is probably best known for being home to Stanford University. Simply put, Stanford is bae. It is absolutely gorgeous, in a different way than any other school you'll ever visit. It has kind of a Spanish look to it, with a lot of those wavy red roofs and stuff. There's also a ton of nature and gorgeous outdoor art, all of which are really powerful and thought-provoking (and I am not an art person at all). My favorite thing about Stanford, though, is the people there; everyone you meet there is super smart and hardworking and nice, and it makes it a really cool environment to be in.

My friends, Sage and Audrey, and I in front of the
Memorial Church in the Quad at Stanford.

Another really fun thing to do if you ever visit Palo Alto is to go see Google. I did this a few summers ago when my friends, Sage and Audrey, and I went out to a volleyball camp at Stanford. The Googleplex is freaking awesome! They've got a huge cafeteria with FREE food for all their employees and visitors, they've got a slide in one of their office buildings and "nap pods" where employees can take naps during the day. They've got a ball pit, and six person bikes, and awesome booths to work at, and free massages, and a volleyball court, and a free garden, and everything is touchscreen and shiny and rainbow! 

Sage, Audrey, and I on one of the six person
bikes at the Googleplex. 

One of the "offices" at the Googleplex.
Kind of makes me want to quit everything and
become a genius computer programmer.
Image Courtesy of: Abduzeedo

Another thing I love to do when I go out to Palo Alto is visit University Avenue. University Avenue is basically Palo Alto's Main Street. It is home to a ton of really neat (but usually kind of expensive) restaurants and shops. Just walking down University Avenue, you'll see different types of restaurants you probably didn't even know existed, like Siamese, Peruvian, and Caribbean (this place is super good). I swear there's also like twenty-two ice cream places on University Avenue, and all of them are amazing!

University Avenue at night. One of my favorite
things about University Ave is that they have Xmas
lights up year long.
Image Courtesy of: Poeschko

Palo Alto is a really fun town home to an amazing group of people and unique activities. If you are ever near the Bay Area, be sure to stop by Palo Alto; its pretty dang fun!