Old Friends Always

You know how days start off quite innocently - perhaps with a starch, like these hot pan de sal we tasted at a bakery in Vallejo. It was piping hot, but otherwise not memorable. We drove down to Danville, a pretty little town in the East Bay where the downtown was so walkable but everyone was driving. We stopped by Vallejo on our way there, and we kind of OD'd on Filipino food shops, including the one where we bought the dissapointing pan de sal.

Then, we decided to hook up with old, old friends from way back when back in San Jose. We stopped by the so-wanna-be-Rodeo Drive - Santana Row in Santa Clara for last minute for visiting gift. I managed to snap a shot of the pretentious Valencia hotel right across from my favorite Anthropologie store. The palm trees were impressive.

I left Mel to take a nap in the car while I walked the sidewalks of the Row. I did not get anything. I did not even window shopped - I feel intimated when the stores are deserted and the sales staff is forced to smother you with superflous niceties. I ended up getting an Italian looking bowl for our friends - which turned out to match the rest of their dinner plates - very uncanny!

Our friends now lived in a new house sans the once ubiquitous Capo Di Monte stuff - looks so much nicer and modern, I told them. The living room felt and looked like a hotel lobby - a very chic one. We took a lot of pictures. Another old friend, upon knowing that we were there, drove to the house and joined the impromptu reunion. We marveled at each other's kids growth and talked about how old we were all getting. But as you can see from the photos - not bad looking at all. Fun and sentimental day over-all.