Day 2 - Day 4

Day 2: Disneyland
7:20pm

Lauren is watching cable but there's nothing great on. We had pizza for dinner. I gave up trying to find something nutritious.

For our free continental breakfast, we had pastries, muffins, bread and jam. I ate all of it just to have enough energy till lunch. I regret not taking some back with me for lunch because we couldn't find anything healthy and affordable in the park. Ended up buying fried chicken pieces with chips.

Thank God, I still have an apple from yesterday.

Disneyland really is a 'happy place'. I felt like I was in a Disney land. Wait a second, I was. The rides were not physically exciting but the sets and props were so imaginative, stunning and creative that it really did take you to the world that's in a child's mind.

I went crazy with my camera again. We went on almost all the rides that we wanted to.

Today, I noticed a lot of absolutely gorgeous kids and absolutely overweight adults. I also saw some stereotypical Californian girls - blonde, tanned and beautiful. I'm still getting used to everyone having an American accent.

I feel like I flew forward in time. The TV shows are ahead and so are the trends.

Day 3: Magic
6:16pm

We saw Disneyland fireworks last night. I was mesmorised. The bursts of bright colours above the castle (which changed from shades of deep green all the way to rich reds) looked like a magical garden in the sky.

The background music (coming from the speakers) was suitable enough to evoke emotions of love which stirred me in the wrong way. Having RG next to me was the only thing missing to make the moment perfect. Seeing lots of young couples in love didn't make it easier. Told myself to stop ruining the moment with my habitual thoughts but didn't work.

Day 4: Start of the Tour
10:17pm

We missed the tour pre-departure meeting yesterday. This area has the illogical system of having house numbers increase both ways. We ended up walking 30 minutes the wrong way and 30 minutes back. Then another 40 minutes in the right direction. Lauren was barely walking and my feet were getting sore too. After we walked across a highway with no crossing, we decided to just catch a taxi the next day (i.e. today) which was exactly what we did. We decided to get up extra early but slept through the alarm. We were woken up 15 minutes before the taxi was supposed to arrive by the receptionist calling to tell us our taxi was already here. I only had enough time to get dressed and stuff my suitcase. We got there 40 minutes early (as planned because there was no way we were going to miss the tour). I stupidly tipped the driver extra.

We met up with our tour but it seemed that people have already met at yesterday's meeting so I felt a bit left out. Some guy who kept looking in our direction didn't seem to know the others either but then some girl came up to him and they seemed to know each other. Probably his girlfriend.

As we were driving, the landscape was beautiful - large green hills framing highways. There was a group of joggers running though a distinct downhill valley. Wish I had my camera to capture it.

Our driver was flirting with other drivers which was funny.

When we got to San Diego, I was struck by the water that looked like blue satin. There was the city skyline at the horizon that looked like it was behind a white screen (possibly because of light fog).

Once we passed the bay with countless white boats, we drove into the city streets which weren't anything special. There was a lot of construction going on.

We stopped at some park that had white Spanish architecture. Bought some tasty and nutritious cookie.

After that, we visited the zoo. I saw giant pandas. Apparently they have similar lifestyles to koalas - eat (bamboos) and sleep. They wake up when they're hungry and they go to sleep after eating. They were gorgeous.

I also loved the white polar bear. It was so entertaining to watch it try to scratch itself. Its dirty white fur kept swishing as it rolled and twisted on the ground, its paws in the air.

Also saw some animals that I didn't know existed. Lauren didn't seem to be interested at all and seemed to only be focusing on walking. She said her feet and legs were in pain so we had to take a break every few moments.

Really wanted to get some sort of souvenir (preferably with a panda) but I just couldn't spend money on useless things.

After we checked into our hotel, we went to Walgreens and it took forever to choose the healthiest options. I bought turkey slices but when I got back to the hotel, I realised that we didn't have a fridge to put it in.

During dinner, I sat next to some graduate student/bartender and his 6 friends. They started talking to us. If only they were my type (i.e. didn't stub cigarettes into the grass, did not wear condoms on their heads, did not get drunk and did not swear constantly).

When there was a mix-up with food, Rob (the guy next to me) took food from my plate. Later he apologised, saying he thought the plate in front of me was for someone else. The only thing I had in common with him was that he was also health-conscious.

The guys had a long conversation about alcohol and Lauren and Rob talked about bands I've never heard of.

Back at the hotel, I had a nice hot shower after I figured out how to use the tap system. Then, we figured out how to use the alarm clock.

By the way, the toilets here are horrible. They are always filled with water almost to the top so all the 'stuff' floats in it until you're finished. It's so gross.