He makes sure our cell phones are synced and we understand where we are and when he expects us back. We have reservations to enjoy the infamous free lunch Google provides all its employees. We are guests and Google allows a certain number of employee guests each year per employee. We know to hail a cab if we get lost but meanwhile we are to explore, so we head off, already enamored with the architecture and the energy of this iconic city.
We begin to walk, cameras in hand and we see that the city is gearing up for the holidays. Tiny bakeries are bulging with pies. Chic boutiques have amazing window displays, wonderful signage and often a wacky sense of humor We are called forth as visual delights appear. A wonderful little park with a giant metal statue in the center, a tiny, nearly hidden garden next to a church for those seeking refuge, and Christmas trees, already stacked along the sidewalks.
We head down an alley and as a young woman whizzes by on a bicycle, a wad of paper drops out of her pocket. My husband picks it up, and recognizing it is cash, begins to run down the street calling to her. People around us realize what is happening and others begin to holler to get her attention. “Girl on the bike! Girl on the bike!”The voices echo down the street and she stops, grateful to find a stranger handing her what she nearly lost.
We discover that we need to hightail it back to the Google building if we are to make it on time for our tour and lunch but I can't resist quickly photographing vignettes for the digital scrapbooking pages I plan to create. And lunch? Delicious, amazing, incredible, an entire story all alone. We are so blessed. Not just today, nor the designated holiday, but every day is a day for giving thanks.
Comments