“The City Tour” - The day started normally, we woke up around 7:30AM, ate our breakfast in the hotel, hit the showers, and prepared for the TOUR. But wait, we were all pleasantly surprised when we were informed that The Filipino Channel wanted to interview us! We did not expect this so we are all nervous during the interview, but we still managed to answer all the questions. Then off to our first stop, the world-famous Golden Gate Bridge. The scene was very beautiful and picture-perfect, and you could even see the “Inescapable” Alcatraz Island from the point where we were standing. We took pictures with the group, our relatives, and with Mr. Carlo Singson of NBA Asia and with Ms. Sienna Olaso and Mr. Darby Ballesteros of Events.Work. But the most surprising part of the picture- taking session was when a few American guys asked us if they could have their picture taken with us, which made the five of us feel very over-whelmed! They wanted our picture!

Our next stop was Pier 39. We walked around this famous tourist landmark and then headed over to Fisherman’s Wharf and the most-famous chocolate factory in Ghirardelli Square. We really enjoyed visiting these places. Before heading home, we passed by Union Square in downtown San Francisco.

After, we decided to head back to our hotel and rest for a while and prepare ourselves for the dinner in a mall near our hotel. We headed over around 7:30 PM for our dinner. We ate lots of pizza and pasta; we also talked about the whole day and laughed about the things we did and saw. After that, we decided to call it a night and rest for the big NBA day the next morning.

I can think of two words when I look back on this day: exciting and exhausting! For me it was exciting because this was my first time to travel to the USA and see the most remarkable landmarks of San Francisco. It was also exciting because I am not here alone but with the whole Jr. NBA Philippine Team, along with our relatives, which made it that more fun. The whole tour was also exhausting because we toured the city in the late morning and afternoon and it was very sunny and hot! I thought San Francisco was supposed to be windy and chilly! We had to walk a lot under the heat of the sun. But it was just fine, for as long as we enjoyed ourselves and had fun, all our sweat and fatigue really paid off.