Day 12. Paul Durano's surprise and shock could not be ignored when he picked us up in the terminal carrying four pieces of luggage. "Gosh, you sure did shop!" he exclaimed. We caught up while driving and filled him in on my last few days. It was already late in the evening when we arrived in his apartment and Paul had to work for the night. My brother and I were beat so we retired for the night.
Day 13. "Wake up, time to shop!" After a hefty breakfast in a local Cuban Patisserie, we left the city of Glendale heading for downtown LA. Ahh, memories flooded in. Back in 2004, I lived down here for almost a year and this was practically my shopping/playground. We visited the famous Disney Concert Hall, which my brother missed out in his last visit. My, my, this architectural landmark is just luminescently a must-see (more on this in my future stories). Beside it is the LA Dance Theatre, while along 7th Street is the majestic Our Lady of Angels Cathredral. Further down, we drove by my old neighborhood (referred to as the Latin ghetto), Alvarado Street, and it's just the way I remembered it.
Then it was a walk with the stars in Hollywood Boulevard and a quick stop for some souvenir shopping. We dropped by a famous hotdog place where stars (like Justin Timberlake, Martha Stewart and Tia Carrere, to name a few) and other celebrities get their fix of the filling snack. The only one store in the world-the hotdogs in Pinks are worth coming back for another trip!
All energized and full, we proceeded to the posh Beverly Shopping Center and The Groove. It was here that all of our energy and money(!) were spent. Furthermore, Paul brought us to that trendy TV address: Melrose Avenue, for more shops! The whole day of shopping finally took a toll on us that we just had to grab another bite at a popular hamburger chain, In-n-Out.
Day 14. For this last day, we were hosted by the Cabatingan family who migrated from Liloan some years ago. The always-hospitable brood was both excited and nostalgic to see familiar faces from home. Yes, there was still more shopping! But we had to keep it to the minimal. We didn't know where to put our buys anymore, baggage are full and sealed!
As this our last evening, the Cabatingan siblings, Rosie and Ferdinand, treated us to a night out in the Universal City Walk. It was Ferdinand's birthday, his 21st to be exact, so we had some cocktails at the very familiar Hard Rock Café. It was a fun evening.
Last day. It's more of the last few hours. We just spent it doing some final packing before we were to be dropped in LAX. By 8 pm, we were sitting in the airport VIP Lounge waiting for boarding. And in a blink, it was: Welcome home.