Departure

For any lover of technology, speaking of Silicon Valley means speaking of opportunities, of dreams, of the mecca of technology and of big companies forged by disturbing minds in small garages. It’s been more than six years, curiously also in a garage, since I started this project more as a game than as a  culmination of a personal dream that I had after watching Star Wars for the first time. Who of us, who belong to the generation X, never dreamed of having a R2D2 in our houses?

At first, when Qbo was only an idea, developments were slow and daily challenges were very few. However,  as these challenges increased and these ideas that were inside my mind materialized, this game started to develop into an obsession that today, 9th of October of 2011, made me travel to San Fransisco with Qbo.

From the 10th to the 16th of this month, I will visit many big companies such as Google, Willlow Garage, INTEL, Microsoft and Sap, among others, but I will also meet some bloggers residents in San Francisco that want to meet Qbo. Thanks to them, with small or big blogs, many people now know the project and Qbo.

During these days, I will share with you all in the blog each and every one of my experiences with Qbo in Silicon Valley.

MISCELANEA PICTURES ( Departure and Arriving San Francisco )

First Day – Colombus

[via Wikipedia] Many countries in the New World and elsewhere celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas, which occurred on October 12, 1492, as an official holiday. The event is celebrated as Columbus Day in the United States, as Día de la Raza in many countries in Latin America, as Discovery Day in the Bahamas, as Día de la Hispanidad and Fiesta Nacional in Spain and as Día de las Américas (Day of the Americas) in Uruguay. These holidays have been celebrated unofficially since the late 18th century, and officially in various areas since the early 20th century.

Today nobody works in San Francisco, so I spent my day visiting the city, as all shopping centers were open with great discounts. The day was very cloudy and it was difficult to take pictures to the Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate bridge (see photos).

Unlike many Europeans think, it is practically impossible to find free access to the Internet here in San Francisco, so I suppose many have had problems following me through Google Latitude (I’m sorry for that).

As the day began, I took my typical American breakfast in a coffee shop called “Lori’s Dinner”, famous for its waffles and pancakes (truly delicious), and afterwards I went to the fisherman area near the Golden Gate bridge and to the famous Alcatraz Island. In this area there are many shops of all kinds, including a bar of “oxygen-based drinks” and the possibility of seeing a pack of sea lions in their natural habitat. Finally, I climbed and hold to the bars of the famous San Francisco’s cable car, which I saw so many times in American movies, while crossing the city’s streets. A beautiful day in San Francisco spent in the company of exceptional people, in spite of the bad weather.

And if today was a relaxing day that included a “cocktail networking”, tomorrow the action will start by visiting the RockerSpace – Duncan Logan in Silicon Valley and from now on we won’t stop visiting sites and companies.

Let the action begin…