Freak and technological route through Silicon Valley
A car with a full tank and a state-of-the-art smartphone to take photos and use as a navigator (and everything else you want to use your mobile for, bearing in mind that the subsequent bill for roaming can be high) . This is all you need to follow this route for the tech capital of the world in Northern California.
Start at Philz Coffee in Palo Alto to recharge the batteries in the same cafeteria where the boys from the HBO series do Silicon Valley . We recommend that you take a good look at the rest of the clients who, rather than interacting with humans, will be doing so with their computer screen, their mobile phone, or both at the same time. And, with a bit of luck, you might spy on the typical job interview via Skype or an impromptu meeting of the members of a start-up in the area.
Palo Alto Coffee
From there take a walk through the Stanford campus. It is the university attended by the creators of Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, In addition to the founders of Instagram, LinkedIn or Netflix , among many other important people (and at this point loaded) in the sector. You can take the opportunity to do one of their free guided tours or, if you prefer, go directly to the college store . In it you will find the typical hideous and huge sweatshirt with the Stanford logo, although in reality it can be much more interesting to go gossiping on the ground floor of the store. Here you will be able to consult the syllabus and the recommended bibliography for introductory subjects to the theory of computation, programming in C language or theory of probability.
The next stop is facebook headquarters , located in the number 1 of the so-called Hacker Way , in Menlo Park. Although the entrance to its buildings is practically impossible and we do not even advise you to try it (there are private security teams in charge of guarding the premises), what you can do is photograph yourself next to the company logo located at the entrance of the company facilities mark zuckerberg . That and take a walk around the area to envy Facebook employees the football field; the gym; the park overlooking the bay ; shared bikes (painted corporate blue) with which to move throughout the company and go from building to building; or the fact that they can leave the car parked and change the oil while they are in the office...
Facebook headquarters seen from the air
If you are still not convinced if you would like to work in a place like this or not, stop by Googleplex, in Mountain View . Here too there are plenty of bikes to go from one place to another, although they are painted with the colors of the Google logo. In addition to soccer fields and gyms, those of the search engine have to a field to play Quidditch and orchards for growing fruit and vegetables . Mythical have made their restaurants completely free for employees, their stations to take a nap during working hours or their kindergarten And till dry cleaner . Be especially alert when driving through this area in case you are lucky enough to see or come across one of the cars in Google's fleet of self-driving vehicles.
Googleplex in Mountain View
Hence nothing like approaching the Infinite Loop, in Cupertino , to visit Apple. At its entrance you will see the American, Californian and apple flags waving simultaneously. Also to the throng of tech tourists taking photos next to the sign with the company logo . This is another of the companies where venturing into a building is not recommended, but you can join the fans who harass the door of the Apple headquarters in case they see someone coming out. Tim Cook or the designer Jony Ive.
Apple's Infinite Loop in Cupertino
While it's best to end the route in San Francisco, make one last stop in the valley as you start driving north. Rather than suggest you stop by the Tesla headquarters, which is also in the area, much better if you can see one of the luxury electric vehicles of this company live (and touch it and even drive it). Come into one of their dealerships and showrooms at Palo Alto or Burlingame. If you make an appointment in advance, you can even take one of the cars out for a spin...
One step away from Tesla headquarters
End the walk in the city . Come to one of the most depressed corners of San Francisco, the neighborhood of tenderloin , where the Twitter headquarters occupies a 1937 art deco building and it has become one of the most visible (and mediatic) municipal attempts to revitalize this area. In addition to taking the usual photo next to the company logo, it is practically impossible not to walk through this section of the market street and be able to distinguish the employees of the social network at a glance.
Apply common sense, it is preferable that you go during the day, but it is very worthwhile that you walk through a part of San Francisco full of contrasts and where gentrification is still in a very early stage. Thus, in addition to the typical vintage bike shop, the café for hipsters or the Twitter employee who has decided to run home, you will also see an unglamorous strip club, a lot of manta tops and a clear example of the undeniable problem of homelessness. that the city has
Freak and technological route through Silicon Valley
If you keep walking down the Market Street towards Embarcadero You will notice that, almost suddenly, things change and give way to large chain stores and establishments. It may be the perfect time for you to enter the huge apple store here and, if you feel like it, dedicate yourself to teasing the employees of the cool bar (one of the favorite hobbies of those endearing television geeks of the series big Bang ) . You can also go to Westfield mall and pay them a visit to the Microsoft or Amazon stores (both tech giants are based in the Seattle area in fact).
Yes, a fountain of YODA
If you're still not tired of coming and going, go up to the presidio park and look for the headquarters of the special effects and post-production company Industrial Light & Magic . Well, actually, not just anything from this company but the Yoda source. Nothing like taking a photo with the beloved Jedi Master from Star Wars, who unfortunately won't impart his wisdom to you in the form of sentences with a completely messy structure, but yes it is the sea of photogenic.
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Exterior of Googleplex in Mountain View