What will you explore this week?

I want to explore new things and places and experiences.

Last week, Juliana and I went to explore the new Apple Park Visitor Center in Cupertino.

We literally live less than 2 miles from it and have watched the development grow over the last couple of years. We’ve also watched the traffic expand and have experienced longer wait times at lights and longer lines trying to move across town, but that’s another story.

Visiting the visitor center is an experience. There is underground parking with a parking attendant available to guide and direct you as you enter. There are three main parts to the center. As you walk in, you notice the all glass walls and gigantic doors. The first part has an aluminum model of Apple Park, where there are live hosts holding iPads for your use to experience an augmented reality version of visiting Apple Park, which is actually closer to visitors. The hosts were very friendly and shared stories about the building and how to navigate the iPad experience moving from building to building, and changing the lighting one might experience as day turns to night.

The middle part of the center (that sounds funny) housed the retail section, where you could touch, play, read, and view books, electronics, cases, bags, and clothes. There were friendly Apple employees ready to answer questions and to sell you products. I especially liked flipping through the product development history books, touching the high quality paper and appreciating the design aesthetics. The watch band display caught my eye, as well as the mega screen showing advertisements.

I also loved the natural sunlight streaming in through the glass walls.

The third part of the center was the restaurant. I found it odd that 6 employees were standing away from the service counter, with a couple employees working behind the counter. The line of friendly employees were ready to assist you with your order once you placed it on an iPad, I think. We didn’t order anything, however that would have been an interesting experience too, just to see how things work. I think I prefer the personal connection and conversation with the wait staff versus interacting with an iPad. I guess I’ll have to try it next time to experience the difference.

Everything was aesthetically pleasing and flowed together. Overall, I enjoyed the visit and will bring guests who would like to see it too and maybe grab a coffee.

xo Adriana