San Francisco (Day 1)

The adventure began on Thursday at 2.40pm when the flight from Sydney to San Francisco was due to depart.  The minutes before the flight I rang and sms'd some of my closest friends for a final goodbye (after how wonderful they have been to me throwing numerous farewell events).

The flight itself was OK, at least it wasn't the 24 hours that I am used to but 13 which seemed a breeze to think about.  I sat next to an Australian business man and a NY university student, whose family owned a coffee farm in Costa Rica (you don't get to meet people like these every day).  The overall rating of the flight would have to be 5/10.  The food wasn't that great, mistake picking the chicken and rice, the service was average, and the movies were shocking (having already been seen on TV or others that had skipped the cinema altogether).  I missed the only movie that I wanted to see, Ice Age 2, because of slumber.  One amusing part of the flight was when they were making the announcements overhead informing that people were not allowed to lie (or was it sleep?) in the aisles as they might get stepped on or that people were not allowed to sit on the shelf near the emergency exit door.

At 11.00am the plane landed in San Francisco, and customs exit was completed (unaware of all the commotion in London during the hours our flight).  Photographs were taken of both my fingerprints and of myself, logged in the US system.  The Samsonite luggage was picked up and the way to the taxi stand was made.  A taxi was called that would drive to the final destination "Fisherman's Wharf".

I have to say that San Francisco is a beautiful city; clean wide streets, people were very nice and helpful (from the lady at the information desk to the man that called a taxi at the airport, and all persons in the taxi, hotel staff etc etc).  As the taxi was driving I saw a sign of Shell and immediately thought of my car, she would have felt at home in San Francisco.

Most of the afternoon was left to sightsee, after having lunch of course, and now I now the Wharf area pretty well.  Also went on a Bay Quackers tour, having slept for only 3 in 24 hours I did not have the energy to quack at normal busses or pedestrians walking along the streets..

After the tour finished walked the street of San Francisco for a few more hours before dinner which consisted of clam chowder in sourdough bread as the dish and then I called it a night at 9pm and slept until 4.30am the next morning.  (Woke up, had a shower and headed for breakfast early on).