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San Francisco - Day 1

Posted on March 2nd, 2007 by bryan.
Categories: Holidays.

Finally, the day had arrived. It almost hadn’t been worth going to sleep - I was at uni last night and still had to do most of my ironing and all of my packing. We got up at 0445 and took the Picadilly line to Heathrow, where thankfully we decided to pay our way into the Exec Lounge - comfy seats, tea on tap and no screaming children!

The flight was uneventful - one of the benefits of paying a fortune to fly with British Airways, I guess. It took about ten hours to get to Frisco, just enough time to watch History Boys, Happy Feet and Bobby. Even the food was half decent!

Our arrival at the airport was heralded by an horrendous customs queue - I’m now another stat on the US database, with my photo and finger-prints recorded for life. I hate to say that it was all a bit extreme, but … Once we were finally allowed out of the airport, we took the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transport) system to down-town Frisco. It was then a very long walk up a hill to our deluxe (!) room in the Hotel Carlton where the staff welcomed us like long-lost friends - a nice change from London and the airport!

Once we’d dropped off our bags we headed to Union Square where they were preparing for the Chinese New Year celebrations. After collecting our travel passes from SoMA (modern art gallery), we took the F-line trolley to Fisherman’s Wharf, one of the city’s most famous (and tackiest) tourist destinations. However, it does have at Pier 39 a colony of its own sea-lions and a great view out to the Federal Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island. Apparently the sea-lions have been coming here only since 1989, however, the population peak season can get up to 600. It was loud enough when there was only 50 of them!

We had a fantastic dinner at a restaurant on Pier 39. Lots of seafood - clams, squid and crab - and a lovely Pinot Grigio (I know, not very Californian).

We’d been on the go for almost 24 hours, so we finished the night off in the traditional San Francisco way - with a cable car ride back to the hotel. Cable cars are lots of fun, but you do feel a bit open to the elements … and in constant fear of your life!

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