Friday in work was totally insane! Stephen was very sensible and worked from home to minimise interruption. I went to work and wished I'd taken a leaf from his book! You all know what its like when you're trying to finish up to go on holiday...trying to get everything finished off and there is a hard deadline. It was a really busy day, with so much to do...and it wasn't made easier by Tim talking constantly!! He was asking advice on the offsite meeting planning, which was fair enough, I have plenty of experience in these things! BUT he would tell me something 3 times in one sentence. I swear that he breathes once in the morning and once again at night!! I was going a little insane when he and Rudy were having a conversation whilst hanging over my cubicle walls when I was trying to concentrate on doing something else...grrrrr. I left the office finally about 4:30. Went home, packed and then fired up the laptop and worked through to about 10:30 to get the final stuff done.
I missed out on the fantastic weather. It was mid-80's F on Friday and humid. A taste of summer come early...as Stephen discovered when he walked to the coffee shop at lunchtime in jeans and a jumper and nearly passed out from heat exhaustion!!
The flight over to San Francisco was fairly uneventful - except for Stephen's constant fidgeting!! He was up and down, trying to get things out of flight bag, kicking me when I was sleeping...very annoying!! The captain was a very cheery chap! He did warn us we'd be hearing a lot of him during the 5 hour flight, and he didn't lie!!
I'd booked a Super Shuttle transfer from the airport to the hotel...BIG mistake. HUGE mistake! We were on a minibus with a British couple and 2 backpackers and were carted about over half of San Francisco before we got to our hotel. I could feel Stephen beginning to breathe fire. We were of course the final drop off and Stephen could barely contain himself by the time we arrived!! All I could hear was "we should have got a taxi" being muttered behind me...
The hotel is a boutique style and very funky! Its a great location too. Its right next to the gate of Chinatown and about 3 blocks to Union Square and all the designer shopping. We dumped our bags, got changed (its much hotter here than we expected - its mid 20's C) and headed out to explore. We walked through Chinatown, through Little Italy, through North Beach and then as it was a lovely clear day (and fog is quite common in San Fran) we decided to walk up to Coit Tower for the lovely panoramic views. It didn't look far...but what we had failed to realise was that it was a vertical climb! Honestly, they should have had oxygen bottles at every intersection along with Sherpas!! Everest would hold no fear for me now.... It was worth it though. The views were spectacular! San Francisco is like a giant wedding cake...beautiful white shimmering buildings atop its many hills.
We rewarded ourselves with a delicious dinner and a few drinkies. It was a really nice chichi little place in Little Italy. I had the most delicious fettuccine with a wild boar sauce. Yumm-ee! We wandered back to the hotel afterwards, changed footwear and wandered down to Union Square in search of a bar. Failed to find one (my feet were hurty, so we didn't want to go too far), wandered back to the wine bar near the hotel and had a quick glass of fizz before falling into bed and oblivion.
We were up early this morning. There is a Starbucks across from the hotel so we grabbed a latte and retreated to the hotel - where Stephen amused himself reading Dr Seuss books in kiddie corner. We jumped a taxi down to Pier 39 and had the place to ourselves for the first hour or so. It was really pretty and there was a breathtaking view at the end of the pier when you could see Alcatraz straight ahead and the Golden Gate bridge to the left. There was also sea lions - LOTS of sea lions!!
We wandered round there for hours, took loads of photos, then headed to Ghiradelli Square for some lunch. We found a really nice diner with great views of the bay, so sat outside and enjoyed the view and the sunshine. It seems like we may have enjoyed the sunshine a bit too much as we're both a little pink now!! We were going to get a cable car back towards Union Sq but the line was huge, and not moving. We've been here twice before and have never yet managed to get on one of the bleeding things - patience not being a virtue that either of us possess in large quantities.
We taxi'd back to Union Sq and wandered around looking at the very chic shops. Designer stores abound - and a huge Prada shop is opening soon. We might have to come back!! Was restrained though - window shopping only! We walked back to the hotel and into the little French cafe next door for a drink and a gallon of water (got to fend off dehydration!).
We're currently sitting in the lobby enjoying the wine reception that the hotel does nightly.
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