So here we are luckily on the start of a 7 1/2 week trip - a life experience according to Alex. Firstly we started out journey in a very civilised manner - we got upgraded to Upper Class on the Virgin flight over !! I'm sure (apart from my charm and good looks) that the fact that I refused the chargeable 2 for 1 upgrade offered 'cos I just couldn't justify it - being unemployed at the moment - may have swung the sympathy vote (Sarah please note we are going to set up a site for females looking for hotel and flight upgrades !!)
So we arrived Friday mid afternoon fairly refreshed. Met 2 mechanical engineers on the flight at the bar in Upper Class - so it's obviously not that bad a profession ! Did the Gold Dust bar with live music. (Closest thing to a UK bar we have ever found abroad) Saturday morning I was awake about 03.30 - had to wait until 6am for Alex and then we were up, breakfasted and out of the hotel by 7am on a Saturday morning !! Thought we'd go to Sausalito for lunch but were about 2 and a half hours too early for the first ferry !! (Some people are so lazy on a Saturday !) Therefore had to find something else to do - bought 3 day muni passes and proceeded to use them on the cable cars up and down the city. (American tourists don't obviously get started 'till mid morning so it was very peaceful and great fun.)
Rang friends (Irene and Martin) that we had agreed to meet and discovered they were in the Mariott so agreed to meet them for drinks about 7 that evening. Unfortunately I did not check the address and then discovered the Mariott had 3 bars none of which were hosting Irene and Martin. Concierge came to the resue and we discovered they were at the JW Mariott about 10 min walk away. So all ended up well - I introduced Irene to Cosmopolitans and she introduced me to Vodka Martini's (how lethal are they ???) Had a wonderful evening and agreed to meet got Sunday brunch at the Hilton (not quite backpacking it yet !)
They chickened out ! However I have to say that I woke up with an almighty headache and went striaght back to bed after breakfast with 2 paracetamol ! (For those of you who know me well this is actually highly unusual). However by 11am feeling much better and ready for Sunday brunch with complimentary champagne et al. Brilliant views from a high up floor and excellent backround jazz made for a lovely leisurely lunch. Alex fitted in perfectly with his new T-shirt worn proudly at the exhorbitant cost of 2.50.
The Executive Vintage Court was our hotel in San Francisco and whilst at first we were not so sure, it transpired to be very ok and at a fantastic price of about 50 quid a night ! Every afternoon between 5 and 6 pm they did a complimentary wine tasting. They had a 1000 + bottle wine cellar used for their restaurant next door.
So that's a quick update of the first part of our travels. Will update with a bit of Auckland (hopefully tomorrow) - but better let the computer back to others who may wish to use it now !!
(Mummy if you are reading this - can you please send me an email to my personal account 'cos I've tried 2 emails to you and they have both failed - thank you !)
Hope you are all well and enjoying what sounds like horrific weather in the UK/Ireland !
Love Ursula & Alex
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