Sydney to San Francisco

Last time I came to America I flew into LA and hated the place. Then I went up to San Francisco and loved it. So this time around I decided to make my North American entry point San Francisco. There are no direct flights from Melbourne so I had to fly via Sydney.

The night prior to my departure the Bureau of Meteorology released a warning about extreme winds and sure enough, when I woke up in the morning there was weather trouble. I immediately got mental images of my plane crash landing into Melbourne's western suburbs, but was also worried about flight delays, because if my flight up to Sydney was delayed, I'd miss my San Fran connection, and that flight only flies a few times a week.

Luckily, my flight was a morning flight, and at the time of departure, winds were only about 50-60km/h (not yet to 100km/h gale force as predicted for later). My flight was bumpy, but landed in sunny Sydney without a problem. Apparently Melbourne got worse in the afternoon so I was lucky. Sydney, on the other hand was beautiful. 29 degrees and clear blue sky. The views of the harbour from the plane were awesome, I almost wanted to stay in Sydney. But I was off to another great harbour city.

My flying was really quiet. No-one to chat to. From Sydney there was an unfriendly woman only interested in sleeping, and on the big flight I was stuck next to a middle aged Eastern European couple who only seemed to know a few words in English. And much to my disappointment, the American school girl coming home with her school group from their Spring break trip to Australia and New Zealand didn't seem very interested in chatting to me either.

I only managed to catch a few hours sleep on the 14 hours flight so I was pretty tired when I landed. And due to the time difference, it was only about 10 am the same day I departed, so I had a long way to go until nighttime. I kept myself awake by going shopping and walking the steep streets, and at nightfall sinking some cheap beers with hostel randoms.

Last time I was in San Fran I wanted to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. I walked up to it one afternoon but by the time I got there it was late and cold. So this time I dedicated a day to it. I rented a bike at touristy Fishermen's Wharf, and rode along the bay, up and over the bridge, and down to an affluent town across the bay, and caught a ferry back. As with everything in San Francisco (including just walking the streets), it provided for stunning views. When I first started walking around the city on this trip, I thought that it is not as cool as I remembered it. Perhaps last time I only loved San Fran so much thanks to the contrast with LA. But then when walking the streets, I couldn't help myself exhaling audible “wow”s on many street corners, I realised again why the city is so special. The number 1 place for urban views. It had won me back.

My second and last night in SF was spent on a hostel-organised pub crawl. It was pretty fun, as you might expect. I also had a few too many drinks, as you might expect. This morning I was meant to get up at 9ish to make the 10 am checkout time but awoke from my slumber at about 11. Oops. Ah, must be the jet lag! ;)

Luckily I had enough foresight when booking my trip to make my flight departing SF at 2:30 in the afternoon. So as I write this I am at SF airport, waiting for my flight to Seattle, which, as it happens to be is more than 3 hours delayed anyway. What better way to spend a hangover than 5 hours in an airport terminal. If only there was a McDonald's here to make my stomach feel better....