26th August 2010

Heathrow - Gate 46
(Rossi's Gate)

We got to the airport and through security without being searched. I bought some American socket adapters, to provide for my numerous gadgets, and proceeded to gate 46 (Rossi's gate). The gate opened on time and the flight was not delayed.
 The flight was a long, long 10 hour, 50 minutes. I watched Iron Man 2, which was ok but would have been better with good sound and bigger screen. I didn't manage to sleep much on the flight. The rest of the films were rather shite, so much so that I cannot remember their titles.

We got to San Francisco and had to wait a long time to clear customs due to everyone being biometrically scanned and a woman collapsing at one of the security desks. Our cases were waiting for us on the carousel when we finally made it through. We went to the wrong level for the shuttle bus but eventually got there and were picked up by mad Japanese, banzai bus driver who, despite his best efforts, didn't manage to commit Hari Kari via bus RTA. A friendly, outspoken black bloke chatted to everyone on the bus.

Four Points Sheraton

We got to the Four Points Sheraton hotel on Airport Boulevard and were pleased to find that it was above average quality for the money. It was a good job we had booked through Expedia. We had three beers each at the bar, which cost us $40 dollars, with tip. The barman was Irish and had retained his accent, despite being in America for 20 years. Apparently he had to keep going back to Ireland to make sure it was 'topped up' though.
I went to bed and watched the remainder of 'You don't mess with the Zohan' on the iPad, which was ridiculous but ok. Didn't get much sleep. Room was hot as we didn't turn AC temperature down enough.