Arriving in San Francisco

Well I arrived safely yesterday around 4pm 'local' only to join a 30 minute queue for the customs line. I as always had the pleasure of explaining my visit to a customs officer who had obviously been working on the desk so long that not even he knew if he was genuinely interested in every ones business. Hopped in a cab and zipped straight to my hotel I'm the heart of San Francisco.

The hotel is great. Looks incredibly grand and the foyer is a real deco statement. I will ask before taking photos as it has been my experience that security guards love nothing better than giving people a hard time about documenting their precious memories!

After checking in and getting on the wifi (now the most important task after getting to your room - beating the exasperated perusal of the mini bar price list) I headed out in search of a bar. My anti-jet lag theory, as practiced by functioning alcoholics the world over, is basically to throw your body in to reset. Irish bars are always a good start to this process. I went to Johnny Foley's and on the way passed the above rock band jamming out on the corner across from Union Square. An excellent welcome to the vibrant lower West coast life.

I met a lot of interesting people in Foley's: a couple from Hawaii who work in brewing, another couple who had travelled the state to catch the 49ers game, two ladies from London who were backpacking across the USA, and some barman from Kilkenny and Kilburn.

After watching the match between the Bears and the Texans I headed back to my hotel having successfully executed the anti-jet lag precautions which I'm pleased to say worked perfectly! I'm now up and ready to go and start my first day in the SFO office! Now where can I get a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich?