Round The World and other travels

I had a wake-up call booked for 0500 and in the event it came 10 minutes early. With the early rise and a significant time change to come, it was clearly going to be a very long day. I checked out of the hotel a few minutes before 0600 and was soon on my way to the airport in a taxi. It cost EUR8.00 - compare with my experience on arrival! Once at the airport, it was only a short wait for the check-in desks to open and then I was on my way to the lounge for a coffee and some early-morning nibbles. The flight was called on time.

Due to the late arrival of the LIS-LHR flight, there was no time for a lounge visit. Actually, were it not for the fact that San Francisco flights had been switched to Terminal 1 earlier in the year, this could easily have turned into a bit of a panic. As it was, I simply made my way fairly briskly to the relevant gate in T1.

Immigration and Customs procedures were surprisingly straightforward, especially in view of the grilling that I felt I had been given on entering the US in March, as part of my RTW 2004 trip. In no time at all, I was outside in the glorious sunshine. Although they are certainly not without their problems, I decided to get one of the door-to-door shuttle vans rather than a taxi. I still hadn't completely got over the Lisbon experience. I was soon checking into the Mark Hopkins, something of a San Francisco institution in its prominent Nob Hill setting. I was allocated a room directly above the front entrance, which gave me a reasonable view of the street below, but not of the wider city skyline. I settled into my room and ventured out for a sandwich when I felt I needed something. By 2030, having been up for just shy of 24 hours, I felt exhausted and was happy to surrender at last to a well deserved and much needed sleep.