theDIBB - View Single Post - Let's go... to San Francisco March 2019

BONZO · 20 Apr 19, 06:53 PM

Wednesday 27th March 2019

Let�s go�to San Francisco
March 2019

Cast (it�s the usual one!)
Me: Shaun, 50�s, loves travelling, eating and drinking (not necessarily in that order!)
Alison: 50�s, ditto to the above!

Link to Index: Here

So, the final leg of our outward journey!

We woke up very early (as expected with the time difference) at around 4am and spent the next 3 hours reading, relaxing, drinking coffee and watching TV. It makes such a change from our normal lives frantically dashing here there and everywhere!

Eventually we showered dressed and wandered along the road to Denny�s for breakfast in the half-light of the morning. It�s just a strong reminder of all our trips to Florida in years gone past!

I was pleased to see an over-55 menu

but brushed that aside in favour of an All American Slam with my favourite hash browns and rye toast. Alison tucked into a stack of pancakes and maple syrup. We both had coffee and ended up using all the half and half pots up in the process!

After a leisurely breakfast we wandered back to the hotel and in the full light of day we could see how close to the airport we were!

We repacked and re-sorted our bags and headed down to the lobby to pick up the shuttle to the airport. Of course as luck would have it everything was very quick, had we been short of time I�m sure we would have had a long wait for the shuttle bus then encountered lots of traffic!

We tried to check our bags in using the self-serve facility but damn thing only spat out 1 set of tickets. Staff were on hand and they ushered us to the front of the desk queue and got things sorted out quickly.

We headed off to security and breezed through � loving the TSA pre check facility that our Global Entry gives us. We leave shoes and jackets on, leave liquids and electronics in bags and just walk through the arch!

We wandered around the shops a bit then walked through the airside tunnels to terminal 4 and onto TBIT where we could access the Qantas First lounge. We had a champagne and coffee and relaxed a while reading the newspapers.

We had a look at the lunch menu and decided to eat here too � the famous Qantas salt and chilli squid for Alison and a Croque Monsieur for me. All very civilised seating down at a table with waiter service. I had a nice glass of wine and Alison had a couple of mocktails.

After lunch we headed out and wandered to the flagship AA lounge in terminal 4, which was busy! Quite a small lounge in comparison but super convenient being closer to the gate for boarding. We found a couple of seats and got coffee and giant maltesers!

Finally it was time to head over to the regional terminal for our short flight to San Francisco � this is a bus ride away but we had allowed enough time. We boarded a few minutes late up an external ramp with bars!

On board we were offered a drink before take-off then another drink and snack once in the air.

We landed about half an hour late in the end but it was all quite efficiently dealt with and we grabbed our bags before heading up the get the air train to the BART stop.

Alison had pre purchased our tickets on an app which gave a discount ($13 total instead of $17.30) for the trip. We couldn�t use these at the barriers but had to flash the tickets to the ticket booth person who just opened the gate and let us through.

Back in the day I remember BART being hailed as the transport of the future, now it just looked a little tired and the stations were brutalist concrete structures. I think they used BART trains on the Earthquake: The Big One at Universal in Orlando!

We got off at Powell station and walked a few minutes to our hotel next to Union Square � The Grand Hyatt. We had pre-booked a club level room and were assigned 3301! What a view!

We grabbed a couple of beers in the lounge and enjoyed the view from there too!

and then popped out for a burrito/naked burrito in Chipotle (very similar to the Tortilla chain back home in the UK) which was about the right amount. Nice to see Pibb Xtra!

Now completely stuffed we waddled back to room via Union Square

and crashed out but at least we�d finally arrived.

20 Apr 19, 06:53 PM	#1
	20 Apr 19, 06:53 PM BONZO Imagineer
BONZO Imagineer Join Date: Mar 02	Let's go... to San Francisco March 2019 - Day 4 (Los Angeles to San Francisco) Wednesday 27th March 2019 Let�s go�to San Francisco March 2019 Cast (it�s the usual one!) Me: Shaun, 50�s, loves travelling, eating and drinking (not necessarily in that order!) Alison: 50�s, ditto to the above! Link to Index: Here So, the final leg of our outward journey! We woke up very early (as expected with the time difference) at around 4am and spent the next 3 hours reading, relaxing, drinking coffee and watching TV. It makes such a change from our normal lives frantically dashing here there and everywhere! Eventually we showered dressed and wandered along the road to Denny�s for breakfast in the half-light of the morning. It�s just a strong reminder of all our trips to Florida in years gone past! I was pleased to see an over-55 menu but brushed that aside in favour of an All American Slam with my favourite hash browns and rye toast. Alison tucked into a stack of pancakes and maple syrup. We both had coffee and ended up using all the half and half pots up in the process! After a leisurely breakfast we wandered back to the hotel and in the full light of day we could see how close to the airport we were! We repacked and re-sorted our bags and headed down to the lobby to pick up the shuttle to the airport. Of course as luck would have it everything was very quick, had we been short of time I�m sure we would have had a long wait for the shuttle bus then encountered lots of traffic! We tried to check our bags in using the self-serve facility but damn thing only spat out 1 set of tickets. Staff were on hand and they ushered us to the front of the desk queue and got things sorted out quickly. We headed off to security and breezed through � loving the TSA pre check facility that our Global Entry gives us. We leave shoes and jackets on, leave liquids and electronics in bags and just walk through the arch! We wandered around the shops a bit then walked through the airside tunnels to terminal 4 and onto TBIT where we could access the Qantas First lounge. We had a champagne and coffee and relaxed a while reading the newspapers. We had a look at the lunch menu and decided to eat here too � the famous Qantas salt and chilli squid for Alison and a Croque Monsieur for me. All very civilised seating down at a table with waiter service. I had a nice glass of wine and Alison had a couple of mocktails. After lunch we headed out and wandered to the flagship AA lounge in terminal 4, which was busy! Quite a small lounge in comparison but super convenient being closer to the gate for boarding. We found a couple of seats and got coffee and giant maltesers! Finally it was time to head over to the regional terminal for our short flight to San Francisco � this is a bus ride away but we had allowed enough time. We boarded a few minutes late up an external ramp with bars! On board we were offered a drink before take-off then another drink and snack once in the air. We landed about half an hour late in the end but it was all quite efficiently dealt with and we grabbed our bags before heading up the get the air train to the BART stop. Alison had pre purchased our tickets on an app which gave a discount ($13 total instead of $17.30) for the trip. We couldn�t use these at the barriers but had to flash the tickets to the ticket booth person who just opened the gate and let us through. Back in the day I remember BART being hailed as the transport of the future, now it just looked a little tired and the stations were brutalist concrete structures. I think they used BART trains on the Earthquake: The Big One at Universal in Orlando! We got off at Powell station and walked a few minutes to our hotel next to Union Square � The Grand Hyatt. We had pre-booked a club level room and were assigned 3301! What a view! We grabbed a couple of beers in the lounge and enjoyed the view from there too! and then popped out for a burrito/naked burrito in Chipotle (very similar to the Tortilla chain back home in the UK) which was about the right amount. Nice to see Pibb Xtra! Now completely stuffed we waddled back to room via Union Square and crashed out but at least we�d finally arrived. __________________ http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sign...igpic534_1.gif 1988 ~ Contemporary ~ Honeymoon 1989 ~ Off site 1994 ~ EuroDisney ~ Santa Fe 1999 ~ Off site 2001 ~ CBR (Aruba) ~ Poly (Tahiti) 2003 ~ WL & HRH 2004 ~ Pop Century, RPH, CSR, PBH, Contemporary 2006 ~ DLP ~ Newport Bay 2007 ~ POR ~ HRH ~ GF 2008 ~ All star sports, BCV, RPH, Vero Beach, VWL 2010 ~ OKW ~ BCV ~ HRH ~POP Century ~ Vero Beach ~ VWL 2013 ~ AKL ~ HRH ~ BCV ~ Vero Beach ~ VWL Edited at 07:38 PM.