From Sligo to San Francisco

Well it’s 4am here in San Francisco but we are both awake – it’s 12 noon in Sligo. We arrived safe and sound and can’t begin to tell you how excited we both are.

So as you know we took the bus from Sligo to Dublin Airport where we were greeted by a shuttle bus to bring us to the Metro Hotel Dublin Airport. We had a great nights sleep there and a fantastic breakfast which set us up for the day. The shuttle bus took us to Dublin Airport and we made our way to the OCS counter. They look after people with reduced mobility.

A lovely man called Paul came along from OCS and Jono was wheeled through the airport. Paul made life so easy for us, he took us through security and helped us so much. It really took the stress out of the airport for Jono. We had to give our fingerprints at the American security and had our photos taken. Paul left us right at the boarding gate and when it was time to board one of his colleagues wheeled Jono up to the plane door.

The plane was huge and it was a ten hour flight. I actually found it surprisingly OK and wasn’t even that tired when we arrived. Jono was wrecked and found it strange that the plane was in semi-darkness most of the time. There was plenty to watch on the screens in the headrests in front of us though and we got lunch and a snack so that broke the journey up a bit. I did like the way the journey was shown on the screens so we could see exactly where we were. We were also given a blanket and a pillow, it was fairly chilly on the plane so the blanket was very welcome.

When we arrived in San Francisco it was so different to Dublin, very busy and a bit manic but we were met from the plane and got our suitcases no problem. Our friend Peter kindly met us and drove us along the highway – and that was something else. Huge sprawling highways, like a concrete jungle, so very different to Ireland. I don’t think I could ever drive here! Peter pointed out some of the sights along the way and took us to the Marriott Marquis Hotel. Jono was so excited to actually be in America, he couldn’t stop smiling.

Now what can I say about the San Francisco Marriott Marquis. I feel like we’ve stepped into a movie! It’s just like something you would see in a film. We have been upgraded to the most beautiful room and a welcome gift was waiting for us. We also have access to the M Club Lounge where there are drinks and snacks, it’s truly amazing. The bed is so comfortable, it’s like sleeping on a cloud. We are so thrilled to be staying here.

Peter advised us to try to get into San Francisco time as quickly as possible so we forced ourselves to stay awake until 8pm – hence now we are both awake at 4am! We’ve been looking out of the windows at the beautiful view. It really is something special, we are going to go for an explore today so I’ll keep you all updated along the way.