It is with a 2-hours delay that our massive Airbus A380 left the international Roissy Charles-De-Gaulle airport in Paris to finally land in San Francisco.
Regarding this plane, I have to say that beyond the silence, discrete engine and imposing silhouette of this steel monster, the real MUST are the 3 video cameras on the nose, stomach, and tail of the plane. It all allows you to see the plane and the landscape in a very different and beautiful way. It's a new perspective to see the landing from the plane's tail! :)
Once we arrived, the administration and paper-checking with the custom officers were done very fast and efficiently: don't forget we're not in France, here! Welcome to America!
After we arrived at the hotel, we dropped our luggages and went around town to locate the bank. Unfortunately it was closed, but we decided to drop-by at Seesmic offices, just in case someone was still there. And we found one of the current interns, Morgan, as well as Marco, the CTO (Chief Technical Officer). Despite the jetlag (it was 6pm in SF, which meant 3am in France), I think most of what I said and asked Morgan was making sense...
In the evening, we went back to Chinatown to enjoy a soup and chow-mein noodles, before heading back to the hotel to rest our legs and minds.
The following morning, we woke up in between 7am and 8am, which probably hadn't happened in a month —since my last exam... We went out for breakfast —a typical american thing, for those of you not in the know— and I enjoyed my first ever Bagel! It was a delight, to be honest.
We went back to the bank, knowing it was opened, and in one hour, we managed to get all the paperwork done...
Later on, we went down to Mission District —one of the rather 'Latino' districts— to visit a flat close to Seesmic offices. It was very small and nothing was special about it, but since I'm not difficult, it would have suited. But later this afternoon, we managed to find another house much better, with 11 people leaving in it (including the owner and his family. This was the house I later signed for. I will write more about this house in a dedicated post.
After this, we went back to the hotel to rest a little, before heading towards Fisherman's Wharf, to enjoy some wonderful ribs —which I highly recommend— at the Hard Rock Café. It is quite pricey, but they do give you massive plates and the atmosphere is really cool! Consider this a tourist tip!
Regarding the food, I really recommend the Angel Deli & Cafe, for its Breakfast Bagels, as well as the Hard Rock Café, of course. And even the place where we went for lunch:Momi Toby's Revolution Cafe.
That's all for the first two days of this incredible trip. I'll try to create specific pages regarding tips, food, and other activities, in order to make like a guide of San Francisco!
