Well, it seems that we have been radically shown up by our friends Paul and Jodie who are now onto their 7th installment of news from OS. Mind you, they ARE away for 6 months!!!

That being said, their constant installments have finally made us feel guilty enough to sit down and relate (very briefly you’ll be glad to hear) what we have been up to so far.

We arrived in the US at about 11am on the 4th, about 10 minutes after we left thanks to the international data line. We then proceeded to wait for about an hour and a half in the plane as LA was having a security scare. Turns out that a security guard had seen someone running in the terminal and hadn’t been able to catch up to them so they shut the terminal down for a few hours!!! Suffice to say, security was somewhat over the top when we were eventually allowed in.

Even with the delay, US Customs and Immigration got us through in easy time to catch our connection to SF and we arrived with no further incidents. A quick transfer to BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit – the local train service) and we were in Oakland and picked up by Leo and Jeanie and installed in our accommodation with Suzie Allington within about an hour. Suzie had very kindly agreed to take in these Aussies for 2 weeks even though she had only met Rob once about 5 years ago!

A quick shower (soooo good!) and straight down to business, we were out to an early dinner and several margaritas at La Piñata (a very good local Mexican place on Alameda) where Nadia realized for the first time that Americans are seriously NOT stingy with the servings.

With the exception of a couple of early wakings, we didn’t really feel too much jet lag. The martini method of sleep regulation seems to have served us well!

The next few days saw Nadia being introduced to many of the family and us generally lazing around and catching up. Monday, one of the US’ few public holidays, saw us walking across the Golden Gate Bridge and being picked up by Leo on the other side. We then had a look at Lombard St (“Crookedest street in the world”) and finished up at Buena Vista Café where we had their specialty – Irish Coffee.

Wednesday, Leo and Jeanie took us to Monteray, Carmel and Big Sur via highway 1 (the scenic route running along spectacular cliffs reminiscent of the Great Ocean Road on Oz). A wonderful and very full day took us through the “17 Mile Drive” to Carmel and past some of the world’s most exclusive homes and golf courses. Big Sur was the southern point of the day with cocktails in a restaurant perched on the side of a cliff overlooking the ocean.

Through all this time, wedding preparations were in full swing and we settled into helping, meeting, greeting, wining and dining (a tough life!). Friday saw the wedding which was just beautiful.

All went without a hitch (except the obvious one that was meant to happen!) which was a real testament to the organization that had gone before.

It was also great to catch up with Betty Allington, amongst other members of the family, who had flown in for the wedding.

Saturday was a rest day and Sunday saw Leo and Jeanie driving us to the Napa valley for sight seeing and wine tasting. Once again a great day.

The next few days were up early and into San Francisco for serious sight seeing.

We’ve seen Fisherman’s Wharf, China Town, Union Square (up market doesn’t go close to describing this shopping district!), Golden Gate Park (a long way!!!), Cliff House (a great restaurant sticking out of the cliff over the Pacific) and Sutro Baths, Alcatraz (great audio tour done by former guards and inmates) and the Tenderlion (by accident – although we did get a great hamburger there at Original Joe’s)… Cable cars, buses, BART, ferries, Muni rail, we’ve been everywhere on everything!

After all that sight seeing, Rob found a place to recuperate a bit – in a massage chair in Macy’s!

That being said, the really best parts have been sharing meals and drinks and catching up with our friends whilst trying to convince them to come and visit us down-unda. Being allowed to cook at Suzie’s place has been a REAL bonus!

We’re now taking a rest day or two before going on a day trip to Yosemite on Saturday (again thanks to Leo and Jeanie). Sunday will be a late breakfast in Alameda with as many of the crew as we can muster before flying out to Venice and our next adventure in the afternoon.

We can’t believe it’s only less than 2 weeks since we left and now less than 3 days before Italy (and the wrench of leaving all these friends here!).

Hope this finds all well. Love to hear from “y’all real soon”!

Rob and Nadia