I barely slept a wink last night. I spent all night lying there waiting for the alarm to sound. Silly, I know.

We got up on time, and were ready to leave at 6.30am when our taxi arrived. It was pouring rain as we climbed in and made our way to JFK. We said our goodbyes to lovely NY, and then checked in for our flight to San Francisco.

We flew Virgin America. The interior of the plane was very hip – ultraviolet lights, cream leather seats with black and red trimming, and background music suggesting we were in one of Manhattan’s latest trendy bars. We had a good flight (Yes, business again. Terrible snobs!) although the food was not great. The three flight attendants loved Josh, and took him for walks, and oohed and ahhed over him. Olivia was allowed to go up to meet the pilots, who wore trendy uniforms – black shirts and pants, again, club gear. She was a little over-awed, but they were very friendly towards her.

The climate in San Francisco provided us with some relief from the humidity of New York. It was sunny with a cool breeze, although our Indian taxi driver nearly suffocated us with hot, stuffy air on the drive to our hotel.

We are staying at a lovely place called the Argonaut, right across the street from the Fisherman’s Wharf, but a little closer to Golden Gate Bridge. Alcatraz is close by in case Jason or Josh get out of hand.

Our room overlooks a courtyard, and right now a really cute couple are singing some of the famous Opera arias. The soprano has a really good voice.

I’m back. I’ve been downstairs listening to them, and I bought their CDs. Olivia and Josh came down too, and they seemed to love the music. Olivia sat quietly listening, while Josh danced around and moved in time to the music. Naturally Olivia then joined in. I sat and enjoyed Schubert’s Ave Maria, and some of Puccini’s arias. It was lovely.

We spent the evening walking along the bay towards the Golden Gate Bridge. It is an impressive structure. There are bushfires around, so there is a lot of smog blurring our view. We’ll go back tomorrow morning for another look.

We’re all pretty tired, and the kids have fallen asleep. Jason and I are enjoying some Portuguese port we found that isn’t revolting, and we’re enjoying our cave-matured cheddar from Cheddar. It’s quiet, and the cool night air is coming in through the window. What a lovely way to relax.