USA, here we come!

We set off from Billund Airport in the morning, ready for a long flight. First, we flew from Billund to Amsterdam, and then from Amsterdam to San Francisco. The journey went smoothly, but we ran into our first hiccup upon arriving in San Francisco. We had rented a car from Avis through Kilroy Travel, which included two free drivers over the age of 21. At San Francisco Airport (SFO), we were supposed to pick up the car. The rental companies were all gathered in a massive complex, a 10-minute bus ride from SFO. We were attended to by a very stern lady who, despite her 12 years of experience, still managed to make mistakes. In fact, we received quite rude service from her. She claimed that an additional driver had to be at least 25, which was incorrect. So, she sent two bewildered Danes off with only one authorized driver for the car. We were feeling a bit out of sorts from the flight and the time difference (9 hours), and we still had a tough drive ahead of us to downtown San Francisco, where we’d be staying for the next few days. We had booked a nicer hotel room at Hotel Mosser Victorian for our first few nights because it was Mette’s birthday, and we wanted to celebrate in style. Even though we paid quite a bit for our hotel, the room we got wasn’t without its issues. But hey, it all adds to the atmosphere, right? We didn’t have hot water, and our radiator was quite noisy too. However, the staff was very friendly and provided us with good service. It was especially nice that the hotel was centrally located—just about a 5-minute walk to Chinatown and even shorter to Union Square, where there were shops of all kinds. We were really tired, but we tried to stay awake as long as possible to adjust to the time difference. In the evening, we went out for a little sightseeing in Chinatown, where we found a cozy spot to have dinner. Chinatown is the largest Chinese community in the world, even bigger than those in London and New York. Eating in Chinatown is incredibly cheap, a price level you won’t find anywhere else in California. The day wrapped up a bit before 9 PM, when my eyes could take no more, but Mette’s were still sparkling! After all, we had been awake for 24 hours straight, packed with tons of new experiences!