Changi Transit

I've got 3 hours between my flight arriving from London and the next one to Melbourne.

I've had a shower and shave and am feeling pretty chipper. I'm now sat in the KF Gold lounge and have had a little bit of food and a nice cold Tiger beer.

I just went to get another beer and was amused by a couple of middle aged Aussies filling up pint glasses with Johnnie Walker! Well to be fair I don't think they're full pints, and they sort of filled them a third full before topping off with Coke.

The next flight could be the tricky one. By the time we depart it will be 2pm UK time, so my body clock probably won't be interested in sleeping. However, the flight is through the night and deposits me in Melbourne at 6.30am. So if I don't get any snooze time on the way 'downunder' I've got the prospect of a long day a head of me.

Globetrotting Update

Well so far so good. We're a little more than 2 hours from arriving in Singapore (just about to pass over the Nicobar Islands) and the flight has been as good as I could hope for.

The best bit is that it's not full at all and I've snagged a block of four seats which I've put to good use. I think apart from a couple of hours after we left Heathrow I've spent most of my time lying down. I got a few hours decent sleep as well, although I had a couple of strange dreams. One involved the aircraft PA system making an announcement telling us to put our life jackets on and in the other dream we suddenly had to adopt the 'brace position' as we were about to land without any wheels being down.

Anyway I think our second meal is about to be served so I better finish. In fact the hot towels are being handed out as I type and the mood lighting has been switched to a nice warming shade of gold (evoking a sunrise perhaps?).

Lounge TV

Incredible scenes in the Singapore Airlines lounge at Heathrow! Someone has asked for Eastenders to be put on!

The TVs were previously tuned to Sky News -- pretty understandable really.

Anyway there was a bit of a palaver as nobody knew where the TV remote was. Unfortunately they found it in the end. I'd have quite happily sat through the pre-prime ministerial debate build up than have to suffer East End soap opera dullness. Now I've got to put up with Anne Robinson.

Crazy Globetrotting Weekend -- Flight 2

Well as predicted I've found it hard to get any sleep on this leg of my trip.

Once again the flight is quite lightly loaded and this time I've got a block of three seats by the window all to myself. So even though sleep has alluded me I have been able to stretch out and get some 'rest'.

When I was settling in to my original seat after boarding one of the flight attendants said that the flight would be something like a half or two thirds full (I can't remember exactly). It was then a slightly agonising wait as boarding progressed to see which seats around me would eventually be occupied. It was a relief when finally the announcement was made that “all doors are closed”. As it happened I had a spare seat next to me, but that is trumped by having a block of three seats where you can actually lie down. I was lucky that the only block of three without anybody in it in my section of Economy was just across the aisle from my original seat. I moved quickly to occupy it!

We had a bit of a faff leaving the gate. We were all boarded and ready to go ahead of the scheduled departure time. The pilot had been on the PA and made his initial welcome announcement and said we would be 'pushing back' on time. Well this didn't happen. He came back on the PA to say we had a 'technical problem' with the steering and that an engineer was looking at it. This is where I had visions of a big delay or even worse of having to transferred on to another aircraft or flight – I'd lose the seats I'd claimed!

In the end the delay was only about 20 minutes.

As I write this we've got an hour and three quarters until we land in Melbourne.

[NB - Just relised I hadn't published this]

Crazy Globetrotting Weekend -- Flight 1

So the madness/craziness has begun! The first flight of my mega-mileage run, LHR to SIN, is scheduled to depart in a little over 2 hours time.

So why have I decided to subject myself to this? Well, earlier in the year I decided I did want to keep my KrisFlyer Elite Gold status -- at least for another 12 months. I then worked out that the most economical way to do this was to have a weekend in Melbourne! I get something like 21,000 miles for the cost of a weekend in a US city. The downside is that I spend 42+ hours in an aeroplane for about the same amount of time on the ground in Melbourne.

I'm feeling a bit apprehensive because I'm not really sure how much sleep I'll actually get. I can guarantee that any sleep I do get is likely to be rubbish quality.

To ease my 'pre-trip nerves' I'm having a couple of cold Tiger beers in the Singapore Airlines lounge. I'm steering clear of any 'lounge sandwiches' after the havoc they may have been responsible for on my last flight (spewing up on the way back from SFO on BA).

Obviously I would love it if the Upgrade Gods were to shine on me again. I can't see it though, so I'd better prepare for life in Economy!

Until then I'll relax in my abundance of personal space!

Homeward Bound

Well that's it -- holiday over!

I'm sat in the BA lounge at San Francisco Airport waiting for my flight home. I'm just supping a Sierra Nevada pale ale and I'm contemplating switching over to some wine.

Outside it is gloriously sunny -- shame I'm sat here really. This morning was a little bit iffy, classic Bay Area weather: Cloudy, then rain, then sun etc. etc.

I had a monster breakfast at Dottie's True Blue Cafe (there was a queue outside when I got there at 7.25am -- it opens at 7.30am). I then walked up and down a few hills, down to the Embarcadero, round to the tourist tack of Fisherman's Wharf and then back up and down a few hills to my hotel. My breakfast had been well and truly walked off.

I checked out of the hotel and then got some lunch down at the Ferry Building. I went to a place called Mijita and had a fish taco and some chips and salsa -- Cal-Mex instead of Tex-Mex).

I had a little bit of time to kill so ventured in to a few shops (which were all open today). I came across The North Face store which had so much stuff I wanted to buy. Their flagship store in Berkley is supposed to be even better.

It was now time to catch the train to the airport.

The BART was so convenient -- the station at Powell Street was right next to my hotel and I got deposited right at the international terminal. I dropped my bag, picked up my boarding pass and headed outside for a few precious minutes of sunshine!

I cleared security (taking advantage of the 'priority lane') and then had a quick look in Duty Free (not a big selection).

So time for the lounge.

It's starting to get a bit too warm here as the sun streams through the big windows. Time for a glass of water (and maybe some wine).

Red Sox Win

They beat the Yankees 9-7. This after being 5-1 down after 4 1/2 innings.

Opening Day

What a great game -- it's the bottom of the 7th innings and the Red Sox have just scored a 2 run homer to tie the scores at 7-7.

The weather in Boston looks a damn sight better than here in San Francisco (although it has stopped raining now).

I'm starting to feel the affects of the two hour time difference between Austin and San Francisco. It's just gone 8pm and I'm flagging a bit. The upside should be that I'll be up nice and early tomorrow to have a look around town.

Oh and by the way, my banh mi were excellent and the zinfandel is going down a treat (I really was all 'beered' out in Texas).

Damp

Well the weather forecasters were spot on -- it's been pretty wet all day in San Francisco. My flight landed a little after 10am local time and it was overcast but dry. By the time I got to my hotel (via the BART) at about 11.30am there were a few spots of rain in the air. At midday it was raining; and it's been raining ever since (with varying degrees of heaviness).

This afternoon I spent a bit of time down at the Ferry Building down by the Embarcadero. I had lunch at the Hog Island Oyster Co. and then drooled over some of the other food for sale down there.

The rain really prevented me from doing any more exploring on foot. It was also a bit frustrating that the big shopping mall near my hotel was shut because of Easter. However, there were some shops open (but not many) where I could seek dry sanctuary.

I fancied a low key evening, so I picked up a couple of Vietnamese sandwiches (Banh Mi) from the Saigon Sandwich Shop a few, very wet, blocks walk away in the Tenderloin district. I wouldn't fancy doing this walk in the dark -- lots of odd characters around.

I'll have my sandwiches in my hotel room washed down with a nice bottle of Californian Zinfandel (picked up from the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant earlier) whilst watching baseball on ESPN -- Red Sox against the Yankees. Cool.

iPad

So I think the dude in the picture has been sold a pup -- that's definitely not an iPad!

The media here are full of the iPad. There was all kinds of coverage of the launch -- lots of reporters filming queues of people outside Apple stores, and presenters salivating of the shiny new 'tablet'.

I went to the Apple store near Market St. in San Francisco this afternoon. Lots of people getting 'hands on' with iPads, but I've no idea if they actually had any stock available to sell. It certainly did look pretty cool. Maybe when my netbook becomes obsolete at some point in the future I'll have to investigate!

Bay Area Weather

The forecast for the next couple of days is for rain showers or drizzle and temperatures topping out in the low teens. According to the Weather Channel the trend in Pacific north west has been for weather colder and wetter than normal.

In fact in some areas away from the coast they have had loads of snow in the last week. On TV they showed coverage of a football (soccer) game from Salt Lake City which had massive dump of snow during the course of the match. Really white out conditions.

'Jetting' to San Francisco

Well we're at 35,000 feet just a bit north of Hermosillo, Mexico. I think we've got another 2 hours flying time until we get to San Francisco.

Once again on JetBlue I'm watching live TV. I've been watching the Travel Channel – a programme has just finished called 'Donut Paradise'! It was looking at the best places to get doughnuts in the U.S. I like the look of Top Pot Doughnuts in Seattle, WA, Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland, OR and The Doughnut Factory in New York, NY. Who'd have thought there would be a 'gourmet' doughnut movement?

I'm now watching a programme about the best places in America to have breakfast – called unimaginatively 'Breakfast Paradise'. I wonder if they'll have anything on breakfast tacos? That's how I started my day this morning.

I had a rubbish nights sleep. Too much noise from outside (music, people, cars, motorbikes etc.). My room was on the 10th Floor and I can only imagine what it was like on lower floors. I guess the trick is to get a room on the other side of the building to 6th Street!

Today Texas, Tomorrow California

So my last day in Austin is almost done.

I'm currently sat outside at Whole Foods Market having just enjoyed a tasty (meat free) salad. It'll be an early night for me as my flight to San Francisco leaves at 8.00am tomorrow.

I passed my last day doing not a lot. I went for another walk around the lake -- this time a loop as far west as you can go. This meant I'd worked up an appetite for some more Texas barbecue for lunch. I went to a place called Lamberts. A pretty cool place and good food (although the brisket was not as good as the meat I had a Kreuz's in Lockhart).

After my lunchtime feast I strolled around town, had a look in few shops and relaxed by the lake and then by the Capitol building. I feel pretty beat now -- a combination of a late night last night and then a day spent out and about on a warm and sunny Texas day. I think a couple of Shiners whilst I do my packing should finish me off.

I predict there'll be more madness on 6th Street tonight. On my walk to Whole Foods the bars were starting to get busy and the 'home boys' were cruising the streets in their pimped out cars. Quite funny really.

A Gig

Austin bills itself as the 'live music capital of the world'. And there are numerous venues in downtown to back up that claim. The Austin Chronicle is a weekly listings paper and it's chock full of things to see.

I figured since I was in town I might as well go and see a random band playing.

Emo's is a venue on 6th Street and playing last night were The Postelles, The Constellations and Hockey.

All of the bands were really good.

The Postelles were a group of indie-pop kids playing toe tapping indie-pop songs.

The Constellations were an eight piece group (from Atlanta, Georgia) who played a really eclectic range of music -- sort of R.E.M., B52s, Matchbox Twenty and a whole lot more. I thought they were excellent.

Finally the headliners were Hockey. Again this band were really superb, kind of in the Passion Pit or Scissor Sisters mold.

Hockey finished their set at about 1.30am!!! Way too late for me.

6th Street was rammed. Mainly with scary groups of 'African-Americans' either trying to get in to bars and clubs or just milling around. It felt a bit intimidating really despite the fact that there was also a big police presence.

I grabbed a slice of pepperoni pizza and called it a night.

Hiking

Well yesterday the weather forecasters were sort of correct with their predictions. It didn't actually rain, but it felt like it should've. It was pretty grey, overcast and humid. By about mid-afternoon the weather front had moved through and the late afternoon was all blue skies and sunshine.

I went for a bit of a hike around Lady Bird lake -- basically a circle from the Congress Ave Bridge as far east as you can go. According to my map that's about 6.5 miles.

It was good to stretch my legs and hopefully burn off a few of the calories I've been packing away! It took me about an hour and a half, maybe a bit more, and I was certainly nice and hot and sweaty afterwards!

I showered back at the hotel, then mooched around downtown for a bit. I've come to realise that when people in Austin go shopping they jump in their cars and go to malls out of town. There really aren't any shopping areas downtown that you would normally expect of a city this size.

I quite fancied a nice cold beer so stopped by The Ginger Man. God knows who many beers they had on tap, but it was a lot. I settled for a couple of pints of Live Oak Big Bark. Just what I needed after my exertions!

No Breakfast Tacos!

It's an outrage.

I thought I'd try a different place for breakfast (and free wi-fi) this morning. I foolishly thought that everywhere in Austin would have breakfast tacos. I was wrong.

The Halcyon Coffee shop may serve up a better latte than where I went yesterday, but there is no sign of any tasty tacos!

And to make matters worse Spurs are 2-0 down to Sunderland (and it's only half-time).

Pull Your Pants Up!

This story amused me.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7545671/New-Yorkers-told-to-pull-their-pants-up.html

Tacos in the Morning

After my early night it follows that I was up nice and early.

Apparently it's going to rain this morning and then be a fantastic afternoon -- well that's what the forecasters say.

I'm sat in the Hideout coffee shop and I've just enjoyed a delicious migas with avocado breakfast taco and a mediocre latte. Breakfast tacos are great, in fact I'm almost tempted to get another one (they're also pretty cheap). However, I think that might be a pushing the limits of my gluttony!

It's still dry outside.

Back in Austin

After my brief visit to San Antonio I'm now back in Austin. When I was in San Antonio it was good to be amongst so many Spurs fans -- admittedly most of them have never heard about a little football/soccer team from north London. And for them the Alamodome is much more significant than White Hart Lane!

The drive back up north to Austin was very straightforward once I'd escaped the crazy roads around San Antonio. On the way I stopped at a massive 'outlet mall' place. In fact there were two massive places side by side. I had a look in a few stores including an Abercrombie & Fitch outlet. The A&F place was chaos and to be honest the stuff for sale was there for a reason -- certainly no polo shirts.

Once back in Austin I stopped for lunch -- a really excellent Banh Mi Vietnamese sandwich. I then checked into my hotel and said a fond farewell to the little (by Texas standards) Mazda 3 that I've been driving around in. You really do need a car around here. For the next few days I'll be limited in my 'exploring' to downtown Austin and the immediate surrounds.

My hotel is really close to 6th Street which seems to be a road made up exclusively of bars, clubs, restaurants and music venues. In fact I was sort of conscious of noise from a club or something when I half woke up at about 2.30am.

Where I went for dinner last night was on 6th St. -- a place called Casino El Camino. A classic 'dive bar'. It was really dark in side and had quite scary bar staff (lots of piercings and tattoos). What the place did have going for it was good music, Shiner Bock on tap and fantastic hamburgers (the main reason for me going). I had an Amarillo burger which had cheese and jalapenos on it -- really good.

After my food I didn't hang around and instead retreated to my hotel for a relatively early night.

Rosario's

So after my meat overload at lunch time I was worried that I wouldn't have any space for any dinner.

Thankfully the walking I did around San Antonio helped with that!

Rosario's is a Mexican/Tex-Mex place. The food was great.

Texas BBQ

I didn't take the most direct route on the way down to San Antonio. I went via a place called Lockhart which is 'famous' for its Texas barbecue. There are four places in the town which serve up barbecue -- Kreuz'z, Smitty's, Black's and Chisholm Trail. Some people stop at each place as they pass through. That was a bit too hardcore for me!

I stopped at Kreuz's for a Jalapeno Cheese Link (aka a sausage) and 1/2lb of beef brisket. The sausage was great, but I think with a winning combination of jalapeno, cheese, pork and barbecue youd struggle to muck it up.

The brisket was fantastic. So tender and moist. The places around here consider barebecue sauce a defilement of the sacred barbecue. Fortunately the brisket really didn't need it.

After my first meat fix I parked up near to Smitty's and went for a short stroll around town. After a short time a small part of my appetite had returned.

I entered Smotty's and ordered a single pork rib. This time I also had some 'sides' -- coleslaw and potato salad. The rib was great and the sides were fine but should've been an either/or but not both.

I was stuffed.

San Antonio, Texas

So I'm in San Antonio, TX. It's about 80 miles south of Austin and like Austin the weather here is hot and sunny! It must be unbearable in the middle of summer.

My first impression is that the city is a bit of an urban sprawl with a relatively compact city centre. It certainly doesn't feel like the 8th largest city in the USA.

The main tourist attraction is the Alamo, which is right in the heart of downtown. There's also the Riverwalk which really does seem like a piece of Venice has been transplanted to Texas (not that I've been to Venice).

San Antonio is still a couple of hundred miles from the Mexican border but there are quite a few cars around with Mexican number plates. Also a lot of Spanish is spoken (and there are plenty of Mexican/Spanish language channels on the TV). In fact I think I might just be heading out to a Mexican or Tex-Mex place for dinner!