I'm liking the Hilton San Francisco, where I'm staying for the Alliance for CME annual meeting this week. The place is enormous, but for some reason I'm finding it easy to get around, which is highly unlike me. Usually, in a place this big, I end up wishing for a bag of bread crumbs to leave a trail. They're also doing a really good job, so far, with this meeting, which is a feat given that, up until a few months ago, it was to be held in New Orleans. Just don't order the room-service pizza, like I did last night. Either it was a little off, or it just didn't go well with watching CSI. Hmm.
Since things didn't get going until this afternoon, I spent a good chunk of the morning wandering the streets of San Francisco. Other than a plethora of panhandlers, this is one great walking city. And shopping. Just don't let me back into Nordstroms, where there's a disappointed salesperson still looking to sell me a suit a just loved, until I found out it cost $2,000! Call me New England frugal, but that's a bit rich for my blood, not to mention my wallet. But it was so great to be able to wander around without a coat—gotta love this California weather!
Quick airline note: The van driver got stuck in all kinds of traffic yesterday, and we didn't get to the airport until 8:45 a.m. My flight was at 9. I was resigned to waiting for the 3 p.m., but the person at the counter said to give it a try since I just had carry-on, so I sauntered through security and down to the gate, never dreaming that I'd get on the plane. But I did, can you believe it? That kind of thing never happens to me. And then, since the plane was nowhere near full, I got three whole seats to myself. It was almost better than flying first class (almost).