Settling In

Alfie and I arrived safe and sound in San Francisco on Monday, late in the afternoon.

Flying the Dog to San Francisco

Leading up to dropping Alfie off at the airport I was a complete nervous wreck. Luckily, my friend Sarah had promised to drive us there and she helped me keep Alfie entertained and calm, until it was time to put him in his crate and wave good bye. On the plane I was trying not to think about all the things that could potentially go wrong, it didn't help that San Francisco Airport had lost a dog a couple of weeks ago!

Turns out I needn't have worried. Alfie was cool as a cucumber as we closed the door to his box, and walked away. And when Jelte and I picked him up at the cargo warehouse on the 'other side', he seemed totally unfazed and played with his toy for a bit and then went for a long pee and a play on the beach.

Our Corporate Flat

Jelte had already spent a week in our flat and stocked it with groceries, dog food and some awesome welcome presents for both me and Alfie. Alfie quickly found his new bed and toy, and seemed totally at home straight away. We were both really surprised as Alfie was really stressed during our last move (from one side of Putney to the other!).  This time around we had prepared with some DAP spray, and a DAP collar which is supposed to help dogs feel better in stressful situations - I can only assume they really do work.

The drilling & digging starts at 7AM - the Entlebucher supervises all day!

The flat itself is like a big modern hotel room with an open plan kitchen/living room, separate bedroom and a washer/dryer cupboard. We have views over a building site and the Mission district and we wake up to the sounds of drilling and digging at 7AM. Yes they really start work that early here in San Francisco! Alfie loves his window views and keeps an eye on the construction works in-between naps. Jelte and I are perhaps a little less impressed with the big machines...

The SOMA area

Alfie making friends in Alamo Square Park

I spent a couple of hours walking around our new neighbourhood yesterday and I'm slowly starting to get an idea of what's what. I took Alfie to Alamo Square park and the Hayes Valley District is really lovely with some nice looking boutiques, cafes and restaurants.

Market Street, close to our house is not quite so nice crammed with homeless people, 'up to no goods' and people who probably would be better off receiving medical or mental care. From what I understand this is quite common in San Francisco, but it still feels kind of strange to see so many people who clearly need help just out and about on the streets like this.

Settling In

Garden Fertilizers?

We went to the supermarket yesterday and spent ages choosing even the most basic essentials. I'm not sure if I imagined this, but it seems to me that all bottles and containers are one size bigger over here! 

It took us some twenty minutes to find laundry detergent, fifteen of which were me trying to get over the ridiculous sizes and shapes of the containers. Americans going to Europe must think we are living in a miniature world or something.

40 degrees?

Those of you who know me, know that I have a special love for doing the laundry. Yes I am that sad! So of course I had to try out the washing machine straight away. Americans don't seem to worry about actual temperatures - there are three main settings - cold, warm and hot. Same procedure for the dryer. Only a matter of time before I shrink something...

The jet lag is slowly fading away and I'm starting to feel a little more human again. All the stress before the move, combined with not sleeping on the plane has joined forces and created a jet lag from hell, sending me to sleep at 8PM!

In other news

Our flat has been packed up today with a little help from our friend Kristin who's been supervising the movers. They packed our entire flat in just a couple of hours, totally amazing.