FC Basel v Bayern Munich at St Jakob

I managed to get tickets for the three FC Basel games in the Champions League group Stages this season and the first game was the big one as far as most locals were concerned. A lot of supporters inside the ground were definitely supporting the German Champions and not the home side! A great goal from Frei gave Basel the lead but a soft(ish) penalty and a last minute goal gave the visitors a slightly lucky 2-1 win. Good atmosphere from the home side but after two losses in their group the next two home matches maybe a little anti-climatic.

Unfortunately it was time to return home from San Francisco yesterday but at least we did have the luxury of upstairs travel back on a Jumbo!

Watching Arsenal at 7AM!!

Great to be in San Francisco even if watching an Arsenal game in the pub is rather different from my previous experiences. Here, with the 8 hour time difference, the game kicked off at 7am and despite a pre-match resolution not to take a drink, the 1-1 half time score at home to Bolton drove me to a couple of beers for the second half. Thankfully we managed to control the second 45 minutes and run out 4-1 winners. Thanks to the friendly welcome from the local Arsenal Supporters Group, the Bay Area Gooners and the hospitality in Maggie McGarrys.

Enjoyed a decent 30-35mile bike round the Sonoma Valley today whilst Claire spent her day in the hotel working! Thankfully she has now finished and we have around 8 days to enjoy San Francisco, a little more of the Wine Country and a couple of days in Monetery/Carmel.

After 24 hours travelling (including this, my first drive over the Golden Gate Bridge) I finally arrived in Sonoma. Been a long day and am looking forward to my bed!

Switzerland v England at St Jakob

I'm not the greatest fan of the National side but the chance to see England play here in Switzerland was an event that I couldn't miss. The pre-match beers in town and outside the ground was good fun (but maybe I will regret this tomorrow on the early flight from BAsel to Heathrow then onto San Francisco). As for the game, England actually played quite well to win 3-1 even if (as usual) it was an Arsenal player that got injured!