On our second day in San Francisco, we heard that the Olympic Torch procession was passing through the Embarcadero, so we headed down there to join in. It was a glorious, sunny, spring day and the crowds were out in force.

First, we passed through the Olympic supporters, all so excited by this historic day; then moved to the Embarcadero, where we were overawed by the number and volume of protesters, waving Tibetan flags, dressed up, chanting, holding placards - too many to read them all. It was a joyous, colourful scene.

Although there were pro-China supporters on one side of the road, and protesters on the other, separated by a row of police, shouting and waving flags at each other, the mood was generally happy.

Weaving through the throngs, we finally heard that the torch was not coming - the sheer number of protesters meant they had changed the route at the last minute. A man with "Demonstration Response Unit" emblazoned on his T-shirt ran through the crowds shouting: "It's not coming here, you can stay if you like, but if you want to find the torch, it's going to Van Ness!"

Suddenly, hundreds of people started running, us included, bringing the traffic to a standstill. People came out of shops and restaurants to watch the spectacle. We ran through the streets for about an hour, didn't find the torch and finally, tired and elated, headed back to the Embarcadero.

Huge numbers of protesters were gathering and we were told by a Vietnam veteran and a Tibetan monk: "We've done it! The torch is back at the airport!" The mood was jubilant and I'm sure the celebrations carried on long after we'd headed back to our hotel.