Around Town

Sightseeing at Battersea Park

I've been taking some pictures as I go out walking. There are few interesting ones in this album. The one you see above is a "Smart Car". It's a very small car that is very energy efficient. It's one of the cars that can be driven into the "congestion zone" of central London with a discounted fee. It's also easy to park since it's so small. You'll see in the picture that it is parked perpendicular to the curb - that's a very common sight here. Usually we see it in the evening when there is very little parking available. You'll see one of these cars squeezed in between two others in what would normally not be considered a spot large enough to park!

The other pictures I took between here and Battersea Park; some house boats, the Prince Albert Bridge, the Peace Pagoda and the river walk at the park. I loved the benches built into the river walk. It was a very peaceful spot, especially by the time I snapped the picture. It was much busier when I first arrived.

I also took a couple of pictures of the double-decker buses. They are my favorite mode of transportation! It's slower than riding the tube, but if you're not going all the way across town, it's definitely worth the extra few minutes. It's not very expensive and gives you a great view - especially when you sit up top!

We were on a mission this weekend to find some American sized legal paper to print out some documents that needed to be signed. We asked at different stationary stores, but had no luck. We thought we'd try Harrods - how funny! First, let me say, that's it's hard to find the specific thing you want when you're in Harrods. You need a map to find you way around (which you can pick up at any information desk) and even then you might have some difficulty. What Harrods is great for is getting you in the door, trapped in a maze of rooms so that you feel like a lab mouse trying to find the exit. We never found what we were looking for, but we did see a lot a other cool things. We ended up have lunch there and then left after a couple of hours so that we could finish our other errands. It really is a cool place - you have to see it at least once!

Oh, and while we're on the subject of shopping in London (I know you've been dying for this Janell) I just have one thing to say - EXPENSIVE!!! Everything is so expensive here! It is fun to walk down the high street and see the new fashions, though. London is a little more ahead of the fashion trends than we are in middle America. If you're one who keeps up with fashion, then I'll just let you know that the 80's are coming back in a BIG way. There's also a splash of the 60's and 70's with some wild psychedelic colors and fabrics. I've seen mini skirts with tight leggings underneath, bubble skirts, poofy blouses, and scooped necklines. It's a blast from the past, let me tell you.

Michael's leg is 100% healed now. We're still going to Paris the first weekend in May. We're also planning a four day trip to Rome when Kara comes to visit in July. I can't think of anything else exciting right now. Enjoy the pictures. I'll try to take some more this weekend.

Getting settled in

It’s 5am in London. Michael just left for the airport. This has been a busy week for him as he’s been traveling every day. He left on Sunday night for Paris and returned late Monday night. Tuesday he had a 2 hour train journey to Yeovil. Today he’s leaving for a 2 day trip to Barcelona. He’s glad to be busy, but hates the traveling every day. Hopefully it won’t be like this every week.

On a positive note, we have our internet back! Our phone and internet is now set up at our new apartment. Thank goodness! I was about to go crazy (and I think my mom was too when she couldn’t call me whenever she wanted).

I must apologize for not adding to the blog lately, but between moving, and being without internet for a while it has not been an easy task. So now, without further adieu I’ll catch you up on the happenings in our life.

I’m sure that some of you have heard by now that we were not able to go to Paris. We were moving some things over on Tuesday night the week before Easter and Michael hurt his leg. He said that it “popped” and then he couldn’t walk on it. He worked from home the rest of the week and because he couldn’t walk. After some ice and elevation (and a little TLC) he was starting to feel a little better by the weekend. I left him alone for a while on Thursday so that I could meet the DHL driver bring our boxes from home. We ended up moving the rest of our things Easter weekend. He has definitely recovered now. The horrible dark purple bruise that appeared four days after the injury is now gone. I’m glad that he’s able to walk now – especially since he’s had to travel so much lately. I don’t know how he would have done it.

So, we got into our apartment on Saturday night. Easter morning we got up to cook a big breakfast only to realize that our stove top (here they call it the hob) didn’t work. At this point we didn’t even have a microwave, or a toaster, but at least I had a coffee pot! All we had to cook with was the oven. Not impossible, but also not the easiest. So, we made muffins for breakfast instead.

Monday was a holiday here, so we couldn’t get anyone to fix it. We finally got it repaired on Tuesday, well almost anyway. Here in the UK, they have switched outlets – every outlet literally has a switch so that you can turn off the power to that outlet. The stove works in a similar way. It has a switch on the wall to turn the power on and off. Unfortunately there is a problem with that switch and it has to be replaced. There’s still a cardboard covered whole in the wall where the electrician capped the wires until it can be repaired. Until it’s fixed he wired it up so that it’s on the same switch as the oven so that we can at least use it.

At least we had our boxes to unpack over the weekend. It was like Christmas! I was so excited to open each box and see some of my own things from home. There is something very comforting about having your own things around you. My favorite things were my pillow, and the whole box of kitchen paraphernalia. It's so hard to cook with pots, pans, and utensils that aren't your own.

On Wednesday Erin (half of the other Lombardi couple that is spending the year in London) and I went to Ikea. It’s a huge furniture store with fairly inexpensive furniture. Think dorm furniture. In a lot of ways being here in this apartment makes me think of college, or my first apartment. We had lot of fun searching for the things we needed. We both went armed with lists, and I got most of the things on mine. I found a desk and filing cabinet, an office chair, and curtains for the windows. I’ve covered the bedroom and bathroom windows so far. I thought those were the most important! While Michael is gone this week I’m going to work on the living room and kitchen windows.

We also got a little kitchen island that arrived this week. We wanted a little more cabinet and counter space. I’m glad I picked up a little tool kit at Ikea! All of the furniture comes in flat boxes and you put it together yourself. One tip for putting furniture together, though: DO NOT talk to your mother on the phone while trying to read and follow vague picture instructions for furniture assembly. Oh well, mom and I had a good visit, even if I did have to take things apart a few times.

So, we’re getting settled in, even though I’m still getting used to a few new routines. I was so excited because our new apartment had a washing machine that was a little bigger than the one in our first apartment. My excitement lasted until we moved in and I was reading the instructions. When I couldn’t easily find how to turn on the dryer, I started to worry. A quick skim of the rest of the book told me that my worst fears were confirmed – no dryer. At first I was heartsick. How was I to do laundry with no dryer? Well needless to say, we adapt. I have a 3-tier drying rack that I hang the clothes on. I do laundry every morning, put it up to dry, and then iron in the afternoon. Almost everything comes out wrinkled, especially Michael’s work clothes. I miss the days of wash and wear – and the permanent press and “no wrinkle” cycles on the dryer. But it’s not really as bad as I thought it would be.

I can’t think of anything else exciting that’s happening here. Hopefully now that we’re pretty much settle in I’ll have more of a chance to take in some of the sights. We’ve been so focused on getting moved in and arranging for service people to come repair the stove and our phone lines that we haven’t really taken time to do anything fun. We were able to reschedule our trip to Paris, though. The first weekend in May Michael’s taking Friday off so that we can go. I’m looking forward to the long weekend with him before I leave the next weekend. I’ve already got my flight booked so that I can go home and see my precious little niece (that I’ve yet to meet) and my adorable nephew (I hope he hasn’t forgotten me) and of course my family and friends.

Thanks for reading. Now that we have internet it shouldn’t be so long between posts!