A foggy day, in London town :)

Today I feel as though I have gotten a much better sense of  true London.

Sleeping last night was the first step to clearing my head and when I woke up, I immediately felt like a whole new person. I was rested and had a new, more positive perspective on this experience. Naturally, it is still an adjustment, but I feel as though I have my bearings a little more and life here for the next three months not only seems more possible, but also more exciting.

After showering with surprisingly decent water pressure, Laura and I decided to use our newly bought hairdryer and look cute for our first day out on the town. BIG MISTAKE. Here, there is a sort of dampness and no matter how much you dry and straighten, brush and primp, by the end of the day, that dampness not only frizzes your hair, but also frizzes your hopes of being stylish in this city. My icon for this blog is very deceiving because that girl under the unbrella looks so fabulous, but let me tell you, it is hard to be damp and fabulous all at the same time.

While naturally depressing, my hair was not the central point in my day. After having honey nut cheerios (well more like what the Tesco box claims is honey nut cheerios, but they are so NOT the same) we took an hour and half walking tour of our little area in the misty faucet like rain (it would come in random spurts – thank goodness my umbrella is automatic and just pops open and closed because it comes in good use J). The tour was led by a sweet English lady in her mid-forties named Sarah who had an adorable accent and a sprit that really brightened the stormy morning. It makes listening to the information so much more fun when the facts are cushioned by words like “oh cranky! And “chap.” And she was so HAPPY, even in the rain. She was so excited for us, which fueled me with excitement as well.

She showed us around the area we live in, which Andrea, Ashley and I already figured out while walking all around last night. We didn’t plan to after being awake for 22 of the 24 hours in the travel day, but we also needed a way to stay awake to attempt to get on the right time schedule and so last night we went exploring, had dinner at this lovely Italian café called Café Uno and tried to find places to get some of the things we needed for the flat. Little did we know the heart of London’s shopping area, much like a Times Square in New York, called Oxford Circus, is vast and confusing, but through trial and error we did find our way home and had a little adventure doing it. Last night showed us one shade of London – a turbulent, city, diverse and overwhelming, but exciting all at the same time.

So I digress-  let me get back to telling you about the area we live in - Little Venice. We were told this is an extremely posh and upscale area. In fact, Sarah said that people would immediately associate our location with wealth. This is very interesting to me and is a true testament to the cost of living here because our flats are nice and spacious enough, but certainly nothing I would classify as “posh.” Don’t get me wrong, the area itself is very beautiful and quaint, and certainly a quiet vacation from the city streets – I definitely look forward to running and picnicking in the nearby parks – but I still was surprised to learn what they classified as a prestigious area. It just goes to show how much more expensive everything here is!

After getting a good feel for the area and seeing our closest tube stop, Warwick (which ps- you do not pronounce the second w… yeah, its not the same as Dionne Warwick or my Dad’s town in New York) we took a bus tour all around the “hot spots” of London AND (drum roll please) the SUN came out! YAY! There is an old wives tale here that if it rains before 11am, it will not rain in the afternoon, and look at that, true true. The tour was very interesting, but during our lunch break just before we ran a couple of errands and used the tube for the very first time, then rushed in another quick meal AGAIN AT TESCO…note to self: switch it up, so I was a little tired. But the tour guide, again with a very charming accent and appropriately named Brit, showed us for four hours all around the town and told us some great stories of history. We rarely got out, but we did get some great pictures and took notes on a bunch of places we want to go back to. We saw the PiccadellyCircus (spelling is probably wrong), the London Eye and Big Ben, as well as parliament and of course, Buckingham Palace. We actually got out there and took pictures in front of it, but the tour was really just a sampler platter of all that London has to offer, and we are planning on going to back to each spot again to really explore and take it all in. She also showed us some cool places where Harry Potter was filmed and where the royal family shops for things (including the Queen’s 1600 pound SHOES! Geez…), which was really neat to see – yes, I used the word “neat” because cool was getting redundant J

Once we got home from the bus tour, we vegged out a little and then took the tube again to Oxford Circus and ate at Garfunkles, which is like an Applebees but with more of a British twist. The food was okay, but again it was another 10 pounds (which is like 20 bucks) for dinner, which is a lot for a small chicken dish- no salad or bread before. The good thing is, I am really getting a hang of the area and walking around a ton, which is making me not only get an understanding of the area, but also be active at the same time. After dinner, we went to Primark which is a dirt cheap department store which is AWESOME and will surely come in handy in the future – I just feel bad for all the poor children who are probably doing slave work to get these clothes manufactured…. Very sad for them, but very cheap for me J

Now I am back at the flat. Some people are going out tonight, but I just don’t think Laura and I have the energy, so we are going to stay in one more night to really get back on schedule and probably watch a movie and go to sleep with my new duvet blanket to keep me warm! That’s right, it is very cold here- like what October and November is like in NC. One flight and seven hours later, I have jumped ahead two months in seasons. But, the leaves are still green and to watch them change in all the beautiful parks will be really fun and of course, really neat J  (I was going to type “great fun” to sound all British, but it might be too soon for that J

 

More updates tomorrow. Miss you all so much. Virtual hug (you know me and my hugs)

Love, Jenny