We have arrived!
11 January 2006
John says "HI from the future" to all our friends and family who are 5 hours behind us.
Well, it's official: Jamie and John have taken up residence in London- Clapham to be exact! We arrived Monday morning around 9AM. The flight was fantastic! If you ever have the chance to fly Virgin Atlantic Upper Class- DO IT! After kind of a bum day - our hotel room wasn't ready when we got there, so our nap was very short and the flat wasn't ready when we picked up the keys, so we had to occupy our very tired selves for about two hours- we officially moved into our new flat!
The flat is still fabulous, although I may have exaggerated the size of the closet ever so slightly and being a lower ground flat, it has a bit of a damp smell to it. But- the closet is still HUGE and I am investigating air fresheners to take care of the damp.
Tuesday was an adventure: I went shopping. First I went to the Supermarket, Sainsburys. WOW! I had forgotten how overwhelming it is to walk into an unfamiliar Supermarket and try to find things! Add to that the fact that none of the brands are the same and a lot of what we eat is missing from their inventory and you get a sense of how I was feeling!
A few interesting facts: 1/2 & 1/2 or cream for coffee are not sold here, cheese is not sliced at the deli- it is sold in chunks at the deli- sliced cheese is prepacked and in another section, lunchmeat is sold in 100g (which I'm told is about 6 sandwiches worth of meat,) paper towels are about half the width of ours AND you can buy beer, wine and spirits at the Supermarket!!
After the groceries, I went looking for small household appliances (toaster, coffee pot, microwave, etc.) and other little things for the house. I searched the internet for a place close-by and similar to Bed, Bath and Beyond where we could get it all at once. As far as I can tell, there is nothing like it here- you never appreciate what you have until it's gone! I walked 45 minutes to a store called Dixons which is kind of like a Circuit City only to discover that this was a smaller version of the store and didn't have any of what we needed. Luckily, John had told someone at work about our dilemma and she sent us to Currys. This place is wonderful!! We got every electronic gadget we needed! Saturday we head to Ikea for furniture-ooooohhh!
The best part of Tuesday, however, was that we got our phone line. We weren't sure how much it would cost to call the States, but each of us called home for 2 minutes. It seems silly since we've only been here two days, but it was just nice to hear a familiar voice. I am looking forward to internet service at home. Once we have that, I will feel a little more in touch and will be able to begin my job search.
Bye for now.
John says "HI from the future" to all our friends and family who are 5 hours behind us.
Well, it's official: Jamie and John have taken up residence in London- Clapham to be exact! We arrived Monday morning around 9AM. The flight was fantastic! If you ever have the chance to fly Virgin Atlantic Upper Class- DO IT! After kind of a bum day - our hotel room wasn't ready when we got there, so our nap was very short and the flat wasn't ready when we picked up the keys, so we had to occupy our very tired selves for about two hours- we officially moved into our new flat!
The flat is still fabulous, although I may have exaggerated the size of the closet ever so slightly and being a lower ground flat, it has a bit of a damp smell to it. But- the closet is still HUGE and I am investigating air fresheners to take care of the damp.
Tuesday was an adventure: I went shopping. First I went to the Supermarket, Sainsburys. WOW! I had forgotten how overwhelming it is to walk into an unfamiliar Supermarket and try to find things! Add to that the fact that none of the brands are the same and a lot of what we eat is missing from their inventory and you get a sense of how I was feeling!
A few interesting facts: 1/2 & 1/2 or cream for coffee are not sold here, cheese is not sliced at the deli- it is sold in chunks at the deli- sliced cheese is prepacked and in another section, lunchmeat is sold in 100g (which I'm told is about 6 sandwiches worth of meat,) paper towels are about half the width of ours AND you can buy beer, wine and spirits at the Supermarket!!
After the groceries, I went looking for small household appliances (toaster, coffee pot, microwave, etc.) and other little things for the house. I searched the internet for a place close-by and similar to Bed, Bath and Beyond where we could get it all at once. As far as I can tell, there is nothing like it here- you never appreciate what you have until it's gone! I walked 45 minutes to a store called Dixons which is kind of like a Circuit City only to discover that this was a smaller version of the store and didn't have any of what we needed. Luckily, John had told someone at work about our dilemma and she sent us to Currys. This place is wonderful!! We got every electronic gadget we needed! Saturday we head to Ikea for furniture-ooooohhh!
The best part of Tuesday, however, was that we got our phone line. We weren't sure how much it would cost to call the States, but each of us called home for 2 minutes. It seems silly since we've only been here two days, but it was just nice to hear a familiar voice. I am looking forward to internet service at home. Once we have that, I will feel a little more in touch and will be able to begin my job search.
Bye for now.
posted by Jamie & John | 7:12 AM
1 Comments:
Hey guys,
I've had a fun time reading through your days in London. Sounds like it's going to be a great experience! I agree with eliza...send pictures of the flat with all of the newly assembled ikea furniture!
Love,
Wendi
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