Brown Girl in London: May 2006

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Today is Joe’s birthday. He would’ve been 30 years old today. If he was still here we’d probably go out for dinner to his favourite restaurant – Lucy’s Seafood Kitchen – where he’d get the Mediterranean salad with extra seafood. As he’d eat it he’d pick up the pieces of calamari that looked liked tiny squid and wave it around in my face because he knew it totally grossed me out. Then we might get a movie and watch it at my house, or go for tea at Starbucks, or to Chapters to walk and browse. It would’ve been a nice day. I don’t know what I would’ve given him, he was always hard to buy for because he never wanted anything, but probably another pair of Converse. Instead, today I’ll call his mom and say hi to see how she’s doing. Joe really was a great guy, he was taken from us much too soon and I miss him all the time. HD and I will do something this evening – maybe a toast with Guinness, his favourite. If I was home, it’d be a trip to Churchville Park, a beautiful little park in Brampton where we used to go walking. Happy Birthday Joe.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Luxury 101

After the Science Museum and latte we decided to ditch the education and go to Harrods. Harrods isn't just a department store, no, it's a must-see on the London tourist trek. It's gorgeous, gawdy, and full of guilty pleasures, actually it's an education in luxury.

We walked into the entrance by the Knightsbridge tube stop exit. Then into one of the Rooms of Luxury - this was full of every designer label you can think of - from Valentino to Hermes to Chopard to Prada. Louis Vuitton handbags were to the right - I saw a key fob for 125GBP in the glass case. Burberry was around the corner, their signature scarves selling for 250GBP.

We went up the escalators in the Egyptian Hall - an area all decked out with what I assume to be Harrods' view of the decadence of the Egyptian pharoahs. There we walked around the women's clothing, Whistles is quite a nice line, then upstairs to home furnishings and the last stop was the men's area which we skipped.

At the bottom of the Egyptian Hall escalators is a memorial to Diana and Dodi. That's what it's called - Dodi and Diana memorial - no princess, no Al Fayed. It's just a small fountain with their pictures, a wine glass and ring. The plaque explained that the wine glass was the exact one they used at the hotel the night they died and the ring was the engagement ring that Dodi had bought for Diana the day before they died. Pretty tragic and it was actually a touching memorial.

Here's a close-up of the ring.

After Harrods we made our way back to Finsbury Park where we joined our new neighbours, after much debate, at their housewarming bbq which turned out to be a nice time. Then to Red Rita for a birthday pint for HD and home to chill and sleep.

An afternoon of science

Yesterday was HD's 27th birthday and since we're both on a tight budget for the next few weeks we wanted to do something that was both fun and cheap. Naturally that led us to decide on a visit to the Science Museum. Hmm!

Well, initially we wanted to go because there was an exhibition about 20 years of Pixar animation and that sounded pretty cool and the museum is free. But, of course when we get there, down the Picadilly Line to South Kensington tube stop, there's a 9GBP fee to get into the Pixar exhibit so we said forget it and just walked around the rest of the museum.

But not quite, most like just half the museum, because really, neither of us are science-inclined. The first room we entered was about engines and I remember seeing some rockets, rudders, and other things, oh yeah and a couple practically making out in front of a 1670 copy of Cyrano de Bergerac's adventure story about travelling to the sun and moon.

However, we kept going, we're troopers after all! There were some neat things to check out - here's a few pics. First is a brain scan machine.

And a train.

And a Formula One racing care that we weren't supposed to take a picture of, (you can see the no picture sign), but oh well.

The most interesting part of the museum was the Who am I?installation. It was all about identity and what makes you you or me me. There were brains, DNA machines, info about the human genome and other interesting facts. Did you know that a fear of air is called Anemaphobia? Or fear of things English is Anglophobia? Or that for female athletes who want to compete in the Olympics they have to undergo a sex test to confirm their gender so that they can't masquerade as a female when they're really male - this is determined by swabbing the cheek of the athlete & then checking the DNA to make sure there's no Y chromosome. Neat, eh? I thought so.

Anyway, after that we left and went to a cafe somewhere down the street for a latte.

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Get your trance on

Friday evening was a traditional one. Traditional in terms of being a night for partying, dancing, and staying out late, late, late! HD and I went with Supa and his cousins to Turnmills club, down on, where else, Turnmills Street right off the Farringdon tube stop.

First stop was a pub where we met up with Supa's cousins and had a drink. HD and I had a Classic Pimms, it's a fairl common drink in England and I kept reading about it in those Brit chicklit books like Shopaholic. Around 10:30pm we made our way down the street to Turmills - it was a big night there too because Armin Van Buren was deejaying. Turmills is a trance club so it was all trance all night. At first I thought it might be just a little annoying to only hear one type of music all night but once we were there, with the music surrounding us, we couldn't help but get our groove on. It was a great night and I wish I had thought to bring my camera because the light show was awesome.

It was totally crowded all night - the people didn't stop moving once. I reached my end point around 2:00am and HD shortly thereafter, so we found some seats in this room where the smoke formed a thick haze and waited for Supa and friends to finish dancing. As soon as we sat down an old dude came up to us and asked us how we're doing, where we're from and then asked us if we read the bible and if so, do we read it for ourselves or old-fashioned and then told us he works in elevation, at Otis Elevators. Hmm. I told HD to stop looking at him, because he was in her line of view, and he left us alone. Then we saw him dancing by himself with his eyes closed and his hand beating himself on his chest. Then Supa came and we left. It was nice to breathe in the fresh air!

Got home around 4am, went to bed and slept really well.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

MS Word is still useful when there’s no work to be done

remember to bring crystal light tomorrow to work
wear blue dress with green sweater and black necklace
tonight check Finsbury park library online (N4) for Secretary and whether or not I can renew Suzie’s Gold online
if not, i.e. renew SG, then return both of them on Saturday (other: Punch Drunk Love)
meet with Supa around 12 and go for lunch - Friday
tonight meet HD in the alleyway between Benetton & the £5 clothing store
go to BHS to try on size 14 or size 16 jeans – if find a good pair buy them for £12.50 – hem them tonight and possibly wear them tomorrow
find out correct conversion of North American to UK sizes, will help when looking at clothing
check weather for tomorrow night
get directions from Turnmills club @ Farringdon to FP – late night bus schedule around 1-2am Sat morning
go to shoe stores and try to find flats that are cool and affordable – remember size 5 here
possible outfits for tomorrow night (*indicates preference)
- jeans w/black top & heels
- denim skirt w/black top & converse*
- jeans folded up w/black top & converse
- denim skirt w/black top & new flats* (dependent upon finding new flats tonight)
- new jeans w/black top & new flats* (dependent upon finding new jeans & flats tonight)

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Working impressions

Today at work I cut ribbon for 2 hours. It was very hard. No, not really. I’m joking. Gosh! It was fine and apparently I did a “very good job.” Hmm! Anyway, the ribbons are for gift bags that this company, KF, is handing out over the next few days for the Chelsea Flower Show. It starts today and is a huge fricking deal! I’m not flower-crazy myself, I like them and they’re pretty, that’s as far as my interest goes – so I won’t be attending this year’s show – besides it’s already sold out. However, some of the pictures are pretty cool, here's one...

So, after a few days of working in London I’m getting to know the office environment and how things work here. Previously, I’ve worked in both a large corporation and a very small company. As with most things, they have their similarities, differences, pros and cons. I can’t tell you which one I prefer because they were both fine, or maybe I’m just being indifferent. Anyway, here things aren’t that strange. The employees aren’t always drinking tea or smoking in the office, but they are always busy. Remember what I said about the busy walkers? Well, they’re inside as well. It’s all women in this office, I think there’s one man but that might be a rumour because I haven’t seen him, and they all do the busy walk – you know, the fast clomp-clomp across the floor to the printer, the fax, the photocopier, then plopping in their chairs and clicking away at the keyboard. I haven’t had to do that yet.

And, I think this is specific to the British females – but when they’re on the phone and the conversation is almost done, they suddenly rev up the excitement in their voice and always, always, ALWAYS end it by saying in the most high-pitched squeal imaginable, “okay thank-you, byeeeeeeeeeeee.” As soon as they hang up, they revert to normal until it’s time for the next phone call. It really can get annoying so you have to learn to tune it out. But seriously, one lady even says “oh jolly good!” Now that’s funny!

Monday, May 22, 2006

Hmm!

So, it looks like I might have a job for 3 months. That's pretty good! I met with the boss lady today and she said she'd like it if I could stay for the next three months to work with her. Apparently the other people there that I've been working with like the way I work and have told her as much. She first needs to get it cleared with HR because the agency I'm wish isn't one of their preferred/usual agencies, whatever that means.

I was a little skeptical at first about taking a job for 3 months. Because what, am I hear to work or to travel and learn and experience? However, let's be practical, I'm in LONDON, one of the most expensive cities in the world and I didn't come with a whole lot of cash. I know I need to work, plus I can work, that's what my visa allows me. And then I remembered that this is all part of the experience I asked for. So, if it works out and she can offer me the 3 months, I'm going to take it. It's a good amount of money and HD and I have already discussed it over, we're happy doing weekend jaunts throughout the summer and maybe something longer in September and so on. Plus, I still get vacation days!

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Impressions of London

It was day 2 of working in London and the first full day. It's great that my first job is down on Oxford Street - right at the Oxford Circus tube station - because I'm right in the thick of things. That street is probably one of the most busy streets in all of London - mostly because of the shopping since the entire street is only shops - Boots, Selfridges, Debenhams, BHS, Gap, TopShop, Benetton and many, many more. Since I have a job now I think it's okay to go browse around, yes?

There are so many people in London it's almost crazy. I know I've sworn out loud quite a few times because of all these humans walking around. And they don't just casually walk, everyone here walks with a purpose - whether it be getting that shirt they saw at FCUK, getting lunch at Pret a Manger, or getting to work - they all walk here as if they're on a life or death mission. I mean, they're practically running. On Oxford St you cannot walk without being jostled or cut off - it gets very aggravating when you're not used to it!

I had some time before I began work this morning so I sat in Hanover Square, a little park surrounding Hanover St, and I saw a father with his little girl and her baby brother or sister in a stroller walking to school. Both of them were walking a top speed, him pushing the pram (or pushchair as they call them here) and her with her little backpack bouncing up and down. It seems Londoners are groomed for speed-walking from the time they are young.

I like London so far, I haven't found much to complain about. At time it reminds me so much of Toronto, just a much bigger version of it. At other times it reminds me of Trinidad - from what I can remember. It depends on where you go I guess. But so far so good.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

First football match!

And that's not American football - but what we'd call soccer! HD and I went to the pub on the corner, Red Rita, after I came back from work today and just in time for the Arsenal vs. Barcelona football match. It was a BIG deal! Finsbury Park is going to be the new home for the Arsenal football club in August so it's no surprise that everyone was out to watch. The place was packed although it's not that big to begin with. Mostly standing room only, unless you wanted to sit in the back with all the men standing in front of you, which is what HD and I did. I can't tell you exactly what happened in the match because I couldn't understand a word the announcers said, but it all seemed very exciting!

The most interesting part of the evening was the thirtysomething year-old white guy who was totally crazy about HD! As soon as he walked in he honed in on her and would always "casually" turn around to glance at her. Since I'm way more friendly than she is he'd always smile at me. The old guy beside me kept talking to me about our adventures, or non-adventures as they've been so far, and then the other guy suddenly got courage and started talking to me. It was just chit chat about the game, he wasn't into it either, and then I told him how I just got a job and that HD is still looking and he took that as his opportunity to focus in on her! So he went over to her side and they started talking about Jamaica and jobs and stuff - I kind of zoned out then because it was very loud. Anyway, he was totally cute and I assume he goes there often so maybe there'll be some more adventures for HD in the future!

In other news, today was my first day of work. It was pretty good - I only worked from 1-530 - mostly admin stuff and getting their purchase orders to make sense. It's a property management company for swanky areas like Barbados etc, so it's for the rich. The people are very nice, all women, and I caught on fairly fast. So I should be able to work for the next few days, we'll see what happens next week. But I want to do some more sightseeing - so we better do something fun this weekend!

OH YEAH...Arsenal lost!!

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Beating the pavement

Another day has finished and it was another one dedicated to the job search. Both HD and I had appointments with recruitment agencies - hers was for a media related one and mine was another general one. Both went well, I think!

Mine was at ROC recruitment. There I did another set of tests on my Office skills - I got pretty good scores and the consultant said I'll get scooped up! Yeah right! I've heard that a lot so far and now I'm just waiting to see it come true. However, there have been a few promising signs as I've had 3 calls now for possible jobs. But the way it works here is that just because you get a call for a job it doesn't mean you get it. What usually happens first is that that first phone call is giving the recruitment agency permission to send out your CV to that particular job they're calling about. At that point, all the CVs that are eligible are sent to the business hiring, at which point they then review them and make their decision - so it seems pretty competitive. Especially considering the amount of people I saw in and out of ROC today getting registered - there's quite a number of individuals out there in London looking for employment.

But! On a good note - I might have one day of work tomorrow! Or I think I do. I'm not quite sure but I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a phone call tomorrow around 9am telling me to be at some investment bank to work for the day. The company is looking for someone to help them catch up with expenses - I don't really know what that means but whatever yes! I got a job for the day! :D

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Delicious!!

Dinner was a success! Tonight for dinner HD and I made vegetarian chili and cornbread. HD baked the cornbread on her own because I was upstairs busy with blogging. But we collaborated on the chili with me cutting up all the veggies (onions, green peppers, garlic) and opening the cans, while she stirred it all up in our brand new pot. We forgot about getting a can opener but I improvised by using a knife and my hardcopy book "Vinyl Cafe Diaries" - it came in handy!

After we went out so HD could call her mom for Mother's Day, we went to the pub, had a pre-dinner pint, and went back home to eat our feast. It was very good! We got some greek yogurt at the store at the corner and put some on our chili. Here are a few pics now - feast your eyes on these! Thanks for "Clueless in the Kitchen" for the basic recipe - to it we added mushrooms and corn.

Cooking and other things

HD and I are attempting to cook this evening for dinner. The menu: vegetarian chili & cornbread. We went out earlier today and bought all the ingredients plus some other staples. If all goes well we'll have food for a few days and won't have to get take-away. I'll let you know how it goes later. :D

Happy Mother's Day!!

Tomorrow is Monday so it's job search time again. Besides that we have little on the agenda, although we may take a walk up to the local Blockbuster and rent a DVD and watch it on the laptop. There's only so many times one can watch Napoleon Dynamite in a week.

Here are a few more pics too. The first one is a view from my bedroom window.

This is a picture of my bed.

This is the main park in the area - Finsbury Park. There's a big music festival held here in summer.

And a few more pictures of my room.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

British Museum

Today HD and I went on our first official sightseeing trip to the British Museum, located down by Russel Square tube station. It was totally cool and free! I haven't read yet what HD put on her blog but it's probably something rude. :)

Anyway I enjoyed myself, but it's a place I'm definitely going to have to go back too. It's too large to see everything in one visit. This first pic is from the outside - it's much larger than that, that's just the main entrance.

At museums I gravitate towards the ancient areas - Greek, Roman, Egyptian - and the British Museum didn't disappoint. I saw various statues of Venus, lots of sarcophogi (?? guses??), and ancient money. I like looking at the ancient money too! I think it's neat to see how it evolved over the years - HD doesn't exacly agree with that part. Here's a few pics of a replica of the Parthenon, and some statues.

The best thing I saw today at the museum was the Rosetta Stone. Once this stone was discovered it opened up the secret of the ancient languages like the Eqyptian hieroglyphs. There were tons of people in front of it, so I squeezed my way up and quickly shot this pic. I have to go back - next time I'll take a tour.

Friday, May 12, 2006

Successful adventures in banking!

Today we got bank accounts! This morning, before we left to walk to the local Job Centre Plus office to get an appointment for the N1 number, (like our SIN numbers), we got the mail and our first bill.

It was the water one - and since water's a utility we thought we'd go back to the banks again and try for accounts. First we went to Barclays and after they gave us the runaround, "yes you can do it" "no you can't do it", we basically were told to come back when we have jobs and that both of our names are on the same line in the bill. Because HD's name being below the address isn't good enough.

Anyway, we went down the street and went to HSBC where we both successfully opened bank accounts with no jobs! The guy who helped me out was super nice and he set me up with a savings and chequing account - with a whopping balance of £0.00 - both basic so there are no monthly fees. I'm glad that's over and done with - another thing struck off the 'to do' list!

On a side note - it's been a beautiful week here. The weather has been sunny and hot almost every day and the nights nice and cool. I think we're supposed to get rain but that's cool with me.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Adventures in banking

Today we tried to open bank accounts. We knew we needed something with our names and addresses on it so HD and I waited until our tenancy agreement arrived in the mail. Because that would seem to make sense, bringing in the actual agreement that states we are living at this address.

But no, apparently that's not good enough. We went into 3 different banks and were rejected 3 different times. Barclays, NatWest, and HSBC all want us to bring in utility bills with our names on it. That should be okay it's just we don't know when those are going to arrive. When we called to change the names over to ours for the gas, water, and electric, the people we spoke to said they're billed quarterly.

Anyway, hopefully a job will materialize soon and on my pay cheque it will have my London address - the banks might accept that also. In the meantime I've got my money in my shoe!

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Job search

The job search has begun - well really it began as soon as we got here, but yesterday was a full day dedicated to landing a job. I went to 2 interviews at 2 recruitment agencies and it took all day. It was very intensive - at both places I was tested on my computer and typing skills and then asked a bunch of questions about my goals and past work experiences.

The first interview was at Eden Brown near the Liverpool St tube station. I went in at 11:30am and got out 1:00pm. The girl who interviewed me was very nice - she asked me about my history and what my strengths, weaknesses, and greatest achievement was. I gave all the usual and truthful answers. Then I did 3 tests - Excel, Word, and typing. They went fine - I'm pretty sure I did all right but I'm not sure about the Excel one - sometimes if I clicked accidentally on the screen it took that as my answer and then move on to the next question. Oh well we'll see how it goes. Before I actually get any calls for jobs my references have to be checked so I'm hoping to hear something soon.

The second was at Morgan McKinley and it seems to be a much more high brow place. They're located near the Charing Cross tube station. I went in at 2:45pm and got out at 6:00pm. First I had to fill out tons of paperwork about criminal convictions, skills, employment history. At this firm they deal only with financial institutions - and only the big ones - according to the woman that interviewed me. Because they deal with a lot of money they want a 5-year history of anyone who may work for them. I wrote down everything I'd done in the last 5 years - employment and school only - and now they have to check out all those references. Five years ago I worked at the library at U of Guelph and now they want to contact the woman I worked for and confirm that. Hmm! Well, I gave them all the info, hopefully that'll work out because this place might be able to hook me up with a well paying job. The consultant said I have great skills and because I've already got experience the businesses might be keen on hiring me over a recent grad. I also did 5 tests (excel, word, access, power point, and typing) and met with another consultant and some guy that I think is the reference-checker.

All in all it was a non-stop busy day. But in the end it was worth it - I saw some more of London and learned about this whole job process. At MM she told me that London is city of workaholics - you wake up at 6am and don't get home until 8pm. I don't mind - I enjoy new experiences and I like to work - I just don't like to do the same thing over and over again for a long time, but that's probably because I've never found anything that I really like. Being temporary sounds just great to me, for now!

Wednesday afternoon

It's Wednesday afternoon and I'm sitting in HD's room tapping into some unsecured wireless network. We've been here in our new flat since Monday but it seems much longer. That's probably because it's been non-stop ever since. Today is the first relaxing day I've been able to have - I slept in until 11am, took my time getting up and getting out.

We just came back from doing some grocery shopping. The stores aren't far at all - about a 10 minute walk to the farthest point probably. We went to a little cafe called Cafe Sixty-Seven down the street from out flat - a 2min walk probably - and had lunch (omelette & salad). At the grocery store we bought eggs, milk, cereal, tea, coffee, and some oranges. We don't plan to cook until next week - that's when I'll bust out my copy of Clueless in the Kitchen that Sisy gave to me!

I still have to take pictures - which I'll probably do later today. I just wanted to update first and get this posted.

Monday, May 08, 2006

Moved in

I'm at an internet cafe down the street from our new flat and I only have a few minutes left - it's 50 pence for 45 minutes. That's pretty good because some of the other places I saw down by the Victoria underground station were 1 pound for half an hour.

Anyway - we're all moved in!! Our flat in Finsbury Park is officially ours. We forked over an obscene amount of cash this morning to the estate agent in exchange for the keys. We made our way down there and met the landlord - he seems nice enough but said not to call him unless it's an emergency, and if it's that then maybe call his right-hand man instead. Hmm!

After that, we called the gas, electric, water and telephone companies and changed everything to our names. That was easy enough except for a lot of being put on hold.

Then we walked up the street (or down, I'm not sure yet) and went to the 98p (pence) store and got some cleaning supplies! It's like the dollar store, only 98p instead. When we got back, we put our rubber gloves on and got to work. HD and I practically bleached the entire flat - at least we know there are no germs.

After that was done, we went to Oxford Street again and bought some other supplies from Marks and Spencer. I got a pillow, mugs (which is being returned tomorrow), glasses, and a kettle. We have nothing to make tea or coffee with, but at least we can have a nice mug of hot water. :D It's good for you!

Now we're here at the internet cafe and I have a few minutes left to load this up. When I get back I'm going to organize my room, take a shower, and go to sleep! I lost the coin toss with HD for the better bedroom - so for the first 3 months I'm in the slightly crappier one and then we switch. I can't wait for the internet though! And a radio! I wish I could post some photos but I'll have to wait until our flat is hooked up.

Okay - maybe I can write again tomorrow. Two interview/meetings for potential jobs also tomorrow - hopefully something will work out and all this doesn't go bust. Things to still do: register with Job Centre Plus and get an N1 number, getting a bank account, and getting a job.

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Oxford

Yesterday we went to Oxford to visit Supa and check out his university. Oxford is northwest of London and we took a coach up there - the ride takes a little over an hour and a half. This is what the bus looks like.

We went on a pub crawl with some of the other students from Supa's college, so basically we all got on a bus, drove to 5 pubs outside of Oxford, to little villages with quaint buildings and stone streets, for the evening. Afterwards we went to a club in Oxford called "Escape" - it was all very frosh-week-university feeling - but HD and I still had a good time. The next morning we walked back through Oxford, stopping to take a few pictures here and there, and got back on the bus and came back here. This is from the backyard of the one pubs.

Since we move out tomorrow to our flat I'm not sure when next I'll get to post because we need to get the internet hooked up in the flat. I'm hoping it'll be this week and maybe I'll be able to go to an internet cafe to do an update. In the meantime, here are some more photos of yesterday's trip. It was such a fast one that we're definitely going to have to go back again and do a proper sight-seeing tour. Supa told me that Oxford is the oldest English speaking university in the world - it's over 1000 years old. That's pretty old!

Friday, May 05, 2006

More pics

Here's another street near Kings Cross. It's near the lounge we went to yesterday after we signed the lease papers. The place is called "The Waiting Room" - that's where we went the first night when Supa took us out.

Here's a fun pic of HD in her bed in the hotel.

And here's me rifling through my luggage!

Movin' on out

We got the flat! Yesterday we called the estate agent and took the flat at Finsbury Park. Went over to the office, signed the papers, and paid the holding deposit. As of Monday we've got an address! It's really wicked - it's a major step cementing our committment to making this adventure work.

The holding deposit is an amount you pay signalling your intent to take the flat; it removes it's availability to others who may be interested. After this we have to pay the first month's rent and a security deposit of 6 weeks minus the holding deposit we initially paid. We get the security deposit back when we move out - so far that'll be in 6 months when our lease is up. That's one of the good things about renting here, the term is much shorter than the usual year lease you get in the GTA. So if this doesn't work out or we want to try something different, we're not locked in for a long time.

We also have to register with the Council Tax office - council tax is a tax that all households pay to the local government for upkeep of the area - like cutting lawns in public gardens. Then we have to take care of electric, water and heat. It's a good thing we're in the warm seasons so we won't have to use much heat, if any. The estate agent estimates it'll cost us about 120GBP extra - I'm pretty sure we'll be able to handle that.

Next task...jobs! jobs! jobs!

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Beautiful day!

I just got out of the shower and it's super warm! A beautiful spring day of 26 degrees here in London - and I checked Toronto - a measly 16! hee hee. Just joking! There's a nice breeze too. The weather has been treating us well since we got here, none of that drizzly, rainy dreariness that London's so famous far. Not yet. I know it's coming but I'm enjoying these lovely days.

For breakfast/lunch today, (because we slept through breakfast again), we went to Pret a Manger - I guess I would compare it to Cultures, even though I never ate there. Anyway, it's a fancy sandwich shop basically, but affordable. The food is great - selections of sandwiches, wraps, baguettes, salads, and all the food is organic. Today I had a coffee with a bacon & avocado sandwich. HD had the "slim" chicken & avocado sandwich & latte (slim because it's only half a sandwich which is perfect for her because she's not a big sandwich fan in the first place but enjoys these). Yesterday I had the chicken & avocado which I prefer to the bacon one.

I'm going to post only small photos for now b/c if you click on the small ones they open up in a larger screen but if I put in the large photos that's it, they don't get any bigger. Okay? Ok.

Travelling on the tube

We've been on the tube a number of times so far and it's been easy. However, the farthest we've gone is only about 2 or 3 stops in both directions from the Kings Cross line - not very hard at all. But I'm beginning to understand how it works and what the different colour lines mean. Kings Cross, the one we're closest too, is on the Victoria Line - a light blue colour. It runs north & south. There are 1 or 2 stations on this line that connect to the other lines (like Picadilly, Northern, etc). So it's kind of like the Bloor subway stop where you can connect to the Danforth line or the Yonge or University lines. Neat, eh?

To ride the tube you have to buy a ticket - no cash. If it's a one-off ride then you'd just pay for a single trip which is 3GBP. But most likely it'll be a return so you'd get a 1-day travelcard, which is what we've been getting the past few days. You can get them in 1 and 3 days I think - but unless you know exactly where you're going and what zones your travelling in, (because the cost is different for travel to the different zones which is basically the farther you travel to the outskirts of the London the more costly it is), you might as well get a 1-day.

Also - a good thing to get a street map book. I figured that out yesterday when we went looking for the flat. An hours walk from the tube when it should've taken us 10 minutes! So we got one - a mini London A-Z! It's cute and compact and can easily travel with us in our purses without us looking like tourists! :D
This is the book and the travelcard from yesterday.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Photographs of the hotel and area

Alhambra Hotel - a nice, cozy place.

This is one of the main junctions in Kings Cross. Pretty busy!

Flat hunting

We went to Finsbury Park today to check out two flats. We were supposed to go see another one but didn't get a chance. The two were in the same conversion period building - basically what was once a four-floor home is now divided into two 2-floor flats. Finsbury Park is a nice area - we didn't know exactly where we were going when we got off the tube and we walked around for an hour trying to remember what we saw in the big London street map book thing that we didn't buy but should have. Anyway, we ended up back at the tube station and there was a map right there at the exit/entrance showing us exactly where to go.

Once we made it there Paul, the estate agent guy, showed up and gave us the tour. I was surprised at how spacious the flats were because I was under the impression that everything in London is tiny - like our hotel room. But neither of the flats were small! They're both 2 levels with 2 double bedrooms, one bathroom, a shared garden, and a smallish reception (living) room. We're leaning towards one of these two but first we'll try and see some more tomorrow to compare. For the price though, (200 p/w), I think this is pretty good. Here's a not very good pic of the outside.

Sites from yesterday

Yesterday we did a lot of walking around. After we had br

eakfast HD and I went looking for cell phones - or mobiles as they're called here. We walked around for about 2 hours in the vicinty of Kings Cross, St. Pancras and Euston tube stations. We didn't find any stores but it was just nice to get an idea of the area. It's really busy - lots of cars and lots of people.

I found the British Library - it's just down the street! So we went in of course - just to look around because it's massive and I had no idea how to actually find the books. That's a picture of the outside.

In the evening we went to Oxford Street - lots of shopping over

there - it's a big tourist area. That was cool too and there are again so many people. You can't walk without being jostled. Here we got our cells - here's a pic of mine.

Last night we were able to go online and book some appointments to view flats. So far we have 3 to go view - which we're seeing this afternoon. We're going to Finsbury Park and then Turnpike Lane - I have no idea if these are nice areas but we'll soon find out. Okay, time to go check them out!

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Morning

It's 920am and we just came back from having a full English breakfast in the basement of the hotel. An egg, bacon, sausage, beans, toast, coffee and orange juice. I forgot my camera in the room or I would've taken a picture - I'll do that tomorrow.

Sleeping was fine last night, bed is comfortable and it's warm enough in the room. It's tiny - here's a pic of RedCat lounging on my bed.

Here are some pictures of the view from the hotel room's window.

Brown Girl in London