That's right...I turned 27 on the 27th---the Golden Birthday as they call it! Thanks to everyone for their birthday wishes. For my birthday, Bryan planned a surprise outing to Kew Gardens, about a 30-minute tube ride, outside of the city center. Kew Gardens is the largest collection of living plants in the world, with plants and trees from just about every climate zone. Bryan toted a surprise picnic, complete with wine, cheese, and grapes, which we enjoyed on a remote garden bench in the sunshine. Kew Gardens is absolutely breathtaking, and looks like autumn everywhere (something I have missed terribly since living in San Diego)! We even purchased a plant from the gift shop...our first plant for the flat :). Matches the orange couch blanket!
A few pics, to showcase our excursion at Kew Gardens:
(Just so happens that Kew Gardens is celebrating its birthday too!)
Following our trip to the gardens, we had dinner at a wonderful restaurant near the London Bridge, overlooking the River Thames, and enjoying the city night lights! At dinner, Bryan gave me a gift certificate for an extensive spa pedicure at a salon near Picadilly Circus (suffice it to say I've made some comment about aching feet just about every night since we've arrived here. I just love all the walking!).
To close out the birthday extravaganza, we saw the production of Dirty Dancing on the following night (gotta love the half price ticket booths around the city!) Although no one could top Patrick Swayze, the performance was fabulous...and the ending dance scene literally made me cry! I wish I could have replayed the show ending like I used to do with the movie :). I was humming the music all the way home....
Thanks again for the birthday wishes! XOXOXOXO
-Brandina "A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip." ~Author Unknown
As planned, our friends Paul and Leigha arrived in London last week, and we spent 4 fabulous days with them! It was a wonderful break from the "getting settled" tasks, which have dominated our time since we arrived almost two weeks ago. Given that all of our preparations prior to arriving in London had been focused on everything we needed to accomplish to live here, we were relatively unprepared regarding tourist attractions! Fortunately, Paul and Leigha arrived VERY prepared, with a list of everything they wanted to see in London...and we were lucky enough to tag along with them, for a couple of action-packed, walk-until-you-have-blisters, wonderful days! Here are a few pictures from our adventures together...
In front of the Tower Bridge
St. James Park
Climbing the Lion statue at Trafalgar Square (note: following this episode, Paul suffered from a bruised knee, and Bryan from a strained quad!)
Paul and Leigha at Trafalgar Square - classy and candid
Cheers to Fish & Chips, and Cold Beer (thus far, warm beer has been simply a myth)
Brandina and Leigha bundled up at the Portobello Market
Outside Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster
On our way to see Wicked (which turned out to be Paul & Leigha's favorite London event)
In addition to the sights, we indulged in quite a few tastes during their visit - regal cupcakes from Harrod's Department store, delicious gelato, wine from our local wine shop (3 bottles for only 10 British pounds!), quite a few plates of fish and chips, new types of beer at each pub, and the ever famous...meat pies with mushy peas on the side (that's right, Leigha was a risk-taker!).
Paul and Leigha - we miss you already!!! Thanks for a wonderful visit!
Cheerio!
-Brandina & Bryan
"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive." ~Anäis Nin
...was finding clothes hangers in this hustling and bustling city! But, we'll get back to that in a minute....
After a sleepless night with our fellow peasants in economy class, we finally arrived in London last week with all our documentation in hand and our 316 lbs of bags in tow, prepared for whatever customs wanted to throw at us---which ended up being....nothing. It turns out our visas are regarded highly, as we faced little trouble through customs, at the bank, or even when we rented our flat.
That's right, it's been a busy busy week, as we hit the ground running the next day by 9am, getting our new mobiles, Oyster Cards (tube passes), opening accounts at the bank (where they're doing YOU a favor by holding your money), and meeting with plenty of estate agents (property management companies) where we saw 7 flats before we found the magical place.
Attached is a video of our new classy, cozy abode in Notting Hill (yes the same Notting Hill with Julia Roberts). In the end we opted for the medium sized studio on the top floor with a great view, instead of the larger studio with the separate kitchen in the dark and musty basement..a wise man once said, "everyone's s#*t runs from the top down." It's furnished with modern furniture including a small couch, a bed on a track that raises up during the day (not a murphy bed), a mounted flat screen tv, a quaint but fully functional kitchen, and a bathroom with all of the bells and whistles (well as many as you can fit in that size of a space). As far as crashing on the couch goes...you really only have one of two sleeping options - upright, or in the fetal position. But hey, it's a couch right?
There were a few things we needed of course, so we took the tube all over town--hitting up all of the prime furnishing spots; Mark and Spencers - we're now regulars there, as we've been every day since we arrived (and embarrassingly enough, run into the same store clerk each time!); Argos - a store full of just catalogs, where you choose what you want then they bring it
from the back after you've paid; IKEA - a funny scene watching us get on and off the tube with all of our huge IKEA bags (nevermind that in order to get there, we took a tube, train, and shuttle); and Robert Dyas - a home and garden store, where plungers are the size of screwdrivers - see photo to the left (but, perhaps not surprising, having been raised in America where just about everything is supersized). During all of this shopping we were searching for hangers, since half of our clothes need to be hung. This has actually turned out to be the biggest hiccup thus far. Either (a) Londoners don't hang their clothes or (b) EVERYONE hangs their clothes. After contacting over 10 different stores, IKEA finally had hangers, which is why originally went there, but everyone knows you can't just leave IKEA with one item, thus the fun tube ride back.
On another note, the tube is fantastic! One of things we were looking forward to most was the public transportation, and it hasn't disappointed. It's so easy to use, I think that the baby from the Etrade commercials could probably do it. The only problem is, as my cousin here said, you kind of turn into a gopher, just popping up and down all the time. So we may try and learn the bus system to see more of London while we're moving from spot to spot, but either way, it's extremely easy and efficient to get around.
Finally, we bought some groceries the other day, another somewhat interesting experience; their mustard doesn't say spicy, so when we made a sandwich with it, we weren't expecting that tingly feeling in your brain that you get from wasabi sometimes, their OJ has "bits" in it, not pulp, deli turkey is a bit hard to find, but ham comes in all shapes, sizes, and flavors. That said, the food we've eaten has been great, amazing kebabs, good sandwiches, and new tasty flavors of apples. Ironically, contrary to Bryan's worries about a lack of Mexican food, we have seen a Tex Mex restaurant/pub in the area, though we haven't tried it yet.
For those of you possible skeptics...having spent four nights thus far in our cozy flat...we've come up with the following:
The Top 5 Reasons You Should Try Living in a Studio:
5. Only takes about 2.5 minutes to heat up the entire place.
4. You can see the gorgeous city view, from just one window, standing almost anywhere inside.
3. By the time you are finished cleaning the bedroom, the whole house is basically clean.
2. You can brush your teeth (and spit), wash your face, and almost turn on and warm up the shower, all while sitting on the toilet (not necessarily recommended practice, but nevertheless still possible).
1. And, our personal favorite - Not only can you eat breakfast in bed...but you can literally just about make breakfast from bed!
Well that brings us up-to-date. We do want to give a special thanks to Bryan's cousins; Lori, Marlin, Devon, and Thomas for graciously welcoming us in their beautiful home before we found our flat. Looking forward to watching some Rugby with the boys and some delicious home cooked meals by Lori.
We finally have access to internet, though its not always up to par, so keep the emails coming! Back to the all-important job hunt.....
Cheers!
P.S...Day 8, and it still hasn't rained here!
"The time to enjoy a European trip is about 3 weeks after unpacking."
Hi all! Sorry it's been so long since our last post...rest assured that we have been EXTREMELY busy trying to wrap up work, pack up our apartment, move, learn British slang, and complete our going away tour, from San Diego, to Sacramento, and the Bay Area! A few pics to summarize our last couple of weeks in California....
OUR SAN DIEGO FAREWELL BBQ:
(Rose, eating the coveted last San Diego brownie!)
Thanks for hosting us Aaron!
WEDDING IN SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO:
MOVING:
Such a pain in the arse! But, special thanks to mom Elaine (the master packer), dad John (the master apartment wall hole filler-upper), and brother JB and dear friend Zach (brains and brawn when it came to moving and storing our 3-piece sectional couch), for all of your help getting us ready to leave San Diego! Couldn't have done it without you!
(Pretty much how we all felt about trying to fit everything into our two 5x8 storage Pods!)
SPENDING TIME IN SACRAMENTO:
(Bryan--being tugged by Buddy--and Mom Jana at Apple Hill!)
(Bryan's family dog, Buddy...trying his best to keep us from leaving Sacramento!)
CLOSING OUT THE FAREWELL TOUR IN THE BAY AREA:
(SCU girls)
(At the British Pub in Los Altos, with Grandma Sylvia and Grandpa Jerry)
Flying out in just a few days! Plan to hit the UK ground running....flat viewings, bank account appointments, cell phones, tube pass...we'll keep you posted! Paul and Leigha...we'll see you two on the 22nd! (thanks again for toting our extra bags!) :).
When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money. ~Susan Heller
Family means too much, friends are too valuable, and life is too short, to put-off sharing with people, how much they really mean to you, and pursuing whatever it is that makes you happy. - Anonymous
